The real issue in this field of study lies in the endless proliferation—or fragmentation—of new acronyms, or in the choice of a label that only adds to the already chaotic conceptual mess, making it increasingly obscure and incomprehensible to many. And let’s not forget the financial agendas of some, thinly veiled behind a façade of so-called nuance.

Thinking about giftedness solely through the lens of academic performance—yes, an IQ test is an academic performance—is not only tragically reductive, it also reflects a lack of depth, an unwillingness to engage with the fine nuances that this topic truly demands.

Another major issue is the absence of any standardized identification criteria. We're left with a flood of fragmented information, casually thrown around, that leads a wide range of individuals to either be labeled—or to believe themselves to be.

Struggling to "pause"? The mind races, ideas flood in, and even at night, it keeps churning. Yeah, it's tough, I know.

Well, what? Did you expect a long intro on such a topic with cliché phrases like, "For HPI individuals, this intensity is often a strength... but also a burden when it becomes impossible to channel."

Well, there you go.

Each of these tips alone is just okay, but combined, who knows, you'll tell me ;)

1. Writing to Free Up Mental Space

The idea is to have a space for a “brain dump.” List, notebook, journal… The important thing is to get thoughts out of your head and onto something. And if it gives you ten post ideas a day: deal with it.

Find the right multi-platform tool.

2. The Body as an Outlet

Intense and technical sports, or even risky ones for the more adventurous, force the brain to focus on something other than its thoughts.

3. Cognitive Challenges as Constructive Distractions

Learn a language, coding, or delve into a concept or subject. To distract the mind from intrusive thoughts, nothing beats activities that engage all your intellectual potential. It's focus, and it's often effective.

4. Frame Your Reflection Moments

Seriously? Stop trying to structure everything. Letting it live its life is the best way for it to process and move on.

5. Seek the Flow State

That magical moment when nothing else exists except what you're doing. Engaging activity, stimulating challenge, total immersion. It's a moment of mental rest... paradoxically very active.

6. Create a Mental Cocoon

A soothing environment = fewer unnecessary stimuli. Light, environment, disconnection, people. Actively build your spaces.

7. Respect Your Performance Peaks

Morning? Evening? Find the times when you're cognitively at your best. And the rest of the time? Accept procrastination. No need to force it. If you pressure yourself one week, you might shut down the next, so what's the point?

8. Let Go of Control!

Work on this regularly. You know that it will ruminate anyway, it will finish when it wants to, and in the meantime, you won't find rest, so let it be and enjoy the ride. The less you resist, the faster it will go.

And no, for dreamers, emotion, seduction, romance, they don't calm the brain, it's quite the opposite. But deep love, in our fulfilled needs, in respect, emotional security, and duration, works very well...

Seeking extinction is illusory... but striving for acceptance is probably more effective.

From the moment Élisabeth Borne took office as the Minister of National Education, she set the tone: “I am not a specialist in National Education.” When one lacks the competence, one does not take the position. Nor the client. Nor the mission. Period.

In education, ideas—preferably well thought out before being announced—are not enough. Their implementation makes the difference. So yes, educating about sexuality, orientation, or equality is fundamental. But in the wrong hands, these ideas become scarecrows. When the minister herself declares her incompetence, how can one hope? When you're a professional, you know: competence always precedes intervention. Why shouldn't this elementary principle apply to a ministry?

When a surgeon says they're "not very comfortable with scalpels," they are not allowed to operate. When a psychologist or coach says they don't understand the basics of psychology and human behavior, they are not entrusted with a distressed teenager, or anyone for that matter. But at the head of the ministry most crucial for the country's future? No problem. Everything goes.

Except it doesn't. Especially not what follows.

Incoherent Sex Education: Between Empty Principles and Weak Implementation

The intention? Commendable. Educating about sexuality, respect, and gender equality from a young age. But not in this order and certainly not based on ideologies!

The program? It is the product of a feeble and ridiculous movement. All this to integrate terminologies early on in a society that no longer knows how to regulate the problems it creates.

An "indispensable" program, yes. But in reality? The school takes over the educational role of parents on this issue with a questionable and unsettling intent to normalize. The problem is that this will be colored by the ideology of each teacher tasked with delivering the message, with the same shortcomings and lack of psychological aptitude or willingness to engage as in the supervision of HPI and atypical individuals.

How far the gap between stated intentions and on-the-ground slip-ups will go, we will soon find out.

Political courage, like pedagogical competence, cannot be improvised.

Now, let's move on to the orientation from kindergarten, which is currently occupying the media landscape.

The latest whim: “think about orientation from kindergarten,” "we must be careful not to condition their orientation choices."

The problem is if this nice problem is entrusted, at its core, to all these psycho-scientific puppets who build an orientation—oh, sorry, an insertion—based on personality tests.

