11 Things People With Restless Genius Energy Always Do Without Even Realizing
Their brains are working a mile a minute.
PeopleImages | Shutterstock For some people, their brains often work at a speed that allows them to think about many different things at once. They're constantly reaching for more in what would be described as "restless genius energy," where they can't fathom not being able to take in the necessary information to answer the endless questions that seem to always pop into their minds. These are the people who tend to spend a lot of time just daydreaming and creating because they're constantly filled with ideas all of the time.
If you find yourself not being able to turn that curious switch off in your mind, then you're probably someone that can relate to maybe feeling a bit misunderstood. Whether it's daydreaming or struggling with boredom, there are certain things people with restless genius energy always do without even realizing. But that's what makes people with restless genius energy so captivating — they crave being able to experience new things and just feel alive in the most mundane of moments throughout their life.
Here are 11 things people with restless genius energy always do without even realizing
1. Always trying to chase new ideas before finishing old ones
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You're someone that often finds themselves with their hand in many pots, especially when it comes to new ideas. Since your mind is constantly overflowing with creativity and wanting to express the thoughts that jump into your head, you're always inspired.
This means that you find it hard to focus entirely on one thing. Your creativity doesn't just flow in a single line, and while other people may describe that as being flaky or inconsistent, for you it's deeper than that.
"The real goal isn't just to finish; it's to get the most out of it. To learn something new. To grow. To gain an insight that helps us understand ourselves and the world around us. To find that one idea that sparks our imagination and helps us adapt to whatever we're experiencing," pointed out biomedical engineering professor Jeff Karp.
You may feel so excited to start one project, but then in the midst of it, you get the idea for something else and suddenly you need to start that immediately as well. Every unfinished task or project is just able to lead you into something else, which is magical enough for you.
You're never bored and you're never without something to do. You simply nurture your imagination at every turn.
2. Reading multiple books at once
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Being able to read more than one book at a time is one of the things people with restless genius energy always do without even realizing. In fact, they find it unusual to just stick to one book when they could be reading more than one thing at a time. It's all about balance.
They might pick up a nonfiction book and then they're suddenly craving something a bit more light, so they'll start reading a romance book. But, a couple of hours later, they might switch to reading a memoir that's been on their TBR list for a couple of weeks.
Even if they aren't actually finishing every single book, they're still absorbing the words and information that sticks with them. As long as they're reading, it truly doesn't matter. After all, reading has an extensive amount of benefits to the brain, especially when it comes to reducing depressive symptoms and helping with your overall well-being.
But for those with restless genius energy, reading more than one book at a time goes back to their constant need for stimulation, and being able to read different books offers that to them. The second that one book starts to feel slow, they're already reaching for a new one that'll keep them engaged.
3. Overanalyzing everything
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Usually, people with restless genius energy tend to replay a lot of things in their minds, from the way a text message sounded, the tone of someone's voice during a certain conversation, the way they went about a certain project, or even a fleeting look.
They'll dissect every possible meaning and build up different scenarios in their head. It's not that they're paranoid or trying to jump to conclusions, but they're just trying to make sense of things and connect the dots to finally understand.
It might even be about things that they shouldn't be overanalyzing, but they'll do it anyway. It all becomes draining when it feels like there's no off-switch, and your thoughts continue to loop around and around and around.
As explained by psychology professor Kevin Bennett, "While critical thinking is a valuable skill, overthinking can lead to excessive stress, indecision, and a distorted perception of reality." So, you might be someone that just reads into things deeply, but that's only because you feel things just as intensely too.
4. Romanticizing everything
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People with restless genius energy have a way of being able to see the beauty in just about everything and everyone they encounter. A sunset isn't just a sunset, a good plate of food isn't just delicious, and that person they went on one date with isn't just a stranger anymore.
They are able to find depth in the most mundane and ordinary parts of life because of the fact that their brains are just wired to find meaning in every single thing they encounter.
Because they're often living in their imagination, it can be quite easy to romanticize things and live in this constant state of everything needing to mean something. It's not that they're avoiding reality, they're just looking for ways to enhance it and make it meaningful.
5. Constantly daydreaming
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You might notice that, as someone with restless genius energy, you live with one foot planted in reality and another foot planted deep inside your imagination. Even if you're physically sitting in a room with other people, your mind is off somewhere else.
You're creating stories, playing out future scenarios, or just thinking about endless possibilities that you could be doing in that moment. During meetings at work, sitting on the train, or even mingling with people at a party, you're not really paying attention to what's happening around you at all.
