8 Signs Of Creative People From A Therapist

The urge to classify, categorize, label everything is a hallmark of our time. People do not get tired of looking for more and more new criteria by which they can relate themselves to anything.

As if it will be much easier to understand yourself and your behavior if you say: “I am a Capricorn by a horoscope, a choleric by the type of temperament, a schizoid by a psychotype, an introvert in communication, and from the point of view of socionics, Robespierre.”

This is partly due to the fact that the information age really gives too much information, which is increasingly difficult to present in the form of something holistic, systemic.

On the other hand, a modern person experiences some difficulties in finding his personal boundaries, with self-determination and acceptance of himself as he is.

Oddly enough, but the request “And what am I really?” – one of the most common psychologists in the work.

If it is difficult to find an answer to a question “Who am I?”, the easiest way to start is by asking “What am I?”, “What am I?” And here you can often come across the fact that not all my qualities are equally dear and pleasant to me.

Most people divide their qualities into positive and negative, and the positive ones most often include qualities that are approved and encouraged by society.

There are socially approved personality traits that are pleasant and beneficial to possess these days, especially if they need to be indicated on a resume. Whoever you ask, most believe that today you need to be:

• sociable;
• purposeful;
• with an active lifestyle;
• creative;
• creative;
• flexible;
• thinking outside the box;
• responsible;
• proactive;
• stress-resistant, etc.

Stop, stop! When, like this, indiscriminately, everything is in one pot, little good turns out. After all, if you look closely, there are things on this list that are almost mutually exclusive.

For example, creativity is not very friendly with responsibility. And if a creative person is very responsible, then you need to understand that this is given to him at the cost of stress, and stress resistance is generally, most likely, not about him, etc.

To accept yourself and your, for example, your creative nature, you need to understand how a creative person works and what, in this regard, will have to be sacrificed.

1. Creative people are chaotic

In some cases, we can say about them that they are also undisciplined, disorganized, disordered.

Many creative people scold and reproach themselves for this! And this is not the worst option. Because the worst is when a creative person begins to break himself and severely discipline himself. The result can be very satisfying, but here’s the price … Most likely, this discipline will lead to stress.

E. Bern identified three ego states in the personality structure – Adult, Parent, Child.

Referring to these categories, we can say that disciplined people have a highly developed inner Parent who is responsible for the rules, norms, laws, order, schedules, schedules, etc.

Creative people are dominated by a free Child, who is responsible for creativity, play, emotions, spontaneity, and self-expression in the world.

Of course, now we are talking about this in a very simplified way: if you suppress your Child (creativity) and try to compensate him with a Parent (discipline) to the extent that is not characteristic of a person, nothing but stress and intrapersonal conflict will work.

It is for this reason that routine and monotony are sickening for creative people. They often perceive “everyday life” as a threat to their freedom and independence and do their best to end it – either reduce it to a minimum, or delegate it, or turn it into a game.

Creativity is always freedom, chaos, impulsiveness, spontaneity. If you enjoy having it, you have to sacrifice some of the order and organization.

2. Creative people can “hurt” their loved ones

And the inner Child is also involved in this. It is this side of the personality that is responsible for emotionality, impulsivity, spontaneity.

This is not to say that creative people tend to “offend” those who are dear to them. They don’t hurt. They act on emotions without considering the consequences. They can say something that they will regret in 2 minutes.

Creativity is unthinkable without spontaneity. Breaking wood without thinking is the other side of this coin.

If you wish, knowing this peculiarity, you can not break yourself, but learn to build relationships with loved ones in a special manner.

3. Creative people are vulnerable themselves

Expressing themselves in the world, many of them have a fear of evaluation, criticism, rejection, misunderstanding. From this, defense mechanisms are activated and “thorns” pop up in all directions.

Being creative often means taking risks in expressing yourself in the world, facing criticism and judgment.

4. Creative people often face social disapproval.

Because they often do not work from 9 to 6, and do not work at all from the point of view of office dwellers. And sometimes they even do something incomprehensible at all that cause confusion: “What do you pay for this ?!”

