To be a happy, healthy and confident person, you need to know and accept who you are and what you are capable of – both the strengths and the limitations. Too many times, people focus on the limitations and remain blind to their strengths.
Do you waste time daydreaming or find yourself immersed in projects at odd times of the day and totally lose track of time? Are you considered too nosy, asking too many questions and taking crazy risks? All these traits are often seen in a negative light, especially in children. All this ‘nonsense’ needs to be stamped out! – is an approach seen among many parents and even schools. Thus the flickering light of creativity is often stamped out at an early age, leading to a loss of self esteem and the confidence to take risks and do innovative things.
A lot of creative people may not acknowledge their creative capabilities as the creative self is quite complex and paradoxical. Creative personality types tend to avoid habit or routine, so they are actually difficult to pin down.
Though you may not fit the stereotype of the “tortured artist,” you can still check for these tell-tale characteristics of highly creative people.
1. You Love to Daydream
How often have you got scolded as a child for daydreaming while should have been studying? Quite often, probably!
According to research, while daydreaming the brain processes are same as those associated with creativity and imagination. Though it may seem mindless, daydreaming really engages a highly engrossed brain state and it can lead to unexpected and sudden insights and connections.
I am sure you can recall instances where you had brilliant ideas or solutions to a nagging problem, strike you out of the blue, while your mind was wandering nowhere in particular. According to psychologist Rebecca L. McMillan, “Mind-wandering can aid in the process of creative incubation.”
Daydreaming is a way of getting out of your own self and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, or rather their brain – it enables you to imagine what the other person may be thinking. Research has revealed that creative thinking is enhanced while considering a questing as if it was new or while taking on another person’s thinking or perspective.
2. You are Curious about Everything
This is again something you got into trouble for as a child- Asking too many questions!
The insatiably curiosity is often a tell tale trait of the highly creative personalities. They look at the world and everything in it with wonder and curiosity- why? and how?…they want answers.
They look for answers and try to find them through passionate conversations or by daydreaming the possible scenarios.
3. You Lose Track of Time
How often have you experienced this flow, completed your work and found that its way past meal time and you didn’t even realize it!
In general, creative minds tend to be messy. They get distracted fast. Painters, writers, musicians and other creative mind people know that their productivity depends on a clear and focused mind. Because of their tendency to day dream, the resourceful creative types must take the time to practice mindfulness.
But then again, when the creative types are focused on their work and in the flow, they lose track of all that’s around them. Their focus is so complete that they have transcended conscious thought and is now totally ‘in the zone.’
Many creative people have found that the normal fixed work routine doesn’t work for them. The ‘flow’ happens at its own sweet time. And the resourceful ones work during the hours that work for them – irrespective of whether it is late at night, middle of the night or early in the morning.
4. You are Passionate About What you Do
Unless your work is your passion, you are not truly happy to be doing it. The job may help pay the bills, but it brings you no happiness.
Creative people work best when they are intrinsically motivated rather than from a need for recognition or reward. They don’t usually get along too well with the management as they hate being told what to do; they prefer dancing to their own tunes.
Challenges usually have them excited and risky problems energize them as they often view these as an opportunity to utilize their talents.
5. You are a Risk Taker
“Creatives fail and the really good ones fail often.”
Creativity means – creating something from nothing or rather from an assortment of raw ingredients. Creative people become more successful when they take risks. This is not for the timid – when creativity goes awry, as it often does, money gets wasted, reputations get tarnished and plenty of time is wasted.
Resilience is the key to creative success. Creative achievement often comes from having failed repeatedly till you find what really works the magic. The greatest entrepreneurs are the extremely creative ones and they took great risks to reach where they stand now.
