“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 [...]
Do you hold yourself back in order to get along, make others feel good, or for other reasons? Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, Psy.D. – author of The Gifted Adult – notes, “There are millions of unidentified individuals of high potential lost within the fabric of a society that seems to have issued an edict against knowing oneself, [...]
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. [...]
One of my constant internal dialogs revolves around whether or not I’m being authentic. Am I compromising myself? Trying too hard to avoid conflict by keeping silent? Is my desire to have other people feel understood an authentic part of me or counterproductive? And just because a trait is authentic, should I nurture it? Personal [...]
Filmmaker Harrod Blank grew up in the isolated Santa Cruz mountains of California, without a TV and with only roosters and chickens for friends. At 16, driven by a desire to communicate who he is with others, he began decorating cars, beginning with his bland, white Volkswagen. The resulting car,”Oh My God,” introduced him to [...]
In her new e-book “Boost Your Creativity, Productivity, and Profits in 21 Steps,” Gail McMeekin provides ways to “get a handle on your business/career and leverage your creative inspirations and best talents to catapult you to the next level of your potential.” She notes at the beginning of the book how often we keep ourselves [...]
self acceptance, self knowledge, personal development, Robert Anthony on authenticity Two of the key elements in personal growth writings and programs are self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Personal development seems to depend on knowing who we really are. But what does that mean, and what “practical” value is there? People visited the Oracle of Delphi in ancient [...]
“Don’t compromise yourself. You’re all you’ve got.” Janis Joplin One form of compromise is learned helplessness – an emotional and behavioral response in which a human being (or other animal) has learned to “give up” or act as if they are helpless, and loses motivation to act in their own best interest in a situation, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
