Blog
On Being a “Good Enough” Parent
We live in an age of perfectionist parenting, but one mom was smart enough to bow out: I wish my new-mommy-self had been familiar with the philosophy of the “good enough” mother. Donald Winnicott, a British psychoanalyst coined the term in the 1950′s while studying the interactions of mothers and their infants. He believed mothers…
Read MoreDavid Foster Wallace: Perfectionism as Paralysis
“My life…was often lived as performance art for invisible Simon Cowells”
A moving and wise essay on how one woman’s becoming less perfectionist helped her when she had to face cancer: Around 13 years ago, a confluence of events revealed to me how soul-sucking perfectionism was, and how much the futile striving for it was costing me in stress and anxiety. I began to understand that…
Read MoreWhy Rodin’s “The Thinker” Should be Renamed “The Perfectionist” (Plus, Bonus Balzac!)
Auguste Rodin’s famous “The Thinker” statue (1902) is, all by itself, probably responsible for many cases of perfectionism and procrastination. It’s such a forceful statement that some, looking at it, probably think, “So THAT’S what intellectual work is supposed to look like! A grinding inner struggle! I’d better aim for that, and if my work…
Read MoreCompelling Links: Racial Profiling, Rhino Sanctuary, Hillary Clinton’s Image Inspires Women to Speak Publicly
A really eloquent essay on how it feels to be racially profiled your whole life. Inspiring obituary of Anna Merz, who founded a rhino sanctuary. A new study finds women give longer and more confident political speeches when they are exposed to images of female role models. “Female role models eliminated the gender gap, though.…
Read MoreAcademic Success Catalyst Program Begins This Wednesday 4/24 at 3:30 Eastern. Enroll now.
The ASCP is for graduate students, postdocs, junior faculty, and other junior academic researchers who would like to: • get more productive in their writing and other work • finish their thesis, papers, or other projects • have an easier time finding a job • have better relationships at work and at home, and • be more strategic and effective…
Read MoreLyrical Guy Embodies Perfectionism (Now With More Hemingway)
Someone posted an entertainingly macho/perfectionist take on writer’s block. I’m not going to link to the original, in the interests of protecting the misguided, but it does provide us with a valuable teaching moment, displaying as it does such vivid examples of perfectionism as: Harsh Judgements (“Those who complain about writer’s block are just looking…
Read MoreMayo Clinic Poll: Half of Americans Would Consider Donating a Kidney to a Stranger
Great news. And here’s the link to my kidney donation story.
Read MoreInteresting Links: Critical Thinking, The Internet and Democracy, 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
A Great Overview, in plain-sense language, of How to Read and Write Critically, and why you should. The Internet is Catalyzing Democracy and Freedom It’s the 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
Read MoreThe Importance of Daily Rituals to Writers, Artists, and Other Creators: What Would Flaubert, or Beethoven, or Balzac, or Edward Gorey Do?
An entire chapter of The 7 Secrets of the Prolific is devoted to the topic of resources and requirements needed to be a prolific writer. It’s not a trivial topic, as abundantly resourcing yourself can mean the difference between being and being blocked. Here’s an excerpt: Writers, like other artisans, tend to be fascinated by…
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