News
So after my hormonal moment a week or so ago, I'm feeling a lot better. After that outburst I managed to talk myself down and actually instill some confidence in myself and managed to write three pages for my research. That really felt nice. Next I have to talk myself up to writing one of the professors who chewed me out last year.
I am slowly trying to implement small changes in my life that will eventually get me where I want to go. That is why I am reading a book about procrastination from a couple of psychologists who work with procrastinators around the country. They don't really say anything that isn't obvious, but for some reason when I read these psychology books with stories from other people and whatnot it really helps me get over my hurdles. Rather than it just being something I "know" I ought to feel different about or think different about, it becomes more concrete and easier for me to face and overcome.
There are some really good quotes from it that I would like to share with everyone.
"Your past is your past, whether you like it or not, whether you remember it consciously or not, whether you take responsibility for it or not. Many of the things that happened in the past were not your fault- maybe they weren't anybody's fault, maybe some were your fault- but the events in your life are yours and always will be.... We each have the task of integrating our past into our present and deciding on the paths we want to pursue in the future."
"Without an inner sense of rightness or wrongness that comes from feelings located in your body, you're limited to thinking intellectually about a decision, or obsessing endlessly about a long list of pros and cons. You can look for the "logical" answer or the "right" answer or the "perfect" answer. But basing your decisions on these external factors won't bring you closer to knowing how you feel. Instead you put off making the decision because you can't (or are afraid to) consult the authority that matters most- your inner self."
"Fear is triggered so rapidly, it's incredible. If you touch your arm, it takes your brain 400-500 milliseconds to register the sensation. But fear is registered in a mere 14 milliseconds. Before it's even possible to know it, your body has registered fear and started responding. By the time you think about doing a task you've been avoiding... your body has already reacted with fear." (emphasis mine).
And last one for today:
"The messages from the fear center (amygdala) to the thinking center (cortex) are stronger than the messages going back from the thinking center to the fear center. This means that fear invades our consciousness more easily than our thoughts can control our emotions, so we have to do extra work to manage our fears and our impulses."
I'll post more here later for my own records.
Oh, I'm also in Northern Germany right now and it is cold. More on that later as well.
I am slowly trying to implement small changes in my life that will eventually get me where I want to go. That is why I am reading a book about procrastination from a couple of psychologists who work with procrastinators around the country. They don't really say anything that isn't obvious, but for some reason when I read these psychology books with stories from other people and whatnot it really helps me get over my hurdles. Rather than it just being something I "know" I ought to feel different about or think different about, it becomes more concrete and easier for me to face and overcome.
There are some really good quotes from it that I would like to share with everyone.
"Your past is your past, whether you like it or not, whether you remember it consciously or not, whether you take responsibility for it or not. Many of the things that happened in the past were not your fault- maybe they weren't anybody's fault, maybe some were your fault- but the events in your life are yours and always will be.... We each have the task of integrating our past into our present and deciding on the paths we want to pursue in the future."
"Without an inner sense of rightness or wrongness that comes from feelings located in your body, you're limited to thinking intellectually about a decision, or obsessing endlessly about a long list of pros and cons. You can look for the "logical" answer or the "right" answer or the "perfect" answer. But basing your decisions on these external factors won't bring you closer to knowing how you feel. Instead you put off making the decision because you can't (or are afraid to) consult the authority that matters most- your inner self."
"Fear is triggered so rapidly, it's incredible. If you touch your arm, it takes your brain 400-500 milliseconds to register the sensation. But fear is registered in a mere 14 milliseconds. Before it's even possible to know it, your body has registered fear and started responding. By the time you think about doing a task you've been avoiding... your body has already reacted with fear." (emphasis mine).
And last one for today:
"The messages from the fear center (amygdala) to the thinking center (cortex) are stronger than the messages going back from the thinking center to the fear center. This means that fear invades our consciousness more easily than our thoughts can control our emotions, so we have to do extra work to manage our fears and our impulses."
I'll post more here later for my own records.
Oh, I'm also in Northern Germany right now and it is cold. More on that later as well.