Gee, will I get the president of the company to answer all my posts? I am quite complimented and a little spoiled here, but thank you both for your efforts in helping me to understand this.
After much thought, I think it does boil down to a belief in whether or not you think you can do this, while you are doing it, and giving the paradigm a chance to shift.
"Part of the trick is to have faith in the capabilities of your inner mind." You got it, mgrego2. And if you've tried it a few times and it doesn't work right away, what do you do? You start to believe it doesn't work and act upon that belief.
I once was sketching in a restaurant, and a man came up to me and asked about my work. He then said, "Gee, I wish I could do that." "How often do you try?" I asked. "Never," he said. So of course, he couldn't do it. This story has stayed with me for years because if its implications.
Part of the trick is to have something happen right away so that you feel encouraged to continue. I think with PR is that it takes a while for your brain to accept a new way of doing something, and to stay with it long enough to start to see results. Paradigm shifts take time, and of course, we are working against long-ingrained habits - how long do we read the same way before we try to change this?
So, I have decided to practice without concern over results, just to get my brain oriented into doing something a new way. Maybe with practice, I will start to see some results, and get some encouragement going, over time. I don't want to be like the man who wished he could draw, but never ever tried to do it.