Orient whom? Five-year-old children? Based on what? How? Their ability to sit still on a little bench? Their passion for puzzles? Their phobia of markers?

We must be careful not to "impose early biases." So, is a whole new education system planned? Or will we actually talk to them about blue, pink, and gender?

This is not about orientation; it's about training. It's the old technocratic temptation: diagnose early to sort quickly.

But true orientation is a long process. It is an education in decision-making, exploration, and critical thinking. Not an early assignment. And a school system that values autonomy, not conformity.

And that is precisely what the system does not want. That would be a mess for the economy.

Madame Borne, if you were competent and knew when not to "do," you would have understood that:

• Sex education is not just information listed in a PowerPoint approved by the council of ministers.
• Orientation is the antithesis of determinism; it is a culture of choice. And no one is fooled; that is not the objective of an economic system like the state.
• Childhood is not a time for sorting but a time for opening up to the world.

You are trying to impose ideological foundations simply by starting earlier. This is a manipulation of a scale that deeply saddens me.

One can carry great ideas without having the stature to embody them. One can want to do good but do it poorly. And when one leads a ministry, one does not have the right to amateurism. No more than a psychologist, coach, or educator has the right to project their shortcomings onto the children they support.

Parents already had the arduous task of transmission; now they will also have the heavy burden of deconstructing the influence of your works. Thank you for our mental load.

Their ability to see or mention what sometimes escapes everyone else is often mistakenly perceived as a way to show off, a nuisance, or even an implicit criticism. In reality, this attention to detail is an asset, a form of intellectual rigor that, if understood correctly, could transform the professional or social environment.

Several reasons for this misperception stem from a combination of ignorance, the superficiality of modern society, and a lack of understanding of this different mode of functioning and its relationship with conventions, implicit norms, and expectations.

HPI/THPI individuals are not nitpicking; they simply see details others miss. Their brains operate at a rhythm and depth that allow them to perceive nuances, inconsistencies, and connections that others do not notice. However, this talent is often mistaken for an obsession with control or a need to correct everything. It is neither perfectionism nor criticism; it is the lucidity of optimization. Instead of valuing this meticulous analysis, it is often seen as a flaw.

Society often values efficiency, speed, and the production of visible results. HPI/THPI individuals, with their tendency to focus on details and question processes, can be perceived as "slow" or "overly critical," which runs counter to the norm of immediate performance. Their questions and observations can unsettle those who prefer ease and acceptance without questioning. The era favors quick efficiency and solutions that "get the job done." In this context, someone who questions a detail or challenges a process is seen as slowing down the group. They become the "complicated" one, the one who "blocks" progress. Yet, the HPI individual does not slow things down; they ensure reliability.

When an HPI/THPI individual highlights a detail that others have not noticed, it can be perceived as questioning others' methods or work. This can be misinterpreted as unconstructive criticism rather than a contribution to improvement. Additionally, their deep reflection on details can be seen as unnecessary or out of place by those who do not feel the need to delve so deeply into analysis. In a group, pointing out a flaw that no one else saw can be taken as a personal affront. The HPI individual then becomes the one who "looks for minor errors," the one feared in meetings for potentially disrupting consensus. What others sometimes perceive as a reproach is often just a neutral observation.

The invisibility of the mental process: What escapes direct observation is that this attention to detail is not just a simple reflex. For an HPI/THPI individual, this ability is linked to a deeper way of engaging with the world, reflecting on it, and adapting to it. However, this reflection is invisible to those who do not share this vision. They only see the impact of the raised detail, without understanding the intention behind it.

HPI/THPI individuals are often labeled as "difficult" or "too nitpicky" when they highlight what others consider trivialities. This perception arises because they often take the time to delve into aspects that others deem negligible, which is seen as an obstacle in environments that favor simple and quick solutions. What seems like a detail to others is often an entry point into a broader reflection or a chain of mental interconnections. But because this path is invisible, only the final remark is heard... without its context.

The label of "too much": too nitpicky, too intense, too annoying

The issue is that this way of functioning often clashes with implicit expectations: keep it simple, act fast, don't complicate, agree, aim for immediate efficiency. The result: HPI individuals are seen as too much. Too attentive, too demanding, too involved, too thoughtful, looking too far ahead. And in a world that prefers smoothness, "too much" is often dismissed rather than valued.

You are bombarded with "golden nugget" posts and comments all day long.

So much so that, listening to you, there would be enough to feed the planet with all this gold.

I'm sick of it; I can't wait for the next language trend.

When it's not that, what's touted as the ultimate is authenticity.

Only a few know how to navigate and be authentic despite the conceptualized herd mentality.

However, the authenticity of connections remains invisible.

I can't succeed in finding it amidst life lessons in three lines and "hacks" of all kinds.

Inspirational phrases that keep repeating.

