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by Douglas Eby "When
negative self-talk robs us
of our enthusiasm for our dreams,
we're suffering from the classic creative block... Self-criticism can
seriously injure potential talent that wants to be expressed." These
quotes from the book "Putting Your Talent to Work..." by Lucia
Capacchione and Peggy Van Pelt emphasize the damaging impact of
some "inner dialogues" we may have with ourselves. The authors note "Many
of us perpetuate negative self-talk
about talents
that we don't accept."
One of their examples of someone suffering from
this kind of self-defeating thinking is Joanna - who wanted to start a
new creative venture, a dress shop, but reported, "Every time I start
actually
working on the business plan or anything concrete that might take me
closer
to my goal, I hear this voice in my head... It nags and predicts doom
until
I get a splitting headache." In her book on "recovering your creative self" - "The Artist's
Way" -
Julia Cameron writes about "core negative beliefs" and notes that a
cliche
such as "artists are promiscuous" can have destructive variations for a
woman thinking of pursuing life as an artist: "No man will ever love
you
if you are an artist. Artists are either celibate or gay." The point Cameron is making is that such beliefs, regardless
of fact,
can profoundly stifle creative expression and the life choices that
enable
creativity. The authors of "Putting Your Talent to Work..." assure that
"Fortunately,
talent waits patiently behind our fear and self-doubt." They describe in the book a powerful cognitive therapy kind of
exercise
that helped Joanna. Cognitive therapy can be as effective as drugs in
treating
depression and anxiety, and works by helping make conscious typically
hidden
automatic thinking, beliefs and self-talk. When Joanna agreed try an exercise -- to speak out loud the
comments
she kept "hearing" from her nagging inner critic -- she realized, among
other things, that this voice was essentially that of her condemning
mother.
After getting more aware of this critical inner voice through
counseling,
plus journal-writing, Joanna was able to establish a successful
business
that engaged her creative talents. A brief further note on therapy and creativity: There are many
flavors
of therapy and counseling, and my "job" here is not to recommend or
discount
any. But I've experienced benefits from therapy myself, and I think of
it as a potentially valuable tool for better realizing
creativity. A number of creatively talented women have made comments about
therapy.
Michelle Pfeiffer has commented: "I used to call therapy my part-time
job."
Claire Danes said, "My therapist gives me permission to accept that I'm
human" and Heather Graham (in an interview we did about one of her
films)
said, "Acting is telling a story, and you're part of telling that
story...
in some ways therapy helps more than acting class. You realize why you
operate in certain ways." Uncovering limiting kinds of beliefs and ways of thinking can
do much
to release creativity. And there are many techniques to help that
uncovering:
formal therapy; journal writing; even just thinking carefully about
your
reactions to a novel or film. Peggy Van Pelt (a talent development specialist at Walt Disney
Imagineering)
suggested in a Fast Company magazine article that it helps to "name
your
talent. Articulating your creative gifts not only boosts self-esteem
but
also helps you explain your talent to other people." ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ books: Julia Cameron. The
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity Lucia Capacchione, PhD and Peggy Van Pelt,
PhD. Putting
Your Talent to Work: Identifying,
Cultivating and Marketing Your
Natural Talents ~ ~ ~ |
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messages about
realizing your talents