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by Douglas Eby
In an issue of his Creativity Newsletter, Eric Maisel , PhD,
wrote: "A creative person obsesses and
compulses about her
creative work. She is pulled in its direction, thinks about it,
dreams about it, and wants to do it."
"It should follow that she would actually do the creative
work that she is dreaming about and desiring to bring into
existence. But only a small percentage of creative people work as
often or as deeply as, by all rights, they might be expected to
work."
"What stops them? Anxiety or some face of anxiety like
doubt, worry, or fear. Anxiety is the great silencer of the creative
person."
One of the main themes of her books on this topic is to
"feel the fear and do it anyway" and Susan Jeffers, Ph.D.
[pictured] has written, "So many of us short-circuit our living
by choosing the path that is most comfortable. Realize that fear
will never go away as long as you continue to grow. The only way to
get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it."
"Whenever we take a chance and enter unfamiliar territory or
put ourselves into the world in a new way, we experience fear. Very
often this fear keeps us from moving ahead with our lives."
In her book "Feel the Fear... and Beyond" Dr. Jeffers
contrasts two qualities or parts of our being: "The Higher
Self," she writes, "is the space within each and every one
of us that is filled with all nourishing qualities such as joy,
creativity, intuition, peace, power, love, compassion..."
"When you have been able to access this transcendent place
within.. the fear and struggle were replaced by a sense that 'All is
well."
"But the feeling never lasts," she continues.
"Why? Because it is our tendency to revert to a more familiar
part of ourselves that I call the Lower Self... filled with all
negative qualities, such as anger, judgment, a sense of scarcity,
helplessness -- and, of course, fear."
Another psychologist who counsels creative professionals such as
writers, Robert Maurer, PhD, has described key skills of successful
people, including "an awareness and respect for fear - a
willingness to feel it and to reach for comfort."
He says successful people have a built in "nurturing
voice" that automatically and compassionately "reassures
them it is okay to make mistakes, okay to be afraid, okay to ask for
help."
Based on behavioral science research and his experience as a
therapist, Dr. Maurer notes there are both positive and
dysfunctional responses to fear. "We are now learning how the
brain builds into its 'software' an 'internal parent' that will
either soothe us or paralyze us when we are afraid," he says,
"depending on the healthy or unhealthy responses to our
emotions that we experienced in childhood."
"Our inner emotional voice reacts to our fears or
opportunities and either calms and inspires or responds with a
specific painful voice, giving rise to worry, anger, or
disappointment."
He thinks accepting and working with fear is an essential part of
the creative process, and has commented, "If you find the right
relationship, does fear go away? No. You publish your first novel,
does that make fear go away? No.Ê
"So your skill at being able to nourish yourself and give
yourself permission to make mistakes and learn from them is your
single greatest attribute as an artist and as a human being."
Success, he points out, is being able to respond to larger and
more complex fear-alarms without reacting with angry disappointment,
or believing stories like "I don't deserve success" or
"It's the same old plot that dozens of other scripts have
used" or engaging in some other self-defeating behavior like
drug use to anesthetize feeling.
In a recent article, actress Nicole Kidman commented,
"Success, I think, breeds fear. You suddenly say, 'Oh, can I do
it again?' And once you start to ask questions like that, you throw
your creativity into the wrong sphere. So you just have to walk away
from it. I've said, 'OK, that was that year, and next year's going
to be completely different."
"Fear is good," Dr. Maurer has concluded. "As
children, fear is a natural part of our lives, but as adults we view
fear as a disease. It's not a disease. Children say they are afraid
or scared, but adults use the clinical terms anxiety or depression.
A writer should not view fear as something bad, but as essentially
doing something right."
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