DMs, posts, comments, groups, discovery calls, live sessions, masterclasses, conferences, and yet, in this whirlwind of links, in this displayed quest for connection, the real connection does not exist; it remains fictional.

Superficiality seems to be shaped by reality through everyone's actions.

Is it a prompt, an intention with an approximate yet effective result?

The more we are sold ready-made thoughts, the less we truly think.

The more we are told to feel, the less we question what we truly feel.

The thing is, nuanced truth often doesn't fit into 1200 characters.

It doesn't always express itself in short sentences or pompous words, as if writing for a 12-year-old, no offense to some. And here, that's exactly what I'm doing, a constraint I'm imposing on myself today.

Because at the sight of a wall of text, how many will swipe, even if it's written with simple words?

Do the preachers of "good" content know that it's possible to describe very complex concepts with simple words, and that this doesn't necessarily ensure understanding?

Would that mean we need simple concepts and simple words in simple sentences? Yikes!

The power and grip of entertainment on minds astounds me. Is everyone's daily activity such that you absolutely must entertain yourself this much? Maybe you're lacking a bit of enjoyment in your work then...

Should we fight it or adapt? Should we write with roses in our voice and humorous turns of phrase to be heard by those who don't want to think?

I am one of those who are wary of this routine spectacle.

After transforming customer service and content creation, artificial intelligence is making its way into coaching. A new lucrative market, promises of algorithmic fulfillment...

Top-notch and affordable, really?

Today, in 2025, AI has significantly advanced, but are the latest studies still valid?

Entrepreneurs want their specific AI to guide you towards your "fulfillment," with stats, numbers, and everything that could objectify your progress and appeal to you. You know the brain loves numbers ;)

So here are some numbers...

The coaching industry was estimated to be worth $2.85 billion globally in 2022, with an annual growth rate of 5.4% until 2030 (Grand View Research, 2023). The International Coaching Federation counted over 71,000 professional coaches in 2020, a number that continues to rise.

Behind this growth, criticisms persist: lack of standardization, heterogeneous practices, and effects that are sometimes difficult to evaluate (Grant, 2019).

AI is stepping in to promise objectivity, scalability, and accessibility.

Platforms like BetterUp, Torch, and CoachHub now integrate AI into their processes: data analysis, personalized recommendations, and automated tracking. According to Alexi Robichaux, CEO of BetterUp, AI could "democratize access to coaching by making it more affordable," especially for those who are not senior executives (Forbes, 2021).

Scaling is good, but a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (Grant & O’Connor, 2018) shows that digital coaching often improves goal clarity and motivation. However, these effects remain far below those observed in one-on-one coaching.

David Peterson, Google's director of coaching, reminds us: "Algorithms can structure thinking, but they cannot replace emotional intelligence" (Peterson, 2020).

And I think that's the key element to remember.

A meta-analysis (Consulting Psychology Journal, Jones et al., 2016) confirms that the quality of the human relationship is the most determining factor in coaching effectiveness.

Timothy Butler (Harvard Business School) speaks of "surface personalization": AI struggles to grasp motivations, values, and relational dynamics (Butler, 2019).

A Stanford study (Hancock et al., 2020) shows that the novelty effect wears off quickly: after a few weeks, users find the advice generic.

Behind the beautiful interfaces lie heavy issues. A MIT Technology Review survey (2022) showed that 28 out of 32 coaching and wellness apps shared personal data with third parties, often for commercial purposes, without sufficient transparency. Users deposit their ambitions, doubts, and vulnerabilities there. The GDPR in Europe and the CCPA in California struggle to regulate such a rapidly evolving market.

Is a hybrid approach the best way?

Tatiana Bachkirova (Oxford Brookes University) reminds us that AI can excel in analysis and structuring, but the human coach brings empathy, intuition, and contextual understanding (Bachkirova, 2020). Not to mention experience and psychology...

Neuroscience confirms it: social connections activate brain areas related to motivation and lasting change, much more than interactions with AI (Lieberman & Eisenberger, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2019).

Today, some of these studies deserve to be revisited because AI models are more powerful, even though intuition, context, and insight, among others, are qualities it does not possess.

AI in coaching is neither a revolution nor a threat.

It is a tool whose true potential lies in intelligent hybridization. One that uses machines for what they do best—structuring and ensuring follow-up—and leaves humans to do what machines can never do: feel, understand, and adjust.

In my opinion, this type of offering cannot satisfy the most demanding.

Parents want to do well when it comes to their children's schoolwork, but their daily management often has the opposite effect.

Mothers are often more involved in their children's schooling, attending parent-teacher meetings and participating in WhatsApp groups. Statistics mention 70%, but that's beside the point.

The issue is about dynamics and effects.

What do I do daily, and could it cause problems later?

At home and behind the scenes, this ultimately translates into widespread micromanagement.

