One of my favorite blogs to read in my down time is LifeHack.org. I can't tell you how many story ideas I get come from bloggers. Questions like: "Why is this person writing this right now?" and "Why is this resonating with me right now?" can lead in some really productive directions.
In any case they posted an article on 4 Reasons Positive Thinking Doesn't Work (and What to do Instead). In a related factoid, (I can't remember where I read it but) there was a study done recently which basically confirmed this premise. If you spend time imagining what you most desire, you will be less compelled to experience it in reality. The research suggested that the fantasy is as good as reality in these cases.
But when reality finally rams its ugly phallus through your ears making you face the realization that the day dream is no longer attainable, you end up with shit like this:
In real life you have to work hard to attain any kind of success. And now that only 1 our of every 2 graduates are getting decent jobs out of college it no longer just applies to the arts. The really remarkable thing is that the harder you work for it the sweeter the success feels at the end.
Now, I like working hard -- I like picking my writing apart, figuring out why it sucks and moving forward. I tend to be my harshest self critic. A person with a "It'll turn out all right in the end" or "rainbows, unicorn farts, and prayer will fix it" kind of attitudes really piss me off.
"No you don't understand -- I have a draft due to that prospective manager or agent in a week and I need to get it done." Is not a defeatist statement and it can't be fixed with positive / wishful thinking. My first reaction to this is, "how dare you trivialize the mountain of work I have to do."
(SIGH) -- The loved ones mean well.
And they do.
When you (and by you I'm really writing to myself here) spend too much time in critical mode, it can lead to a downward spiral of negativity through every aspect of your life. There must always be a balance. The positivity comes in the form of perspective.
In any case they posted an article on 4 Reasons Positive Thinking Doesn't Work (and What to do Instead). In a related factoid, (I can't remember where I read it but) there was a study done recently which basically confirmed this premise. If you spend time imagining what you most desire, you will be less compelled to experience it in reality. The research suggested that the fantasy is as good as reality in these cases.
But when reality finally rams its ugly phallus through your ears making you face the realization that the day dream is no longer attainable, you end up with shit like this:
In real life you have to work hard to attain any kind of success. And now that only 1 our of every 2 graduates are getting decent jobs out of college it no longer just applies to the arts. The really remarkable thing is that the harder you work for it the sweeter the success feels at the end.
Now, I like working hard -- I like picking my writing apart, figuring out why it sucks and moving forward. I tend to be my harshest self critic. A person with a "It'll turn out all right in the end" or "rainbows, unicorn farts, and prayer will fix it" kind of attitudes really piss me off.
"No you don't understand -- I have a draft due to that prospective manager or agent in a week and I need to get it done." Is not a defeatist statement and it can't be fixed with positive / wishful thinking. My first reaction to this is, "how dare you trivialize the mountain of work I have to do."
(SIGH) -- The loved ones mean well.
And they do.
When you (and by you I'm really writing to myself here) spend too much time in critical mode, it can lead to a downward spiral of negativity through every aspect of your life. There must always be a balance. The positivity comes in the form of perspective.
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