Wednesday 30 November 2011

Ten paradoxical traits of the creative personality


This is a very interesting look at creative types by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a psychology professor in a university in California. If you are a creative person, you may find yourself nodding your head in agreement a lot. I did. 

Here are the 10 basic points:

1. Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and at rest.


2. Creative people tend to be smart yet naive at the same time.


3. Creative people combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility.


4. Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality.


5. Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted.


6. Creative people are humble and proud at the same time.


7. Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping.


8. Creative people are both rebellious and conservative.


9. Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.


10. Creative people's openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment.


You can read explanations of the ten points here.

17 comments:

Louise said...

Yes many ring true-the smart and yet naive one had a very loud alarm bell ringing when I read it:)

Group 8 said...

Me too! And the extovert/introvert one. All of them really :)

Titus said...

Ooh, I'm a bit foxed by this. To me it reads like the old gypsy fortune-teller's trick - tell you you're everything (everything positive and a little bit complex, of course) and something will stick. So, I'm unconvinced, but maybe I had better go and read the whole article.

Ann said...

Enjoyed your interview over at Niamh's so stopped by. Delighted to meet you. Look forward to reading more here. Have a wonderful day!

Group 8 said...

That's very nice, thanks a million, Ann. I'll be over at Rachel Fenton's blog tomorrow for the next stop on my virtual tour, if you'd like to stop by.

Group 8 said...

Titus - you could be right but so much of it rang true to me. And when I think about other creative people I know, they are all very complex and contradictory.

Tania Hershman said...

That does sound quite familiar, I do wonder how I am responsible and irresponsible at the same time! Thanks for this, very interesting....

Group 8 said...

Tania - I know EXACTLY the ways in which I am responsible and irresponsible at the same time :) It's a curious mix!

Donna OShaughnessy said...

So yesterday I get a package in the mail with an Ireland postmark. Oh happy day. A lovely peacock head greeted me as I pulled it forth from its wrapping cage. BINGO! A wonderful poetry book which I read cover to cover last night. Getting into bed at 2am...but worth every minute of sleep lost. Oh how you made me ache for the cliffs, Dublin, my children, my grandchildren...LOVED IT.

Group 8 said...

Aw Donna! That's so wonderful. Sorry to make you ache but hope it was in a good way!! N x

dan powell said...

Most of those ring true for me - particularly number seven. Interesting reading.

Group 8 said...

Yes, of course, Dan - you are a stay at home Dad/student/writer.

michelle Moloney King said...

Good list the And the extovert/introvert one defo rings bells for me.

Group 8 said...

Yes, me too, Michelle :) That's something that people who know me well would see in me, but not necessarily others.

Eye on the Earth said...

Thanks for this post. I enjoyed reading the list and the explanations. Great topic!
The years of study prove creative people have many positive traits that help them with being in the forefront of an idea, and to carry that idea through to reality. I guess I simplified the content of this terrific work, and there is not anything simple about it.
Smiles
Sharon

Group 8 said...

Hi Sharon, thanks for stopping by. I think creative people always wonder if they are like other creative people in their (odd) ways :)

Rachel Fenton said...

Utterly precise in its all over the place, bit of everything specificity.