I recently saw the movie "The Circle" staring Tom Hanks and Emma Watson and a bunch of great performers, and watching the trailer at home before we saw the movie was almost just as exciting as watching the movie itself. I don't want to talk too much about the movie, but what I'll say is that it speaks to our generation in a time of hyper connectivity and connection. I think this movie is a must see for anyone who takes social media seriously, or anyone who takes it moderately seriously. Being an average tech guy, I have come along way from learning how to turn on a computer (without the internet) in grade school, to being a part of a social movement of interconnectivity over the last 20 years. I never though how much a role computers would play into the life of society and individuals and our children as a young man in the 1990's.
I remember buying my first computer in the early 90's from a sound and music expert, as I was exploring the options of a future as a musician. In my twenties I had dreams of being a rock and roll star, in grade school I dreamed of being a professional hockey player. I remember my first attempt at creative writing as a part time student at Trent University, and I remember really struggling trying to make sense of the ideas in my head and putting them to paper. I had an esoteric idea at the time that writing should be good, but I didn't know how to express myself. When I think of an idea now, it is more of a train of thought. What helped me become a writer, was the awareness of my thinking.
You might be interested in how you become aware of your thoughts? Thoughts are like bubbles, they come and they go. Someone who has ever been aware of their thinking can tell you that not all thoughts line up with reality. I took an interest in my thought process when I was diagnosed with a lived experience. There is something in psychology called "depressive rumination" and this is what happens when the mind cannot shut off it's own thoughts. A lot of anxiety comes from not being able to 'let go' of the cascade of thoughts that might bombard your mind as a result of going though a traumatic event. People who are suffering psychologically can tell you that.
For me, it was learning about my own mind and how it works, that gave me the tools to look at a stream of thinking and eventually put it down on paper. It has become a therapeutic exercise to write for me, and it started with journaling in my early 30's and late 20's. In my opinion, none of that stuff that I originally wrote made a lot of sense, but it was the practise of taking an idea and communicating it in a way that others can understand. There is a method, but what I was struggling with in University, (probably why I left) was I didn't have faith in my own thought process, to the point that anything I wrote was immediately judged by my internal Bully.
Writer's block is just that, it is a defense mechanism that our ego puts up, because we feel threatened by our vulnerability to the process. Writing should just be a form of self expression, and like all art we feel that our vulnerability will be judged by others. The secret isn't that we don't care what others think, it is important to value the judgements of others, but not be defined by them. When we stop caring what others think and feel about our work, creativity comes back and we feel free to self-expression once again. I think it is very important not to judge our own work, because we can be creating a mental habit that will just cause frustration in the long run.
Be open to your feelings
, and be open to expressing them, because that's all that writing really is. This is Mike.
I remember buying my first computer in the early 90's from a sound and music expert, as I was exploring the options of a future as a musician. In my twenties I had dreams of being a rock and roll star, in grade school I dreamed of being a professional hockey player. I remember my first attempt at creative writing as a part time student at Trent University, and I remember really struggling trying to make sense of the ideas in my head and putting them to paper. I had an esoteric idea at the time that writing should be good, but I didn't know how to express myself. When I think of an idea now, it is more of a train of thought. What helped me become a writer, was the awareness of my thinking.
You might be interested in how you become aware of your thoughts? Thoughts are like bubbles, they come and they go. Someone who has ever been aware of their thinking can tell you that not all thoughts line up with reality. I took an interest in my thought process when I was diagnosed with a lived experience. There is something in psychology called "depressive rumination" and this is what happens when the mind cannot shut off it's own thoughts. A lot of anxiety comes from not being able to 'let go' of the cascade of thoughts that might bombard your mind as a result of going though a traumatic event. People who are suffering psychologically can tell you that.
For me, it was learning about my own mind and how it works, that gave me the tools to look at a stream of thinking and eventually put it down on paper. It has become a therapeutic exercise to write for me, and it started with journaling in my early 30's and late 20's. In my opinion, none of that stuff that I originally wrote made a lot of sense, but it was the practise of taking an idea and communicating it in a way that others can understand. There is a method, but what I was struggling with in University, (probably why I left) was I didn't have faith in my own thought process, to the point that anything I wrote was immediately judged by my internal Bully.
Writer's block is just that, it is a defense mechanism that our ego puts up, because we feel threatened by our vulnerability to the process. Writing should just be a form of self expression, and like all art we feel that our vulnerability will be judged by others. The secret isn't that we don't care what others think, it is important to value the judgements of others, but not be defined by them. When we stop caring what others think and feel about our work, creativity comes back and we feel free to self-expression once again. I think it is very important not to judge our own work, because we can be creating a mental habit that will just cause frustration in the long run.
Be open to your feelings
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