> Also see Self concept / self esteem articles
[Also see Embracing Our Creative Abilities and Inspirations as Gifts - Part 1] This idea of viewing our talents as gifts reminds me of the book “Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon,” by Willem Kuipers. In a section of the book titled “Is it a Gift to be Uncommon?” he writes, “Giftedness refers literally to [...]
In an interview, Keira Knightley declared she was never interested in playing “girl” roles. “This is a ridiculous thing to say,” she admits, “but I never liked being a teenager. I never felt comfortable being in a group of giggly girls. I always felt embarrassed and frightened by it. “I couldn’t quite handle the high [...]
“At twenty-five, I was a television literary agent.. I had an office with a view, an assistant, an expense account, power lunches, clients, and business cards… From the outside, my life looked great… There was just one problem: I was absolutely miserable.” Christine Hassler The big questions of vocation, identity, relationships, how we use our [...]
Playing most of his screen characters, Will Smith exudes assurance and confidence, but he admits, “I still doubt myself every single day. What people believe is my self-confidence is actually my reaction to fear.” [From my post Gifted and talented but with insecurity and low self esteem, and a longer quote in the post The [...]
“I can be very hard on myself. I convince myself that I’m fooling people. Or, I convince myself that people like the book for the wrong reasons.” Jonathan Safran Foer – about his novel Everything Is Illuminated, which made The New York Times best-seller list. He also commented, “The writing itself is no big deal. [...]
Entrepreneur Jonathan Budd thinks “Self Worth is an Inheritance. It is something that was given to you at your birth. “Most people have self worth completely wrong. Our environment tells us that our self worth is wrapped up in money… this is not true. “We were born with self worth, and it’s time we all [...]
Who we think we are – or are not – so often impacts what we consider possible for us and what we actually do with our talents and creative passions. Director Jane Campion earlier in her life commented, “I never have had the confidence to approach filmmaking straight on. I just thought it was something [...]
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 [...]
“I realized that acting smart or talented in school made me sound like a geek or nerd. So I remodeled myself as an airhead.” Yoky Matsuoka – robotics pioneer, prosthetics visionary, and a leading researcher in neurobotics. [From post The airhead mask and self-limiting – dealing with self sabotage.] Are geeks getting more ‘respectable’ or [...]
One of the keys to developing our talents is believing in our abilities and competence. Chris and Janet Attwood of The Passion Test point out “there are only three things that prevent anyone from living their passions: false beliefs, false concepts and false ideas.” “In coaching thousands of people on The Passion Test, the one [...]
My very well-meaning parents were far from Mommie Dearest. Nevertheless, they were raised to believe, for instance, that babies shouldn’t be picked up when they cried because comforting them would ‘spoil’ them. They were very sparing in their compliments, fearing we’d get swelled heads. We kids survived, but thriving has been a challenge for me, [...]
Charlie Rose introduced Tilda Swinton, an interview guest on his show: “With her magnetic, ethereal charisma and striking androgynous looks, she has perhaps become most famous for her screen interpretations of cold and enigmatic characters. “Her performances are subtle, varied, and unique.” Yet, she admitted, “I certainly never set out to be an actor, and [...]
In her article, How To Stop Being So Hard On Yourself, excerpted below, expert on highly sensitive living Jenna Avery explains why sensitive people are so self-critical, and how we can stop: Every time I work with a fellow sensitive soul, it seems like we always bump into some kind of fear or limiting belief [...]
Years ago, I interviewed a producer who was certain she was not creative, even though she was helping solve many problems associated with making movies. Maybe one reason people think they are not creative is that we are given so many examples in school and the media of eminent, big name artists and creators who [...]
“You’ll never finish your novel.” “You’ve wasted your life.” “You’re too complicated. Who would ever want to be with you?” Sometimes my inner critical voice is so clear I can argue with it. Most of the time, the negativity I wreak upon myself is unconscious and harder to fight. Lisa Firestone and Eric Maisel provide [...]
Shyness and introversion may seem to be the same in some ways, at least on the surface. They can overlap, and we may have both traits – but they are not the same thing. And they are not the same as the trait of high sensitivity. But being shy can be more intense if we [...]
Google+
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.
