Talking about the topic of her movie “Marie Antoinette,” director Sofia Coppola once commented, “You’re considered superficial and silly if you are interested in fashion, but I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity.” One way many talented people can be self-critical is to judge their wide-ranging serial interests as superficial [...]
Psychology Degrees: What’s Available? By Brian Jenkins Psychology is a very broad field with many possible areas of specialization. Those looking to enter the field have a number options. However, regardless of the area in which one wishes to specialize, most positions require at least a Master’s degree. One choice when deciding on Master’s degree [...]
.. eeing a TV bio of Taylor Swift a while ago, I was very struck by her self-assurance and belief in her abilities from an early age, and her assertiveness to realize her exceptional musical talents. In her recent performance on the CMA Awards (the 44th annual Country Music Association Awards), she impressed me even [...]
“It’s hard to focus. It’s hard to have a conversation without checking the iPhone. It’s hard to go to a shrink and spend a few minutes on the couch and not need to see what’s happening…. It’s even hard to finish a thought.” That is a quote from the article A creative retreat in the [...]
Controlling, or attempting to control, how creative content and other forms of information get distributed can be seen as social or copyright protection – or censorship, depending on your viewpoint. A current example is the “Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act” (COICA), which, according to an Electronic Frontier Foundation article, would “create two Internet blacklists. [...]
By guest author Brandon Brophy In the light of President Obama’s historic election win, we can find a vital tale that ought to be sewn into the hem of every singer’s story – the archetypal tale of the hero. For John McCain, Obama’s opponent, had everything that should have easily made him a president. He [...]
The apparently whimsical and unpredictable nature of my own creativity often has me wondering just how to stimulate my productivity. Is it possible to set up situations that optimize creativity, rather than relying on inspiration alone? In her Guest Post on ProBlogger, Livia Blackburne, from A Brain Scientist’s Take on Writing, writes about “How to [...]
By guest author Alexis Bonari The entity of creativity and the ways in which it is successfully brought to fruition have been studied extensively over a significant time period. Even prior to the twentieth century, researchers were fascinated by the psychology of creativity and its manifestation in different individuals. While much has been learned on [...]
The internal vision I have of my novel seems so superior to what I’ve actually written that I’m often paralyzed into inaction. I took about a year off from working on it – that sounds so much better than saying I just couldn’t face it. Now I’m back in the fray and struggling with the [...]
Beethoven reportedly drank wine about as often as he wrote music, and was an alcoholic or at least a problem-drinker. At least five U.S. writers who won the Nobel Prize for Literature have been considered alcoholics. Scientist Carl Sagan was reportedly a regular user of marijuana until his death in 1996. Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize [...]
Janet Attwood: In our society, people have been taught that you can’t make a living and do what you love to do at the same time. People are waking up to the realization that – to the extent you are living your passion you’re happy and successful. I’m talking about being happy and successful in [...]
Creative expression can transform pain, and provide strength and understanding to change our inner and outer realities. Some think art needs to have a major impact to be worthwhile. Franz Kafka wrote, “I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us… that affect us like a disaster… A [...]
When I was a kid I was constantly criticized for daydreaming by my teachers and parents. Once, in kindergarten, I ‘came-to’ and found the entire playground empty – except for me, still singing and swinging, oblivious to the loud end-of-recess bell. My imagination has always been my greatest asset…and my bête noire. In his post [...]
When I was a child I was always trying to act as grown up as possible. I stifled a lot of my exuberance and creativity to fit in with my family and friends, and to be a good student. My parents’ friends called me ‘Little Old Cathy.’ Is all that innate playfulness and creativity lost [...]
In his article Practice Being Like a Child, Jim Rohn advised: “Learn to be curious like a child… A child’s curiosity is what helps them to reach, learn and grow.” Adora Svitak, 12, points out that children have much to offer, and boldly questions the dismissive label “childish,” citing examples of other non-adults who are [...]
In my interview with Stephen A. Diamond, Ph.D. – titled The Psychology of Creativity: redeeming our inner demons – he commented that our impulse to be creative “can be understood to some degree as the subjective struggle to give form, structure and constructive expression to inner and outer chaos and conflict.” Painter Amadea Bailey refers [...]
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Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
