Creative people come up with new ideas, products, services, or solutions. They may be artists, writers, musicians, composers, inventors, sculptors, or entrepreneurs. They are also known as innovative, imaginative, trailblazing, or visionary.
Creatives are typically passionate about their work. Their passion fuels their creativity, but they also know how to use practical knowledge and strategies to achieve their goals. They balance dreams with realistic strategies; inspiration with hard work; and thinking outside the box with following through.
Having a creative mindset is often seen as a gift, but it can also be a curse. Creatives are more likely to be sensitive, and this can lead to feelings of frustration, failure, or rejection. In addition, they can have higher-than-average intelligence, which can create a sense of pressure to produce.
Most people who are creative think differently from most other people, but it’s not just their brains that are wired differently. A person’s personality, lifestyle choices, and upbringing can have a big impact on their creativity. Those who are exposed to more positive experiences as children (like being encouraged to express themselves) and those who have high levels of empathy, social skills, or emotional intelligence tend to be more creative.
In a study comparing the brains of exceptionally creative visual artists and scientists to those of highly educated control groups, researchers found that the brains of exceptional creatives have different patterns of connectivity. These differences can be explained in part by the fact that most creatives are self-directed, motivated, and independent. They are also more likely to be extroverted and spontaneous. They are also more likely to focus on their emotions and the details of their surroundings than most others.
The researchers identified three super factors that predict high creative achievement: Plasticity, Divergence, and Convergence. The first of these, Plasticity, consists of being open to new experiences, being inspired, and having high energy. It’s also characterized by a flexible style of problem solving, which is helpful for innovation. The second of these, Divergence, consists of non-conformity, impulsivity, and low agreeableness. This is close to Hans Eysenck’s concept of psychoticism and can be a barrier to creativity.
Finally, the third of these super factors, Convergence, consists of precision, persistence, and critical thinking. This is a trait that most creatives share and helps them make logical connections between disparate ideas.
When most people think about creativity, they often envision someone writing or painting something original. But creativity is actually quite a complex process. It involves multiple brain functions, including memory, perception, and decision-making.
Creativity is a learned behavior, and everyone can learn how to be more creative. It helps to be self-directed and motivated, but it also requires a certain level of flexibility in order to allow new ideas to form. The best way to stimulate the creative process is by practicing mindfulness and paying attention to your surroundings. For example, many of the world’s most creative people, like Pablo Picasso and Vladimir Nabokov, have said that they do their best work early in the morning or late at night.