10 paradoxical traits of creative people

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We recently revealed to you 7 creative secrets of Leonadro da Vinci. According to Michael Gelb, everyone can be creative and, without reinventing the wheel, create something new and interesting.

Today we will talk about the nature of creative people. Psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi is studying this question. He is one of the most respected experts in business psychology, best known for his theory of flow. Csikszentmihalyi is the author of several best-selling books, including Creativity: The Work and Lives of 91 Eminent People (1996). In it, he describes 10 paradoxical features inherent in creative personalities, which he managed to identify over 30 years of his work.

Do you want to know what distinguishes the creator from the layman? Then welcome to cat.

1. Strong, but not trained

A creative person has quite a lot of physical energy, but, unfortunately, it is not used much. After all, the work of a creator is, first of all, the work of his brain. Concentration solely on intellectual work leads to the fact that a healthy body looks weak. This is why it is important to maintain a balance of mind and body.

2. Smart but naive

Mihai Csikszentmihalyi recognizes that creative people are smart, they are distinguished by flexibility and originality of thinking, the ability to hear different points of view. But almost everyone naively believes that creativity can be measured by creative tests and developed at specialized seminars.

3. Playful but selfless

Creative people love to relax. As they say, nothing hedonistic is alien to them. But when it comes to the "birth" of a new project, they are able to work like obsessed. For example, the Italian artist Paolo Uccello, when developing his famous "theory of perspective", did not sleep all night and walked from corner to corner.

Csikszentmihalyi notes that most creators work late into the night and nothing can stop them.

4. Dreamers, but realists

This is the mystery of creative people. They are great inventors, they can come up with anything, but most of them look at life quite realistically. Apparently, William Ward was right when he said that a pessimist complains about the wind, an optimist hopes for a change in the weather, and a realist sets sail.

5. Extroverts, but withdrawn

We are used to dividing people into extroverts and introverts. It is believed that the former are sociable, easily converge with people, have charisma, etc. And the latter, on the contrary, live in their inner world, where only the “chosen ones” are allowed.

But, according to Csikszentmihalyi's observations, truly creative people combine both of these traits. In public, they are the soul of the company, and in the circle of loved ones they are quiet and laconic.

6. Modest but proud

Creative people tend to be very humble. They do not expect praise - the very process of creating a new one is important to them. However, at the same time, they will not give anyone a descent and will not allow them to humiliate their own dignity.

7. Courageous but feminine

Mihai Csikszentmihalyi argues that creative people often do not match their gender roles. So, creator girls are often distinguished by a tough disposition, and men, on the contrary, are sensuality and sentimentality.

8. Rebels, but conservatives

What is creativity? That's right - creating something new. In this regard, creative people are very often reputed to be rebels, since their ideas go beyond the usual. But at the same time, many of them find it difficult to part with their ossified habits, change roles, and so on.

9. Passionate but objective

All creative people are passionate about their work. It would seem that passion should dazzle, but truly creative people always objectively look at what they do.

Csikszentmihalyi emphasizes that a creative person must adequately perceive criticism, as well as separate his “I” from his work.

10. Open but happy

One of the creative secrets of Leonardo da Vinci was the "acuity of the senses." Creators are always open to new events, even if they hurt them. At the same time, internally they are harmonious happy people, since they know how to enjoy the creative process itself.

As you can see, creative people are really full of contradictions. But as Mihai Chikszentmihalyi says, it is these paradoxes that help them adapt to almost any situation, adapting everything around them to achieve their goals.

What paradoxical features of creative people do you know?