The word “optimism” appears liberally in the tour literature when describing the Renaissance in Florence, Italy.
So the connection between optimism and creativity is not information only provided by modern neuropsychology research. Whatever inborn genius existed, the belief in human capacity created an environment in which genius could practice and flourish.
The connection between this and the [...]
Journey: a noun and a verb. A process and an activity.
There are plenty of events in the world that cause heartfelt, even essential, sadnesses. Events of the cycle of life. Events of the world. We would not be fully human if we thought or acted as if these negative emotions were bad or inappropriate.
But the [...]
I’ve had more than one email that conveys to me the pain inherent in the writing life. And the question the emails ask is always the same: when should I quit?
If you’re a writer who’s faced self-doubt, failure, rejection, and despair you may know how difficult it becomes to maintain hope. Hope that someday someone [...]
If you’re going through a difficult time with your writing or your life, you may find that positive emotions of joy, interest, and inspiration are available in the restorative experience of re-reading a favorite book.
For most of us, positivity does not come naturally, and even if it does, it takes hard work to hold on to it.
Why? Because for most of us, creating and maintaining positive thoughts and emotions requires thinking. And when our brains are cluttered with worries, self-doubt, internal and external expectations, and more, it’s hard to [...]
If you want to stay in an upward spiral of positive emotion, or need to nip a negative spiral in the bud, it’s helpful to think of yourself as a hunter-gatherer, searching for and collecting events, experiences and mementos of positivity that you can pull out and use as you need them. It will create [...]
When you welcome or tolerate them as natural responses, negative feelings pass. That’s the good news.
The bad news? Positive feelings pass, too! And since positive emotions are “lighter” than negative, Dr. Barbara Fredrickson’s research has shown, so far, that a 3:1 ratio of positive emotions to negative emotions is helpful in maintaining an Upward Spiral.
Which [...]
I was honored to guest post this week at Meredith Resnick’s Writers’ Inner Journey. If you mosey on over to check out the post on “Letting In The Light: Overcoming Negative Self-Talk”, I encourage you to dive into the site’s wonderful explorations of creativity. Meredith’s interviews are concise and perceptive, probing authors’ and writing professionals’ [...]
The most frequent way I decrease negativity that’s beginning to feel inappropriate or unproductive is by disputing negative thoughts, because most often, they are incorrect. Of course, it’s always important to remember that negative emotions are perfectly appropriate for many situations; it’s when they feel inappropriate, prolonged and damaging to your energy, productivity and creativity [...]
Hey, I’ve been getting some private email questions about “positivity” and one of the crucial tools for changing negative thinking to positive – learning to dispute negative thinking. “Do you think people should be happy all the time?” is the gist of many of the questions (which I have permission to post).
Here’s a little quiz [...]
