Because you're not using that organ to its fullest extent. Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain, by Betty Edwards can drastically improve your artwork in an amazingly short time. You can find copies of this book for free online, and it's well worth it. It teaches you how to draw what you see, rather than what your left brain tells you an object should look like. There are exercises that teach you to not draw an object, but rather the space around the object, freeing you to not draw a caricature of the object.
"she's not going to change," always my favorite JustNo excuse. Must be nice to control the world and everyone in it so we all have to work around the MILs personality. ��
As a practical matter if she's not boundary stomping you to death, I'd keep trying to coexist. Though you might want to remind your DH that he married you when you have the quiet, reserved personality you have now - it's not like you sprung it on him after the fact. Did his attraction to you include the fact that you have a more restful personality than his family? And if so, why would he want you to change it?
ETA: Also, this book is excellent and very informative about introverts, I highly recommend it!
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_9LI2CbQ1WKHWF
Very little spillover. From what I've read, it didn't even impact his ability to memorize a string of random alphabetic characters. That said, people have done a lot with mnemonic techniques to accomplish amusing tasks like memorizing the order of 27 decks of cards in an hour, and some techniques there can be trained for a somewhat wider range of tasks.
I feel you, I was blocked for 25years.
And then I stumbled upon Julia Cameron's "The artist's way"
It's a toolbox, packed with exercices and inspirational quotes, It's a course in several chapter to unblock you and pick off your shoulders all those bricks of compressed bad feelings abd false beliefs that are bringing you down. You'll need a notebook and pencil, and often your art tools too.
It has effectively unblocked me. I can create again, instead of just piling up new crafts and arts materials (I just have to buy my favourite watercolor when there's 30% off, even if I know I won't use it in the near future, for instance), that came in handy now that I'm unblocked and with the lockdown.
The link sends you to the "look inside" feature so you can see how it's organized. I didn't follow the 12weeks timeline, I just grab the book and continue when I feel I'm ready for it.
I still do the Morning Pages every now and then, to cleanse myself from any dark thoughts that are bringing me down, a little like a pensieve (HP).
Highly recommend it! But not in audio, this is a book you'll be going back to, better get the paperback.
This has been studied and written about. Great book on it called "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience". It tells you what Flow is, why it's useful, and how you can experience it more often. Highly recommend: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W94FE6/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?\_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I recommend this book/audiobook - “Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking” by Susan Cain. She was a lawyer herself and very much an introvert. Might be helpful to you, perhaps consider checking it out!
https://www.amazon.com/Quiet-Power-Introverts-World-Talking-ebook/dp/B004J4WNL2
I don't have any constructive criticism. I have been in engineering roles my whole life but cone from an artistic background. I worked through the book Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain a few years ago. Doing the exercises really helped free me up.
Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive is free with an Amazon prime subscription for those that are interested in the "learning how to learn." resource.
fellow introvert here! i highly recommend reading this book - i already knew i was an introvert when i read it, but there were sooooo many things discussed in the book that were mind blowing for me. it's really fascinating!
I outright defy you to get https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Right-Side-Brain-Definitive-ebook/dp/B005GSYXU4/ and some charcoals & some toothy paper, & replicate what you just called "lacks any sort of creativity or artistic expression".
It is stupendously tough to do.
And even within the hyper-realistic art crowd, one can see that some of them have some kind of magic in their work...
Seriously: try doing the experiment!
( I recommend charcoals because it makes it much easier to reach dominant-hemisphere-shift, from left-brain-mode into right-brain-mode )
I was traveling with a colleague for the past two weeks, and she is a psychology prof. She is noticing the same thing about herself, friends, and students. We are both now reading this book. https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deeply-ebook/dp/B093G9TS91/
My college days started in the early 90's, so it's been a long time, and I'm not a biochemist, but I have a tip to share with you, and anyone else who is about to embark on the college journey: Learn memory techniques, if you haven't already. There are various sources on the subject. I like learning by reading. One easy book on the subject is Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive
Am currently reading (Stolen Focus, by Johann Hari)[https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deeply-ebook/dp/B093G9TS91/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=stolen+focus+johann+hari&qid=1660383794&sprefix=stolen+fo%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-1]. It's been VERY enlightening about how our phones and social media have broken down our ability to stay focused.
I truly understand where you’re coming from. I loved writing when I was a kid and then, for unfathomable reasons (to me now at almost 50) stepped away from it. I want to recommend this book—it has changed my life:
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Even if you do only some of the exercises, this book can help change you’re thinking and get back in touch with the writer inside you.
Regarding art block. There's a great book called The Artist's Way. https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-25th-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B006H19H3M
It can get a little too meta-spiritual for some, but it is filled with processes and thoughts on nurturing the creative spirit. It requires some real work, but its well worth it in my opinion. Morning Pages alone is a big game changer.
One other thing that may interest you, being a good visualiser, is the potential for developing mnemonic techniques.
If you have an amazon account, you can read the first few chapters of the following book for free ("download sample"), the exercise described in chapter five "use you car to remember" - about 3 pages of description - should give you a flavour of what is possible.
