Creativity is an essential component to success in any field. However, it is not something that comes naturally to everyone. A creative mindset is not always easy to grasp, and some people may struggle with it throughout their life. If you’re trying to develop your own creativity, it helps to understand what qualities are associated with the most successful creatives.
Creative people are flexible and open-minded. They enjoy experimenting with ideas and finding solutions that work best for them. For example, if they want to design a pair of running shoes, they’re willing to try different designs and assess how each one feels when wearing them. This process takes a lot of time and effort, but they know it will lead to the best results.
They follow their intuition, but they’re also logical and rational. Creative people are able to balance these opposing traits in order to produce the best work possible. They use their intuition when making decisions, but they also know that the perfect solution to a problem won’t always come easily and requires consistent effort.
Intuitive people have a strong connection to their emotions. This can be positive, such as when they feel passionate about a project and work tirelessly to reach their goals. It can also be negative, as is often the case with writers and artists who produce their most meaningful work after a period of turmoil or tragedy. It is important for creative people to be able to connect with their emotions, but they must also be able to control them and not allow them to interfere with their work.
Being highly creative means embracing failure. Creative people are able to see the value in their mistakes and use them as lessons for the future. They are able to separate themselves from their work and assess it objectively, which allows them to make improvements in the future. For example, an inventive engineer might be disappointed when their latest invention doesn’t work as well as hoped, but they would still view the process as beneficial and learn from the experience.
Creative people are uninhibited in their expressions of opinion and may be radical or spirited in disagreement. They are tenacious and persistent in their pursuit of their goals, but they’re also aware of the need to take breaks and maintain a healthy work/life balance. They’re able to “play” with their work and don’t take themselves too seriously, but they’re also able to hold their creations to a high standard.
Unlike some other professions, most creative people love what they do. They enjoy their work and are genuinely interested in learning more about it. This can be problematic when a creative person isn’t able to separate their work from themselves, and they become overly invested in it. For instance, a writer who is passionate about their work might not be willing to edit a single sentence of it. This kind of behavior can damage a piece of writing or an idea that was once thought to be revolutionary.