Do You Doodle?

by Dawn Brushammar

Are there small flowers all over your notebook after a boring lecture or meeting? Are the soles of your shoes covered in geometric shapes? Does a phonecall often mean scribbles on any scrap of paper within your reach?

If so, then analyzing those small penstrokes may just let tell you something about yourself and your state of mind. Those little pictures are supposedly a window into your subconscious. Take me, for example. I am an incessant doodler. I tend to draw three different types of doodles. I usually start out with small daisy-like flowers that interlock. Sometimes I'll add some geometric shapes or 3-D cubes. And if I am doodling for a while, some cartoony faces and a monkey may appear. You'll rarely find any page I have put a pen to that does not contain arrows.

According to people who analyze doodles, each of these motifs has a meaning. Geometrical shapes, like my boxes and cubes, are a sign of an organized person. Someone who is good at planning. Faces, on the other hand, mean a love of people. Since mine usually have open mouths, they are a sign of my talkative nature. Flowers are a sign of friendliness and socialness. The arrows? They mean I have a lot of ambition. The monkeys were a little harder to find, but animals in general represent someone who likes to defend others. I can't say I disagree with any of this, but I also can't say that I am a true believer in any such analyses. If you really get into this stuff, you can even start looking at the position of your doodles on the paper and the pressure applied while doodling, among other things.

I often wonder if doodling will become a lost art now that we do so much of our reading and writing on computers. Speaking of computers, I looked at a lot of information about doodling and its significance on the Internet, but one website really stands out as a great starting point for analyzing your own scribbles. Check out Anna Koren Graphology Center for the meaning of any doodle!