The online diary of a dreamer creating Contemporary Romantic Fiction - because Every Woman needs Love and Laughter in her Life.

Thursday 9 August 2007

On being a 'Gifted' Writer


Jurgen Wolff sent me to an intriguing article on being a 'Gifted Adult' - By Mary-Elaine Jacobsen. I have pulled out a few lines which resonate for me - well worth taking a look if you ever doubted that you are a special and gifted human being.


Telltale Signs of Adult Giftedness: There are many confusing notions about what giftedness is and is not. Indeed, in several respects, the life experience of the gifted individual seems paradoxical (e.g., being considered highly successful while secretly feeling like an impostor).


Dr Jacobsen lists the normal components of the gifted personality:


* Harsh self-scrutiny


* Complex thinking and verbal acuity.e..g. Here sits a bubbling reservoir of a person who is vibrantly aware, full of information, gems of trivia, and a bevy of dates, names, places, and anecdotes that seem to spring to mind all at once.
One can almost hear the cognitive and intuitive wheels spinning behind their impassioned eyes. Many gifted adults have remarkable verbal abilities and a burning desire for intense exchanges of ideas. What may at first appear to be tangential thinking and verbosity is often a tip-off to the enthusiasm and animation that comes naturally to many gifted people.


* High energy and intensity


* Varied school experiences and learning styles


* Asynchronous development (time lag between idea and development of abilities)


* Exceptionally high standards & perfectionism. e.g. at their very core, many gifted people are visionaries who do indeed have the capacity to turn pipe dreams in to concrete innovations—they can and often must hold out for the ideal.


* Extra-sensitivity and arousal. e.g. Many gifted adults describe their nervous systems in terms of a built-in antenna device that seems to reach as high as radar and as deep as sonar. Some report experiences of being tremendously absorbent, taking in life experiences through their pores like a sponge. It appears that highly gifted adults may be more finely tuned in to the subtleties of life and more easily aroused than others around them.


* Independence and perceptivity (can come across as arrogance or unsociability)


* Driven goal-orientation e.g. Gifted people seem to be designed with an extraordinary goal-orientation, or entelechy (from the Greek entelekheia, meaning a vital force urging one toward self-actualization). This trait is evident in self-starting effort, tremendous perseverance, and steadfast, internally-produced motivation.


* Chronically misunderstood


* Self-doubt e.g. gifted women who often think of themselves as impostors or frauds, believing it is the proverbial others who are truly intelligent or talented.
These talented women are prone to over-qualify their statements and to give away their hard-earned claims to fame. Even in the face of clear-cut evidence of achievement and proficiency, many gifted women continue to discount and minimize their abilities.


* Imposed self-sufficiency





What is playing on my YouTube right now? Dr House and Cameron fanvid -I know, I know. Hugh Laurie. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=feePEiQE2PA&feature=PlayList&p=10960FB742FA50ED&index=5

2 comments:

Nell Dixon said...

Wow! That is a little bit scary. I can relate to so much of that and I am the queen of self doubt lol.

Ray-Anne said...

Totally spooky. I agree. Of course it does mean one thing - greetings fellow 'gifted' one.
If ever you doubted, there is the proof should proof be needed.
We knew anyway, of course, but are far too modest ...snarf... :-)