Someone no, no, and will remember the fable about the shameless Dragonfly and the hard worker-Ant. Someone will shake his head and urge to think about the future. Some creative people even have a “parasite complex”.

Being creative almost always means facing misunderstandings, disapproval, or even outright jealousy from those who have taken a different path.

True, truly creative people, in a fit of creative inspiration, do not think about such trifles!

And if you think about it, then this is a bell that it’s time to work on knowing and accepting yourself.

5. Creative people are not always taken seriously professionally.

In the understanding of many uncreative people, creative professions are more like hobbies than professions in the full sense of the word. Of course, a lot depends on how a particular “artist” (it does not matter, an artist, poet, philosopher, writer, designer) set himself, how he built boundaries and communication.

However, while this is not obvious, there will definitely be someone who will ask for help (make a model, draw a picture, come up with a poem for the holiday). Well, isn’t it difficult? It is strange, why, out of friendship, no one asks the dentist so, in between times, “to see a tooth”?

Being creative usually means that you have to very seriously and carefully build personal boundaries and defend your territory.

6. Creative people are “abnormal” and a little crazy

In what sense this is so. “Norm” is an extremely conventional, socially defined concept. Each society will have its own “norms”. And even in one society, these “norms” will change over time.

The norm is always some average-acceptable level of something convenient for society. “Normal” is the same as “none”. It simply corresponds to the norms – what at the given moment in a given society is convenient for this very society for optimal functioning.

Creativity cannot be “the norm” by definition. If everyone is creative and rushes to express themselves, society will not be able to function “normally”. In addition to poets, there should always be physicists, and besides composers – accountants.

The mind is most often associated not so much with the intellect as with the rational principle of the personality. So people who are more characteristic of figurative, metaphorical than rational thinking often look “crazy”.

Being creative means relying more on emotions and feelings, on intuition, rather than on common sense and logic. Alas, not both together!

7. Creative people do not always create in practice – sometimes they hatch ideas for years and cannot “give birth”

Unfortunately, this is so. Have a brilliant idea? Half of creative people simply lose half of their brilliant ideas. As D.I. Mendeleev: “Found, but not written down thought – this is a found and lost treasure “… Creative people in this sense are not treasure hunters, but real treasure hunters.

Alas, not everyone has the habit of at least writing down a thought in a notebook. Well, those who have such a habit have another problem – creative procrastination.

Sometimes successful and brilliant ideas are stored in boxes, boxes, drawers, cabinets and remain there until one day they are solemnly buried.

Henry Ford argued that ideas are undoubtedly important and valuable, but ideas are just ideas. Anyone can generate an idea, come up with something sensible!

“To translate an idea into reality, into a specific product – that’s what really matters. “…

Many creative people have difficulties with embodiment. Some are hindered by the fear of criticism, others simply do not need it, others lack entrepreneurial acumen, and still others have no time.

Being creative means taking responsibility not only for the birth of your ideas, but also for their implementation.

8. Creative people are often process-oriented rather than result-oriented.

Actually, who generally said that any idea should be realized, and the novel should be finished?

Creative people do not always finish their works and projects for one simple reason – the result, as the end of the process, does not interest them. Sometimes it’s more important to express yourself through a word than to publish a book.

Jerome Salinger, author “The Catcher in the Rye”After the book’s deafening success, he stopped publishing, chose the life of a recluse and wrote exclusively “for himself,” seeing in this a kind of “therapy” and spiritual practice. And that didn’t make him any less creative person.

Not being result-oriented is psychologically normal. True, this feature is unlikely to be in demand when trying to get a job in business.

Creativity is not just an interesting personality trait. It is also, in a sense, a choice.

You may not have chosen to be a creative person or not, but you are the one who chooses – to accept your peculiarities or to try to “fix” them in order to get something different.

Accepting your own characteristics (along with their shadowy sides) is always a profitable decision! After all, the best way is to reveal and develop what is “your”, dear, natural, and not appropriated.