Why Smart People Hurt Journal

Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than 50 books in the areas of creativity, psychology, coaching, mental health, and cultural trends. He is a psychotherapist and the founder of the creativity coach profession, regularly working with lawyers, doctors, scientists, writers, painters, businesspeople, and folks from every walk of life. They include folks settled in a profession as well as folks struggling to find an outlet for their intelligence and looking for work that will allow them to be as smart as they are. They include individuals who are successful in their careers and those who, because of the realities of the marketplace, struggle to achieve success. And through his books, they could include you. Sought after as an expert in his field, Dr. Maisel regularly contributes to Mad in America, writes a monthly print column for Professional Artist Magazine, and writes the "Rethinking Mental Health" blog for Psychology Today. He has been the keynote speaker at many conferences and leads Deep Writing workshops worldwide. Dr. Maisel currently resides in Walnut Creek, California. Visit him at www.ericmaisel.com.

Contents

Introduction



Entry 1. Your Unfriendly Family

Entry 2. Society and Religion

Entry 3. Workplace Unfriendliness

Entry 4. The Role of Mass Culture

Entry 5. The Bigger Picture

Entry 6. Feeling Different

Entry 7. Feeling Misunderstood

Entry 8. Feeling Underutilized

Entry 9. Feeling Alienated

Entry 10. Feeling Special … And Small

Entry 11. Stuck on the Dull Track

Entry 12. Aimed in the Direction of “Safety”

Entry 13. The Family Business

Entry 14. How Social Pigeonholing Works

Entry 15. Hiding Your Light Under a Bushel

Entry 16. The Day Job Problem

Entry 17. The Right Day Job

Entry 18. Your Remaining Neurons

Entry 19. Too Long at the Day Job

Entry 20. When the Day Job Plan Fails

Entry 21. The Second Career Problem

Entry 22. Your Brain After Dinner

Entry 23. Surprising Shortfalls

Entry 24. Second Career = Chaos?

Entry 25. Sheer Overwhelm

Entry 26. Trapped in Smallness

Entry 27. The Uninteresting Day-To-Day

Entry 28. Standard Thinking

Entry 29. A Name for Yourself

Entry 30. Stick to That, Please!

Entry 31. Nothing of Interest

Entry 32. Interest … But No Passion

Entry 33. Passion … But No Passion Project

Entry 34. Passion Project Resistance

Entry 35. The Stalled Passion Project

Entry 36. Inner Noise and Monkey Mind

Entry 37. Underestimating Your Smarts

Entry 38. Being Too Vigilant

Entry 39. Feeling Unsafe

Entry 40. When Anxiety Strikes

Entry 41. Your Tangled Thinking

Entry 42. Unwanted Obsessions

Entry 43. A Rain of Thoughts

Entry 44. Repetitive Thoughts

Entry 45. Lost Thoughts

Entry 46. Thought Investigation

Entry 47. Defensive Not Knowing

Entry 48. Having Language

Entry 49. No Comment

Entry 50. Getting a Grip

Entry 51. Tolerating Process

Entry 52. The Reality of Circumstances

Entry 53. Tolerating Solitude

Entry 54. The Dangers of Solitude

Entry 55. Insatiability

Entry 56. Competition

Entry 57. Mismatched Intelligence

Entry 58. The Smart Gap

Entry 59. Inevitable Sadness

Entry 60. Inevitable Anxiety

Entry 61. Addiction Risks

Entry 62. Distractibility

Entry 63. The Story of Energy

Entry 64. In Short Supply

Entry 65. Energy Suppression

Entry 66. Racing Down the Tracks

Entry 67. Rollercoaster Energy

Entry 68. Sitting on a High Horse

Entry 69. Alienating Coworkers

Entry 70. I Am So Special!

Entry 71. A Sense of Entitlement

Entry 72. Ruptures

Entry 73. Torn Apart

Entry 74. Defend Yourself!

Entry 75. The Bullying Debater

Entry 76. I Am Right!

Entry 77. The Heck with Good Will!

Entry 78. Cognitive Decline

Entry 79. Loss of Pride

Entry 80. Loss of Identity

Entry 81. Loss of Motivation

Entry 82. Loss of Purpose

Entry 83. Rationality Plus

Entry 84. Emotions?

Entry 85. Meaning and Mystery

Entry 86. Smart and Creative

Entry 87. Smartness Made Real

Entry 88. Smart and Well

Entry 89. Smart and Wise

Entry 90. All the Rest of Life



Afterword

Acknowledgments

About the Author