People who are most creative tend to be very passionate about their work. They are driven to make a difference in the world, whether it is changing the way a product works or reshaping the future of their industry. Creative people are able to find inspiration in everything around them. They see beauty in everyday objects and experiences, and can use that to inspire them to create something unique and special.
This passion may drive them to work very hard, but they also know how to balance their creativity with other qualities. For example, they might be able to recognize that their creative spark may have come from someone else’s previous idea. That recognition gives them respect for their own field and allows them to put their own achievements into perspective. Often, they are self-deprecating and humble. This is a healthy balance because if they didn’t have a realistic sense of their own capabilities, they would never try to achieve anything.
Creative people are highly independent thinkers and do not like to be confined by the established rules and regulations of their field. Their independence can lead to divergent thinking, which is characterized by non-conformity, impulsivity, and low agreeableness (a super factor of Hans Eysenck’s psychoticism). Creative people are able to think outside the box and connect seemingly unrelated ideas, creating new solutions to old problems.
While being non-conformists, they still respect and even embrace traditional values, especially when those traditions are outdated and in need of change. In this way, they can be both iconoclastic and traditional, which helps them to create new solutions that are effective in their own particular contexts.
Creative individuals are open to all experiences, emotions and sensations. They are able to absorb all of this information and then let it go, allowing their thoughts to flow freely. However, this can also be their downfall; they may get distracted by the constant stream of new ideas and become overwhelmed. This is why many creative people need to have specific rituals and routines for getting their work done – they need to be able to focus and block out the distractions.
Creativity without discipline is just raw power – it’s the ability to generate ideas that makes someone creative, but without the self-discipline to turn those ideas into something tangible, it’s useless. For creative people, this means setting goals and working towards them. It could be a daily writing practice, scheduling time for work each day, or following an outline for a project. This kind of structure can help them to stay on task, and prevents them from getting distracted by shiny objects that they are enamored with.
Creative individuals are very comfortable with failure. They understand that they need to be able to tolerate some degree of setbacks in order to move forward with their projects. They also know how to learn from their mistakes, and they have the confidence to keep going when others tell them it is not possible.