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How do you feel when you stand before the blank canvas, the empty page, the unshaped block of marble or clay; when you load film into your camera or tune your guitar; when you think about the small business you’ve been planning for years or the proposal that could make or break your career? Are you overcome by anxiety? Do you doubt that you’ll have the resilience to see your project through to its end?
Creativity is one of life’s great sources of fulfillment, whether it’s expressed in the arts, science, business, or for sheer entertainment. When we are at our creative best, we experience great joy, excitement, anticipation, hope, and deep satisfaction. Unfortunately, for many people such moments of uninhibited creative drive are all too rare. Often, when we attempt to be creative, we find ourselves confronted with self-doubt, judgmental attitudes, or even shame, guilt, and physical discomfort.
In this motivational guide, noted psychologist Bernard Golden helps us connect with our authentic selves, showing us how to pursue our individual creative paths. Filled with insights and practical techniques culled from a psychotherapeutic practice spanning almost three decades, Unlock Your Creative Genius gives us the tools to unleash our creative imagination and manage the negative mind-body reactions that frequently impede creative flow.
Among the many impediments to creative fulfillment are fears of failure, the shame of falling short of our own or others’ unrealistic expectations, grandiose fantasies, problems with self-discipline, patterns of dependency that stifle self-motivation, and aversion to being alone, even though creative expression usually demands time by oneself. After outlining valuable strategies designed to help each of us become aware of the unconscious obstacles we face, Golden counters these roadblocks to expressing our inner genius by providing guidelines to enhance positive emotions such as trust, openness to change, and the commitment essential for creativity. He also stresses the need to promote physical calm to offset tension and the importance of developing self-compassion, a vital resource in dealing with fear, shame, and guilt.
In this inspiring, yet practical book, Dr. Golden offers each of us the tools we need to live authentically as we unlock, accept, and act on our own creative genius.
Bernard Golden, Ph.D. a clinical psychologist since 1977, is author of the critically acclaimed Healthy Anger: How to Help Children and Teens Manage Their Anger and coauthor (with Jan Fawcwtt, MD, and Nancy Rosenfeld) of the widely reviewed New Hope For People with Bipolar Disorder. Visit Dr. Golden on the web at http://tounlockyourcreativegenius.com.
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