My memory improved during my month-long vacation. It was too noticeable to ignore. Although my pre-vacation memory hadn’t been bad, I had noticed a change in how much I recall after I’d read something.
The Pantheon, Rome
Yet on my journey to Italy, I found myself reading, then conveying information to my husband at later times with complete recall. I quickly picked up the language, a skill I hadn’t exposed myself to since college.
I was happily shocked.
Mercato, Florence Italy
But why? I decided it wasn’t simply because I was on vacation, without my to-do list and everyday concerns.
I believe my brain reacted to rekindling old passions (art history and history in general), and the particular positive emotions that re-connected created – awe, interest, joy, inspiration. I think my brain reacted by expanding itself, rediscovering some cognitive capacity, as Barbara Fredrickson might call it in her “broaden and build” positivity research results.
What does this experience have to with becoming and staying a resilient writer?
Pompeii
The experience reminded me of how many comments on The Irrepressible Writer have spoken about the importance of taking a break from writing when the work, or the emotions, aren’t going well.
But as I review those, and private, comments to me, they split between activities that truly stimulate the brain to think differently or more, and experiences that relax, comfort, or distract us.
Both may be necessary. But I’ll suggest that if you’re missing the stimulating, joyful, awe-inspiring, interest-bearing experience, you may be missing the opportunity to “broaden” your brain and build your resilience through the experiences of positivity.
What I learned for myself is that history, art history, and language learning are good for my brain.
And what’s good for my brain is good for my writing, and my writing resilience.
Fireworks for St. Anne's/Vesuvius
What about you?
For me it’s… oh, I forget.
No, wait! Pursuing passions always reinvigorates me. That can be on small and large scales, actually. Even spending an hour doing something I love but never make time for can really help me deal with all sorts of other stuff more effectively. I’d also note, though, that the release of “having” to deal with day to day life is invigorating, too. Both experiences get me more mind-space. I bet the combination would be dazzling for me, too.
Welcome home!
Haha! Thanks, Greg…I love that idea of “dazzling”…Yep, what a great feeling that would be for everyday life!
Carol, it looks like you had a wonderful trip in more ways than one. I also find that doing creative things that feed me other than writing definitely broadens my mind whether it is working with kids or wilderness travel or gardening. Welcome back!
Thanks, Paul! It was quite an adventure!