The thing about your daydreams, though, is the fact that they're not just what you do for fun or to pass the time, but it's how some of your best ideas are created and brought to fruition. It can be tricky to not get lost in your imagination, which can make reality seem a lot more dull than it really is, which means it's important to find that balance of existing up in the clouds and then coming back down to Earth.
6. Getting emotionally attached to songs after one listen
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Music isn't just something that you're putting on in the background to get things done; rather, it's an entire experience, and you're someone who ends up connecting quite deeply to one or even multiple songs after just one listen.
It's because you're not just listening to music, you're taking in all of the lyrics, the chords and arrangement, and before you know it, a three-minute track has completely changed your life and altered your thoughts.
It's because music is intricately tied to your mind. And since you're already someone that feels things quite deeply, it's easy to make this instant connection to a song that other people might just write off. You don't even need to listen to a song over and over again to feel like it's important to you.
Considering music has a way of really healing people and bringing us together, it's not surprising that music plays such a big part in your life at all. After all, research has shown that, for example, listening to Mozart's "Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major"' can help reduce the frequency of seizures in some people with epilepsy.
7. Losing hours researching random things
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One of the highly intelligent things people with restless genius energy always do without even realizing is going down the most random of rabbit holes when they're in an extremely curious state of mind.
Just from having a single random thought, they find themselves in a full-blown research session where they've gone down several subreddits, watched multiple YouTube videos, and somehow ended up learning about something that wasn't even remotely related to their original question.
Since their brains crave information in a way that the average person's brain might not, they simply can't stand not being able to understand how something works or knowing information about a particular topic. They enjoy learning about things, which is why going down rabbit holes is something they find themselves doing often.
8. Enjoying teaching people things they're passionate about
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These people simply can't help but share the things that they're excited about with others. They get genuine joy from being able to explain and teach something in a way that someone else will be able to understand as well. It can be something as simple as a random fact they learned one day, or a niche topic that sent them down a rabbit hole and now need other people to know about that topic as well.
Being able to teach allows them to spread the spark they get when learning new information to other people. When they're passionate about something, they just want to pull everyone around them into it.
Sharing their ideas isn't just them preaching to the masses, but about being able to get something out of it too as they're sharing. It's a conversation where they're listening just as much as the other person is, and at the end of it, they have all of these new ideas and it just feels so fulfilling.
9. Struggling with boredom more than the average person
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Usually, individuals whose brains are often moving at such a rapid pace that they themselves can't seem to slow down have a complicated relationship with boredom. They simply can't stand it at all.
The second that things start to slow down, they're suddenly itching for something stimulating because they are unable to just sit and relax. They always feel the need to be doing something, anything.
But boredom is sometimes considered a necessary part of living. According to philosophy professor Peg O'Connor, "Even those who seem to have the greatest experiences or the highest level of achievements have deep currents of routine and monotony running through their lives."
This need to evade boredom is the reason why you might take on more projects than you probably need to, or that you're constantly jumping from hobby to hobby. Boredom isn't just an uncomfortable feeling for you, it honestly feels unnatural.
It's why you might end up overcommitting yourself to things, because of the fact that you just crave that excitement and every single moment in your life just needs to matter.
10. Talking fast when they're excited
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Because they just want to get everything out there that's on their mind, it gets to the point where their mouths sometimes can't keep up with their brains. Words are flying out a mile a minute and they even start tripping over their sentences because there is just so much to say.
Because they have too many thoughts floating around in their brains and are trying to fit all of them into a single conversation at normal speed, talking very fast is another of the things people with restless genius energy always do without even realizing.
Their fast-talking ability usually stems from having discovered something new or being able to finally connect the dots about new ideas that have been at the forefront of their minds. They aren't stopping to breathe, because they're scared that if they do they'll forget the most important part of what they're trying to say, and then, worst of all, they won't be able to remember or get it back.
11. Always craving change
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Since these individuals are often quite restless, it makes sense that change is something they are always seeking out and welcoming with open arms. While the average person may be frightened of things moving at a rapid pace and no longer staying the same, those with this genius energy are the complete opposite. Change feels refreshing, not scary.
"Seeking out transformation doesn't always mean we are unhappy with who we are or that we are ungrateful for what we have; rather, it is an acknowledgment that life can feel stagnant without growth," explained resiliency and wellness scholar Robyne Hanley-Dafoe.
It's how they're able to always reinvent themselves and learn more about who they are. Since they're not big fans of boredom, change allows them to always be on their toes because then life isn't feeling predictable anymore.
It's time for them to find a new routine, and that's the best part of it all. They're not afraid to shed the old version of themselves for the new, especially when it means more time to explore and evolve.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
