Author: artsmuklermd

Art Smukler, MD was born and raised in Philadelphia, went to college and medical school in Pennsylvania, and completed his psychiatric training at UCLA. He is a board-certified psychiatrist, specializing in the treatment of adults with a subspecialty in adolescents. As a member of the UCLA faculty, he ran an award-winning psychotherapy conference for psychiatric residents and received the coveted “Golden Ear” award. He has published in psychiatric journals, and won the award for excellence in creative writing at The Santa Barbara Writers Conference. Now a full-time author, he applies his deep understanding of the human psyche to the motivations of his fictional characters.

WHEN DO YOU FINALLY GIVE UP? by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

December 7, 2013 by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry

How about never?

Think about Matt McGloin, the quarterback for the Oakland Raiders and New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, and of course, Nelson Mandela.

McGloin was originally a Penn State walk-on who had to compete with sought after scholarship QBs, and a guy who wasn’t even drafted by the NFL. He was told that he was wasting his time. Gillibrand, likewise, a former Litigator, was warned of certain failure when she decided to run for public office. Both, determined and talented, decided to believe in themselves, rather than what other more “mature” and “wise” elders told them to do.

Very importantly, this belief wasn’t just a “in the end it’ll all work out” fantasy. It was a fantasy based on enormously hard work and a passion that fed a 24/7 devotion to succeed.

Inertia, the principle in physics that states, bodies in motion stay in motion and bodies at rest stay at rest, implies that change is REALLY difficult. It takes a unique person to get someone, anyone, to change. The Nelson Mandela’s of the world are very, very special. Even in prison, Mandela didn’t give up on what he believed or give up trying to get a whole society to change their way of thinking.

A professor friend from USC said, “You don’t need a PHD but a PSD – POOR, DETERMINED, SMART to be successful.”

However you say it, the bottom line is this. Work hard and don’t give up. The naysayers may mean well, but they are not you. They don’t have your determination, courage or work ethic. Their logic is a herd logic, one that encourages you to follow your fellow wildebeests over the cliff into the same old same. Change is frightening. Let them be afraid, while you take your own journey.

If you enjoyed reading, Inside the Mind of a Psychiatrist, you might also enjoy Dr. Smukler’s novels, Chasing Backwards, a psychological murder mystery, Skin Dance, a mystery, and The Man with a Microphone in his Ear. All are available as paperbacks and eBooks.

WHAT DID YOU FAIL AT THIS WEEK? by Art Smukler, author & psychiatrist

November 19, 2013November 19, 2013 by artsmuklermd, posted in Psychiatry, Self Examination, Writing

I wish someone had asked me this question when I was a kid, and I had done the same for my children.

This is now third-hand, but who cares? Good information should be passed along.

Fareed Zakaria, a brilliant educator and commentator, shared some details of an interview with Sara Blakely, the self-made billionaire developer of Spanx, a must-have underwear for women.

Ms. Blakely attributed her success to her father. Once a week he would ask, “What did you fail at this week?”

“Daddy, why do you keep asking that? I didn’t fail at anything!” Sara said, a puzzled expression on her face.

“I want you to live up to your full potential. If you only try safe things and are afraid to fail, how can you grow and improve?”

So one day, Sara told her father about something that she tried and how miserably she failed. Her father beamed with pleasure, raised his hand and hi-fived his lovely daughter. “I’m so proud of you!” he said. “So very, very proud.”

This lesson applies to all of us, no matter how old, or how jaded we’ve become. Trying new things and risking failure to follow a dream is sure to entail periods of anguish.

Writers are especially vulnerable. Sitting alone staring at your Apple screen, as wisps of ideas make their way from the darkened recesses of your pre-conscious mind, is a unique task and leaves one vulnerable and disquieted. There are no cheerleaders or decibel-shattering student sections to urge you on when you find the right word or idea. You are a cheering section of one.

The chances of success may at times seem dim and foolish, but four times a month you get to ask yourself the question, “What have I failed at this week?” No agent. No publisher. No signing deal. Buck up fellow writers. Next week is another chance to fail!