You’re a writer – committed, consistent, hard-working. But when you hit a bump – a rejection comes; writer’s block stares you down; your critique group offers too many suggestions and you feel overwhelmed; you get a bad review; miss an opportunity or face seemingly endless periods of waiting, waiting and more waiting – you begin to hear whispers (or shouts) of negative self-talk. Your mood plummets. Your work pays the price.
Yet you have a writer friend or colleague who experiences the very same events and says to herself, “Well, these things happen. This is a bump in the road. I’ve got the skill, commitment and ability to persist.”
And she really means it! She may feel sad, but she bounces back quickly, while you are still struggling to get back to work.
That’s because optimists and pessimists talk to themselves in very different ways, and the brain reacts accordingly, controlling mood and subsequent action. Martin Seligman (Learned Optimism, Free Press 1998) introduced these concepts in the early 90s in response to the epidemic of depression in young people, and the research (Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D., Positivity, Crown 2009) continues to prove positivity “broadens and builds.”
What does that mean? That heartfelt positive thinking – which even the hard-wired pessimist can learn – causes the brain to become more open, creative, productive, and receptive, and to discover new skills, connections, knowledge and ways of ‘being’.
How does that knowledge help your writing and your writing life? What writer wouldn’t want to make use of that research, information and practice that proves heartfelt positive emotion has a direct link to increase in problem-solving and creativity, including a broader verbal repertoire?
I was natural-born pessimist but for the past two decades, have considered myself a hard-working, practicing optimist, a writer and a clinical social worker who sees and experiences the value of this work every day of my life.
Sharing the information and teaching the skills of positivity to writers is a passion and a mission. We all have to face negativity in our lives, but I love helping other writers use the time they have in the most productive ways they’re able, without feeling dragged down because of unnecessary and irrational negativity.
I’m excited to be in a position to help you accomplish that, with information, discussion, Q & A, your own stories and struggles, and resources.
The Irrepressible Writer will be a writer’s place for learning, practicing, struggling with becoming more resilient. And since, as a writer, you’re no stranger to hard work, the hard work it will take to create and maintain resilience will be well worth the effort. I look forward to your concerns, questions and ideas that will form the cornerstones of many of my discussions, and I’ll be on the lookout for new and important resources for all of us.
At The Irrepressible Writer, I’ll help you harness your time, energy, and intellectual and emotional resources for the benefit of your writing life.
Welcome!
Hi Carol,
congratulations on the blog and on creating a truly unique niche for yourself – I’m fascinated to see what you come up with! I hope there are some “exercises” sprinkled in so we can get our metaphorical hands dirty with practicing optimism!
And I’m delighted you’re part of the comment challenge – see, it’s already working. I’m here, and commenting!
Namaste, and happy commenting,
Lee
Thanks, Lee -
…and yes, the blog does, and will include more, “exercises” that take readers step-by-step through the learning process for changing pessimistic outlook to optimistic, and negativity to heartfelt positivity, all with the goal of being more energized, productive, creative and resilient writers. A great place to start – and the building block of Martin Seligman’s “Learned Optimism” is right here: http://theirrepressiblewriter.com/2009/11/09/how-to-dispute-pessimistic-thinking/