tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post7999832854029391023..comments2024-03-06T10:39:37.128+00:00Comments on Tania Writes: Some Thoughts on Kindness, Energy Levels and IntroversionTania Hershmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-3379892509119718132015-06-14T07:37:26.415+01:002015-06-14T07:37:26.415+01:00Thanks for a really interesting post, Tania. I'...Thanks for a really interesting post, Tania. I've been saving it to read properly because life has been a hectic lately and I've needed some "downtime" to restore my energy levels! In fact, I've now bookmarked it because I know I'll want to come back to it. You say so much that I agree with and have had many similar thoughts myself - to pick just one, the adrenalin thing; I'm sure it's got something to do with not being able to utilize the adrenalin the body makes at times of stress; a kind of frustrated energy, I suppose, but haven't explored it more than that. Anyway, a great deal of sense here and very reassuring to hear!Deb Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17941866708845848582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-38308117321322619402015-06-14T07:36:22.225+01:002015-06-14T07:36:22.225+01:00Thanks for a really interesting post, Tania. I'...Thanks for a really interesting post, Tania. I've been saving it to read properly because life has been a hectic lately and I've needed some "downtime" to restore my energy levels! In fact, I've now bookmarked it because I know I'll want to come back to it. You say so much that I agree with and have had many similar thoughts myself - to pick just one, the adrenalin thing; I'm sure it's got something to do with not being able to utilize the adrenalin the body makes at times of stress; a kind of frustrated energy, I suppose, but haven't explored it more than that. Anyway, a great deal of sense here and very reassuring to hear!Deb Rickardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17941866708845848582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-16806083527108431522015-06-12T14:47:38.394+01:002015-06-12T14:47:38.394+01:00Thanks for stopping by, Drifter! But no pain here,...Thanks for stopping by, Drifter! But no pain here, only joy!Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-42425464517836819272015-06-12T09:01:06.636+01:002015-06-12T09:01:06.636+01:00An introvert who wants to be heard.
I feel your p...An introvert who wants to be heard.<br /><br />I feel your pain.Drifterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08282791144362034639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-25942176027454282042015-06-03T18:47:42.906+01:002015-06-03T18:47:42.906+01:00That's such a great point, WaD, about feeling ...That's such a great point, WaD, about feeling ungrateful - there is the thought that if we're lucky enough to have readers (which is rather miraculous to me!) we should be available to them, especially after an event. I find the readings great but the small talk & chat afterwards especially hard, I have been known to hide in the loo for a while! But if we're not kind to ourselves, how can we do the thing that even gets us these wonderful invitations?Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-41725709864400518472015-06-03T18:47:39.158+01:002015-06-03T18:47:39.158+01:00That's such a great point, WaD, about feeling ...That's such a great point, WaD, about feeling ungrateful - there is the thought that if we're lucky enough to have readers (which is rather miraculous to me!) we should be available to them, especially after an event. I find the readings great but the small talk & chat afterwards especially hard, I have been known to hide in the loo for a while! But if we're not kind to ourselves, how can we do the thing that even gets us these wonderful invitations?Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-51364218441860896492015-06-03T18:32:36.281+01:002015-06-03T18:32:36.281+01:00I was really glad to read this post, I can do all ...I was really glad to read this post, I can do all the author stuff, and like the people I meet, but feel absolutely drained afterwards for a good while. I thought I was just being ungrateful, the vibe is that we should be glad to be out there doing what we do, and I am, but know I'm more of an introvert - my brain aches with resentment if I dont have empty time and loads of it. Words A Dayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04423263654771820182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-59279072745134857912015-06-03T10:31:46.682+01:002015-06-03T10:31:46.682+01:00Hayley, I am with you on all of that! I got heart ...Hayley, I am with you on all of that! I got heart palpitations last week asking a question during a Q&A after a play - then a few days later I was totally fine up on stage in front of 100 people! Very good point about working with rather than against... we can keep on discussing it to keep all of us strong and fight those substandard feelings. Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-46089460981155790532015-06-03T10:23:07.898+01:002015-06-03T10:23:07.898+01:00I'm reading Quiet at the moment! I already kne...I'm reading Quiet at the moment! I already knew I'm an introvert, but it's great to read about the advantages of introversion rather than feeling substandard because I'm not very sociable. Coming to terms with this is helping my anxiety, counterintuitively, because I now realise that many of the things I thought were symptoms of my personal freakishness are normal for an introvert. It also explains why I found giving presentations at university far easier than speaking up in seminars! I don't speak well extemporaneously — I prefer to plan what I want to say or, preferably, communicate via writing. I'm learning to work with my strengths and preferences, instead of against them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-45197537184553635212015-06-03T10:19:48.823+01:002015-06-03T10:19:48.823+01:00Hi Julia, if I can help reassure you then my work ...Hi Julia, if I can help reassure you then my work here is done. It's no fun thinking you're weird, is it? And less beating ourselves up is always a good thing! Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-81097553560213907582015-06-03T10:18:40.295+01:002015-06-03T10:18:40.295+01:00Hello Brian's mate, so nice to meet you, thank...Hello Brian's mate, so nice to meet you, thanks for stopping by! Very good point about solitude versus loneliness, a distinction I often think that our society seems to have forgotten. And I like the word 'nurture', too. Tho' I will be keeping my geese to myself around you... :)Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-70700654883415100872015-06-03T10:16:52.529+01:002015-06-03T10:16:52.529+01:00Marie, thanks so much for taking the time to comme...Marie, thanks so much for taking the time to comment - your residency does sound exhausting, a LONG day! But nice, I think, if you're among some fellow introverts who understand, I've found that on almost all residential writing courses I've done...!Tania Hershmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15781460794034586895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-69626910410055226252015-06-02T21:32:59.701+01:002015-06-02T21:32:59.701+01:00Thanks for posting this Tania - it is most reassur...Thanks for posting this Tania - it is most reassuring to know that I am not lazy, weird or anti social - all labels that I have given myself over the years. I too manage readings, events and teaching but then have days where I literally don't want to leave the house. I have sometimes left events as have found them too much or not been mentally ready for them - I often leave gatherings before midnight as I find it exhausting talking in big groups. Give me one or tow people at a time in a quitetish place and I can keep going until 2am. I shall now view those days as recharging time and not beat myself up about the fact that I am not as busy as everyone else on my days off!<br />Juliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06090382196937582571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-41599907446538360372015-06-02T17:46:23.838+01:002015-06-02T17:46:23.838+01:00Fascinating blog, Tania - thank you - and for teac...Fascinating blog, Tania - thank you - and for teaching me the word 'ambivert'!<br /><br />Although I'm not by nature an introvert (and I definitely can't stand being indoors with curtains closed when there's even a glimmer of daylight outside), I suppose I do display introvert behaviour even when out in the wider world. Like, for instance, in an art gallery … For me, this is a kind of 'solitude with other people' - which also brings into play that whole other discussion, around the difference between solitude and loneliness - and never fails to replenish those energy levels you talk about. I too sit in corners of cafes, people watching. Even without a notebook, it all soaks in, doesn't it? So, even though we may question our introversion, what we're actually doing is nurturing something inside, which in turn will eventually emerge through out writing.<br /><br />Not sure if any of that makes sense? But you've definitely got me pondering on it all, and also whether we remain as whatever-verts throughout our lives. My mother once said to me "when you were younger, you wouldn't say Boo to a goose - now the goose would run a mile". I don't question her wisdom. I just stay away from geese.Brian's matehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06741102917268017382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32078352.post-38644619461300743882015-06-02T17:41:42.821+01:002015-06-02T17:41:42.821+01:00Tania this resonates! I find that writers/poets te...Tania this resonates! I find that writers/poets tend to be more introverted as a rule. I'm on a low residency MSt course in CW. However in true Oxford style, students are essentially cloistered during the Residencies for four days. While we have our own rooms, we are together from 8am through to 10pm and beyond for seminars, workshops, readings and all meals. Last Res during lunch on Day 3, one of my colleagues said, 'Oh God, I'm not sure I can take any more interaction!' Almost all of us nodded. Each time I leave a Res its an odd combination of relief and exhaustion. Physically I've done nothing but sit around for four days, yet I am drained.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18385900706689265882noreply@blogger.com