I am an absolute believer in the proven power and untapped potential of creativity—and deplore the way our current culture represses it. It’s an extraordinary force—eminently capable of transforming our society for the better—and yet we constrain it, dissipate it, trivialize it, confine it, and misuse it.
Above all, we don’t understand it—which may well be why we fear it. It’s a force that tends to take us out of our comfort zones and it’s the antithesis of corporatism—and most of us live in a corporate world and accept its mindset.
Truly creative people do not. We challenge it—largely because we question everything. It is endemic to our natures.
Creativity does not make for an easy life—just a fascinating one.
Carolyn Gregoire of the Huffington Post has written an important article on creativity which absolutely resonates with me., It is entitled: 18 Things Highly Creative People Do Differently—and its on the money where I am concerned.
In fact, it’s almost creepily accurate—yet I have never encountered Ms. Gregoire before.
How does she know this stuff?
The following is an extract.
And psychologically speaking, creative personality types are difficult to pin down, largely because they're complex, paradoxical and tend to avoid habit or routine. And it's not just a stereotype of the "tortured artist" -- artists really may be more complicated people. Research has suggested that creativity involves the coming together of a multitude of traits, behaviors and social influences in a single person.
"It's actually hard for creative people to know themselves because the creative self is more complex than the non-creative self," Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist at New York University who has spent years researching creativity, told The Huffington Post. "The things that stand out the most are the paradoxes of the creative self ... Imaginative people have messier minds."
While there's no "typical" creative type, there are some tell-tale characteristics and behaviors of highly creative people. Here are 18 things they do differently.
- They daydream.
- They observe everything.
- They work the hours that work for them.
- They take time for solitude.
- They turn life's obstacles around.
- They seek out new experiences.
- They "fail up."
- They ask the big questions.
- They people-watch.
- They take risks.
- They view all of life as an opportunity for self-expression.
- They follow their true passions.
- They get out of their own heads.
- They lose track of the time.
- They surround themselves with beauty.
- They connect the dots.
- They constantly shake things up.
- They make time for mindfulness.
WHAT MY READERS THINK
In the meantime, we found that several of our friends also loved your books and are waiting for your next one. And we find we continue to compare other writers to you. We've read adventure stories and we say "he not as good a writer as Victor O'reilly. The truth is, in our opinion that you have attained a special status as a writer. It is that rare position where your ability is so outstanding that one tends to measure the quality of writing and enjoyability of other books to the pleasure received from yours. At least that's what happens in our house.
Warmest regards,
Pete and Lee Crundall
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