A fate worse than death Speaking in front of an audience is reportedly more fearsome than death. It doesn’t have to be a crowd – simply another person. But an audience of any size can be helpful in encouraging our creative expression and personal development – more so if we can be relaxed and authentic. [...]
The latest form of bibliotherapy Being mindfully aware of our reactions to movies can be a potent way to explore our inner life, and enhance our mental health and personal development. A Psychology Today article, Reel Therapy by John W. Hesley, notes, “Although people might be surprised when a therapist recommends a movie, using fiction [...]
R. Keith Sawyer, PhD is a leading expert on creativity. His books include Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation, and his research includes business innovation, organizational dynamics in work teams, children’s play, artistic and scientific creativity. In a Time magazine article, he addressed some myths and other aspects: Q. So how can the average [...]
Diane Dreher, author of Your Personal Renaissance: 12 Steps to Finding Your Life’s True Calling, writes about the process: “Seeking your calling is a process of discovery that continues throughout your life, informed by your questions, your conflicts, and your deepest dreams. “It is the journey known by many names, from Homer’s Odyssey to the [...]
Greed – one of the seven deadly sins? “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” Examples of memes include “learned thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods. Memes propagate themselves and can move through a culture like a virus.” [Wikipedia] In Wall Street (1987), stockbroker Gordon Gekko (played so masterfully by [...]
Personal growth, personal development, self-improvement – these are topics that many of us explore. Maybe most of us. But can we be overdoing it sometimes? [From my earlier post Can we do self-improvement too much?] Robert Anthony, author of Rich Mind Life Strategy program, has some provocative ideas on the subject, and writes: So how [...]
Gifted and disobedient One of the qualities of many high ability people is divergent thinking (see Giftedness characteristics.) But that also can mean divergent values and behavior. Einstein was expelled from school (in 1894) for “undermining the authority of his teachers and being a disruptive influence.” [From post: Does school encourage or limit high ability [...]
Two of the themes of positive psychology that make the field relevant are resilience and thriving: how some people not only endure but transcend even devastating hardships to find new strengths and continue to realize their talents. In his article An Ode to Thriving, Paul Pearsall, PhD writes: In 1801, at age 31, Ludwig van [...]
Excerpts from the book Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story, by Christina Baldwin: Story — the abundance of it, and the lack of it — shapes us. Story — the abundance of it, and the lack of it — gives us place, lineage, history, a sense of self. [...]
From his book Toward a Psychology of Being : Furthermore, all these basic needs may be considered to be simply steps along the path to general self-actualization… By taking these data into account, we can solve many value problems that philosophers have struggled with ineffectually for centuries. For one thing, it looks as if there [...]
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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.
