I’m excited to announce: we’re hosting another line drawing workshop. You can sign up here: https://lu.ma/9hiep0tl.
Ask me a big question, and in my mind, a constellation appears. Different paths, potential entry points, questions, thoughts, ideas, and feelings emerge, each with its own universe of connected ideas.
This can feel thrilling when I have the space to explore; when any direction is fine and my thinking partner doesn’t mind me jumping around different seemingly unrelated topics until the pattern emerges. In the right space, I can start anywhere in the middle, and the right questions and paths will lighten up as I verbally process.
At other times, a broad question can feel overwhelming. A question like “how are you?” or “So, what do you do?” can be so tricky to answer when I have to narrow down all potential ways of answering into one succinct, but still interesting response.
As a coping mechanism, I often script an answer for some social settings.
But even in settings like a coaching session with a trusted person, my own complex thoughts can feel overwhelming at first. At times, I avoid thinking about my topic until we’re in our safe space together, in which I can think and explore freely, supported by the container my coach and I have created together.
This wasn’t really supposed to be a post about coaching, but it is connected for me. There’s a reason I say I am a coach for human who think in spirals and constellations, not straight lines. It’s exactly that kind of support that I strive to provide — a space to untangle thoughts and see the patterns.
So, what does it mean to think in spirals and constellations, not in straight lines?
Thinking in Spirals
Spiral thinking to me means revisiting the same ideas or themes over time, but each time with new insights or from a different perspective. It’s:
Nonlinear – You might return to the same thought or problem multiple times instead of progressing in a straight line.
Depth-building – With each "loop," you deepen your understanding or see things in a new context.
Cyclical – Ideas resurface over time, often triggered by seemingly unrelated events or reflections.
Thinking in Constellations
Constellation thinking involves seeing connections between multiple ideas that may not be linearly related, but form meaningful patterns when viewed together. It’s:
Associative – Ideas are linked by pattern, emotion, symbolism, or relevance rather than sequence or logic.
Multidimensional – You might be holding many ideas in mind at once, relating them in ways others don’t immediately see.
Spatial or visual – Some describe it as mentally “zooming out” and seeing how various thoughts, memories, or questions cluster together, like stars forming a constellation.
If you think in spirals and constellations, you might thrive in big-picture thinking but feel bored by structured tasks. You might understand concepts best when you can explore freely and visually map connections. This way of thinking feels creative, intuitive, and insight-rich — and it can be challenging in systems that value linearity and rigid structure.
Let’s look at some specific examples how spiral and constellation thinking might show up in your life.
Seemingly never-ending loops: Revisiting the same thought or decision over and over can feel like you’re stuck, even if you’re slowly gaining insight.
Difficulty with closure: Because spiral thinking often uncovers new angles each time around, it can be hard to know when you’re “done” with an idea or project.
Self-doubt: Repeatedly questioning your ideas or decisions can lead to spiraling thoughts that feed anxiety: “Why am I still thinking about this?” “What did I miss?” “What’s wrong with me for not being finished?”
So many connections at once! Your brain might light up with associations and ideas that feel deeply connected, but it can be hard to explain them to others or even keep track of them yourself. This can lead to: Information overload, decision paralysis, and frustration when trying to communicate your thinking.
Nonlinear communication mismatch: When you're talking in constellations, and someone else is expecting a clear step-by-step answer, you might feel misunderstood or dismissed — especially if they say things like: “Can you just get to the point?” or “You’re going off-topic.”
Trouble organizing or prioritizing: Everything feels connected (because it is!) and potentially meaningful. That makes it hard to filter what’s most important right now vs. what’s interesting but peripheral.
Need to close thought loops: You might feel the need to finish a thought loop before moving on to the next topic. This can cause friction in relationship when your conversation partner has already moved on and is confused why you keep coming back to the previous point without adding anything new.
A preference for mind maps over lists and outlines: My journal pages and coaching notes are filled with lines and arrows, visually representing connected, non-hierarchical thoughts. It’s one of the reasons I prefer pen on paper.
Making Space for Spiral and Constellation Thinking.
Too often, the world tries to fit our beautiful, expansive thinking into narrow, rigid, linear ways. Here are some ideas to support your spiral and constellation thinking:
Externalize thoughts: Mind maps, voice notes, sketches, or lists can relieve the pressure of holding everything in your head.
Find the right thinking partners: Sharing your thoughts with others who understand nonlinear thinking (or just won’t rush you) can ease the sense of being “too much.” You might even begin to delight in your own ways of thinking!
Experimentation Mindset: Treating decisions as temporary as part of an experiment can help with decision paralysis caused by constant loops. Most decisions are reversible. So, usually, you can make a decision now, re-evaluate it later based on additional insight, and change it if needed.
Give yourself permission: Not everything needs to be prioritized in a hierarchical way. If your way of working is aligned with your thinking style, it might actually work better to allow yourself to go “off track” for a while. What if you don’t need to fix anything? You might just need (your own) permission to do it your way.
Name the complexities, then narrow down: When working with coaching clients, we often work together to narrow down the topic to reach a decision on one point — but not until we’ve named and explored the complexities involved. There’s usually room for both.
Reframe outlines: Rewrite outline headers as reflection or journal questions to encourage creative and broad thinking while also staying “on task.”
Enjoy the ideation phase for what it is: not all of your ideas are meant to be turned into something tangible. What if you let go of the idea that your ideas need to be executed on and enjoyed the ideation phase for what it is?
The joy of thinking (and communicating!) in spirals and constellations
Embracing my own divergent way of thinking — in constellations and spirals — has probably been my favorite part of my unmasking journey so far. It’s not usually visible to others, but I’ve felt so much joy from giving my mind permission to go play in non-linear ways. I tried to capture some of it here and here. While neither topic feels as intense as it did then, I sense glimmers anytime I spiral back around to it, even just for the length of one song or when Freddie makes an appearance on one of my slides.
If you’ve ever had a very alive, expansive, bubbly conversation with a fellow ADHDer, you know how beautiful and energizing it can feel. Sparks and ideas are flying, connections are made, you jump around but it all feels connected and neither of you need to name the connections for it to make sense.
The thing is: if we don’t give our minds permission to create these spirals and constellations, we won’t be able to bring them into a conversation — and we all miss out on those sparkly, energizing moments.
After years and years of trying to limit our thoughts and fit them into linear structures, we need spaces in which we can let loose and allow our minds to diverge, learning that for the right people, we’re not “too much” at all.
Time to Think and my coaching programs are spaces in which I support you to untangle the threads, get unstuck, and move forward in your own way. It’s also a space in which I support your divergent thinking — by listening to you fully, reflecting what I’m hearing back to you, and holding space for your thoughts to go in directions they want to go, trusting they’ll orbit back around to what’s important to you.
Contact me to learn more:
I wonder…
Elizaveta Friesem writes on her blog that human thinking is nonlinear. What if in fact everyone thinks in non-linear ways and some people are better than others at translating that thinking into (neuronormative) linear narratives and communication? Do some of us more easily switch from one to another? Or is it really that some people think in more linear ways by default while others think naturally in spirals and constellations?
I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment or respond to this email to share your thoughts.
This is how my brain works.
Non-linear thinking is important for problem solving. In math lectures where it is proof based and not just doing calculations you need constellation thinking to come up with proofs. I would say innovation happens through non-linear thinking. Einstein had famously a great imagination and that lead to some great discoveries. Imagination is important for math research. I think we are limited in our communication maybe language is too linear and that’s why we came up with math to have a language to express more complex ideas.