Regularly checking Pronote, ensuring homework is done properly.

And simultaneously, when your dear child doesn't have the worksheet, hasn't noted something down, or doesn't remember which page to study, you rush to the WhatsApp group for help.

This leads to supervising and managing homework, organization, and scheduling to ensure your child does everything on time and has properly reviewed the history lesson for Friday's test.

You smooth things over. You act as a buffer, an adjustment zone.

The problem? You're preventing them from taking responsibility, owning their mistakes, and facing the consequences.

And this is far from trivial. It reassures them that you'll always be there to fix their mistakes.

This is very detrimental to their development and studies on several levels:

• Limited Development of Autonomy: Parental micromanagement prevents teenagers from developing their own organizational skills and personal responsibility.

• Excessive Dependence: Teenagers get used to relying on their parents to solve problems and manage obligations, creating an unhealthy dependence.

• Lack of Resilience to Failure: By "smoothing things over" and avoiding the natural consequences of forgetfulness, teenagers don't learn to face difficulties and bounce back from failure.

• Anxiety and Pressure: Constant surveillance can generate stress and anxiety in teenagers, who feel constantly watched and judged.

• Future Adaptation Difficulties: This model creates significant gaps in the adaptive skills needed for higher education or professional life.

• Conflict and Resistance: This approach can cause significant family tensions, as teenagers may perceive this control as a lack of trust.

So, how can you gradually move away from this counterproductive control?

Here are the 3 pillars to reestablish an educational environment:

1. Gradual Transfer of Responsibility: Clearly define everyone's responsibilities, accept mistakes and failures to help them self-evaluate, and assist without controlling or doing it for them.

2. Constructive and Non-Intrusive Communication: Listen, question, support, help when necessary, and express confidence.

3. Balance Between Natural Consequences and Support: Let them face the consequences of their forgetfulness or mistakes, and offer realistic emotional support by helping them identify lessons from difficulties, while celebrating their autonomy.

This balanced approach fosters independence while maintaining appropriate parental support, better preparing teenagers for the responsibilities of adulthood.

The sun was blazing down hard that afternoon in Daisy Town, where I had decided to stay for a while. The empty streets were still kicking up clouds of dust. It was as annoying as ever! I was standing there, right where I had been last time, rubbing my eye while waiting for him to come out of the saloon. I really need to change spots 🙄

Since our conversation, Luke had delegated a lot of work and evolved his concept with a few promising young cowboys by launching his mentorship program for "cowboypreneurs." His newsletter was on point, and the business was doing well.

Finally, he walks out with a straight posture and a smile on his face. Next to him, a scrawny dog that didn’t look too fresh.

— Hey, Phil! Luke says to me. Remember when you helped me get out of my slump and scale my biz?

I nod, confidently.

— Well, you really need to help me with this one, he says, showing me the mutt.

— Wait, I’m not a dog trainer!

Still, I try to get more info to look concerned: what's the problem, exactly?

— You’re a pro, man. I’ll be back tonight. He just needs to feel useful, I think!

At that moment, I seriously thought about diving straight into his "why," they told me it’s a real 4x4 of a mess.

But trying to find a "deep why" with Rantanplan, even if it’s just to end up training the prisoners, is as pointless as those influencer thieves telling us about the importance of KPIs, and their like-happy followers who keep dropping “this is gold!” all over the place. So, I spent the rest of the afternoon getting really bored, and Rantanplan? He couldn’t care less about "golden nuggets," trust me...

Later, he comes back all cheerful, but I had to admit...

— Luke, I’m going to have to pass. A coach knows his limits. I can’t help you with this... particular case. It would be dishonest to make you believe otherwise just to pocket your cash.

Luke frowns, clearly disappointed.

— You know, sometimes the best service is turning away a client you can’t help. It's better to be honest than to sell a dream. Maybe your dog just needs you to accept the limit?

A smile returns to Luke’s face:

— You know what? You're right. I was trying to force him into a box that’s not his.

Did it end well? Of course, it did!

Rantanplan became the official mascot of Luke’s business. -- He’s useless, and no one expects more from him.

Luke incorporated Rantanplan into his personal branding strategy: “Even the most hopeless cases have a place in the ecosystem,” he now says at his conferences.

And me? I got headbutted by Jolly Jumper, who thought I was giving too much importance to the mutt in the company hierarchy.

--------------------- THE END. -----------------------------

PS: No, I don’t sell coaching or therapy for pets.

PS2: Rantanplan did not give consent for this story, but I already know no one’s going to check.

PS3: I don't care that it should’ve been posted yesterday for April 1st!

PS4: Doesn’t this clash with a clear editorial line? Good thing I don’t have one. Too boring.

PS5: Alright, I’m out of Daisy Town. I’m tired of the dust flying around.

PS6: (Ah crap, it's not released yet...)