Summary

The website content discusses the interplay between art, emotions, and conversation, emphasizing how engaging in art enhances observation and conversational skills.

Abstract

The article delves into the complexity of human emotions, suggesting that instead of categorizing them in binary terms, one should embrace the nuances as they arise. It criticizes dichotomous thinking for its extremes and advocates for curiosity and questioning as means to understand the world and oneself. The author highlights the role of art in fostering curiosity and creating a flow state that leads to quality content creation. Furthermore, the article posits that art makes one a better conversationalist by developing empathy and the ability to listen, ultimately enriching interactions and inspiring one to document life experiences artistically. The author encourages readers to start their artistic journey to experience the positive feedback loop and personal growth that comes with it.

Opinions

The author believes that labeling emotions as simply 'good' or 'bad' is an oversimplification and that a more nuanced approach to understanding emotions is beneficial.
Dichotomous thinking is seen as potentially harmful, as it can trigger a 'fight-or-flight' response and lead to polarized reactions to situations.
Curiosity is valued highly, with the author suggesting that questioning everything can lead to deeper understanding, although it may not always be socially appropriate.
Art is portrayed as a catalyst for curiosity and a means to achieve a flow state, which is both exhilarating and conducive to content creation.
The article suggests that being an artist can improve one's ability to converse by fostering empathy and active listening, making interactions more meaningful.
The author emphasizes the importance of documenting experiences through art, viewing it as a path to a life of freedom.
The compounding effect of engaging in art is highlighted, with the author asserting that positive feedback loops encourage continued practice and improvement.
The author provides a personal anecdote, indicating that envisioning future success can be a powerful motivator to persevere in one's artistic endeavors.

Your Art Makes You Observant, Which is a Sign of a Conversationalist

Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash

Humans have several colours of emotion, and we still label them broadly as good or bad.

I don’t even know how many types of emotions are there. I don’t also want to know so soon. I will learn as they surface with time and circumstances.

Dichotomous thinking is extreme.

I also used to label the emotions as “good or bad”, “happy or sad” and whatever classification we make from our dichotomous thinking.

I am not saying binary thinking is flawed, but there are some trade-offs you already know and some of them I will cover in a future post.

When following dichotomous thinking, it will trigger the “fight-or-flight” response whenever the danger situation kicks in because your thinking is already polarised to label a stance as “best or worst”.

Now imagine what will happen if the worst (according to you) shows up in real life? Go bananas or go slugs. Your call! Your back is on the wall!

Showing curiosity to a person

Even when I am talking to a person or not, I am always curiously thinking why anything is the way it is.

Questioning everything with a person can turn out rude sometimes, mostly when it is not about the person himself. They may not answer all the questions and shun you for being a talker. It is normal. Not everyone wants to explain everything.

But when you are alone, you can question however long you want and look for the answers on the internet or around you. Sometimes you even have to look deep because the quest becomes exciting.

Your art gives wings to curiosity.

When you are involved in your art ( sketching, writing, painting, music, etc.), and in the flow state, you keep creating content at light speed. A little overstatement with speed there, but you got the gist!

Even when you have finished and shipped the end product, you will miss the remarkable flow state when you were on fire, say 30 or 60 minutes. Yes, the flow state requires energy, and it doesn’t last long.

We want to create quality content from time to time, and the air around us, people around us teach from their experience to do exactly that. Learn whenever you can, it is a skill that pays off big time!

How your art makes you a conversationalist?

When I talk to someone, I don’t ask too many questions nowadays. Instead, I listen. It took time and practice for me to become a good listener. Once you try it, you will become empathetic and pleasant to be around.

Everyone has problems. We just need to let them know we are there for them so they can share their struggles and be a little more vulnerable with us.

You will become a healer, make up for a great coffee date, and you will want to document all these experiences in the art that comes most natural. Because, why not?

“Art + Experience + Stories = Life of Freedom”

I am getting close to this part of the reality day by day.

I try to document all my experiences through writing in the most expressive way possible. Sometimes I fail, sometimes I nail. But the effort is worth it every time.

I am on the constant lookout for the learning experiences, and even if I get a smidgen of lessons, I make sure to write them down to reflect upon later because free time can pop up from nowhere.

How can you get to it?

If you haven’t started, you have artistic talent, to which you haven’t provided a canvas yet. Try it for experiment sake once and absorb all the positive vibes from it. Then you will want to do it more often.

It is how the compounding effect of positive feedback loop works. You practise, you learn and practise even more and better.

When I think of quitting writing on bad days, I imagine myself as a famous writer five years from now. Man! The image is a magnet that pulls me to the chair in the morning every day and is a strong reason to wake up earlier than the Sun.

I talk with my dad every morning, notice his reactions, see his energy and then observe the surrounding around me as I start with my thoughts on Medium.

May you can develop such triggers too! If your art is an escape to the imaginary world, why not ignite it more often?

This blog belongs to a series of posts I am publishing in this 100-days streak. Navigate to the end of article 22, for the reference from day 23 onwards. If you would like to read the ones before day 22, here is the first one that documents them in the end.

~ Sanjeev