You can use this to make a lot of use of visualisation skills in an academic setting, mostly through an increased ability to memorise and recall lists.
"Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" for kindle just went on sale today for $3 so I'm giving it a try. Will report back if it's any good. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_M63R514MEMG9A50M4FBR
I'm already moving away from using "religion" in my mind. lol Started reading "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" and taking a lot of notes. Now I'm like...
​
>Question: Is Flowism ~~a religion,~~ ~~philosophy, or~~ an art or science?
>
>Answer: Yes.
An art because flowing is a skill you develop. A science because it's an evidence based skill.
Not a religion... yet? lol Religion definitely doesn't need to be a part of the discussion right now. It's also a word that's hard to define so everyone has a different feeling about it.
Not a philosophy because... That's covered in the "science". Some people might like the philosophy (science) of flowing, others might like the methods (science of the art) of flowing, and others will like to balance both.
I think I'll form good definitions for Flowism, Flow, and Flowing when I finished the book. I'm gonna drop some remixed quotes from chapter 3 (Enjoyment and the Quality of Life) of Flow.
>Flowism is exploring ways in which everyday life can be transformed into personally meaningful games that provide optimal experience (Flow).
>
>The purpose of Flow is to keep on flowing, not looking for peak utopia but staying in the Flow
>
>One feature of Flow is eliminating all of the unpleasant aspects of life.
I'll keep sharing ideas from the book in this post. Who knows, this time next week maybe I'm crossing out science and art for religion and philosophy... lol
Flow isn't just a buzzword; it's evidence of psychological engagement. It's a useful target for designers, but not all games need to result in a state of flow. Engagement is important, because it's what holds a player's attention. Without that, you don't get flow. Add a positive emotional experience to engagement, and you get fun:
> A wide range of neurological, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and cultural interactive effects all come together to create a layered dynamic experience and psychological model of the game being played. ... the totality of this experience of playful engagement is what we know in many different forms as “fun.”
Not all games are "fun," but if a game isn't engaging it generally isn't enough to hold a player's attention.
(For more on this, see Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach, pp 270-272 on engagement, and pp 309-312 regarding flow and how it arises from engagement in games.
The best tool I've found for memorising large numbers / number sequences is the Major System. I learned about it in the book Unlimited Memory (which is well worth a read) by Kevin Horsley.
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I know this seems hella gimmicky but seriously check out A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger VonOech. I first came across it years ago when Mark Rosewater (who has been instrumental in designing Magic: the Gathering for 20+ years and is now kinda the head of the whole thing) recommended it in an article as a way to help you think creatively about making new Magic cards and mechanics. It's served me very well over the years in a variety of creative endeavors.
>Over the years, A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD has been praised by business people, educators, scientists, homemakers, artists, youth leaders, and many more. The book has been stimulating creativity in millions of readers, translated into eleven languages, and used in seminars around the world.
>Now Roger von Oech's fully illustrated and updated volume is filled with even more provocative puzzles, anecdotes, exercises, metaphors, cartoons, questions, quotations, stories, and tips designed to systematically break through your mental blocks and unlock your mind for creative thinking. This new edition will attract an entire new generation of readers with updated and mind-stretching material.
Hey Twin! Thanks for this. Yes, you’re right. I guess it’s not just boredom but a feeling like I’m not doing enough. But pushing through. Trying to just “do” anything, even if it’s small. I think I read a few other posts of yours. I appreciate your honest check-ins. Also not sure if you’ve ever read The Artist’s Way . It’s not quit-lit, but a good change up if you’re looking for something that’s still guided and is geared toward creativity (which can definitely fill boredom gaps!), and might take your mind off just “I will not drink”. My friend has been recommending it to me for years but I only just bought it. Writing morning pages is already helpful.
I suggest looking into the techniques that memorization champions utilize. They focus less on repetition and more on how they digest information. You can check out some books like Unlimited Memory or Moonwalking with Einstein.
I recommend The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. It doesn't directly address CPTSD, but it does talk a lot about the inner critic (Cameron calls it the censor) and the inner child. There are a lot of exercises that are helpful.
I am an introverted person, and have had the same concerns you've had throughout my life. I really recommend reading the book Quite, it helped me come to terms and build confidence in the way I naturally communicate.
You may also like these books on introverts:
Quiet
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Introvert Power
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BL5Q6DS/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Thanks a lot for the suggestion. Not sure I'll get another deck at the moment, but that pointed me to his book A Whack on the Side of the Head, which seems interesting. I just downloaded a sample.
Tienes que practicar no prestarle atención a esa parte de ti que te dice que no tienes nada interesante que escribir.
Te propongo un ejercicio que leí en un libro. Cada día tienes que rellenar 3 páginas. Solo hay dos reglas:
Escribe lo primero que se te pase por la mente. Da igual si es una tontería o no tiene sentido. Si no sabes qué escribir escribe "no se qué escribir" hasta que rellenes las 3 páginas.
El objetivo no es hacer literatura ni escribir bien, es rellenar papel. La autora del libro dice que es mejor escribir a mano, pero yo creo que es cuestión de gustos.