There are many misconceptions about creative people or creativity. These fallacies don’t do justice to creative people. Furthermore, these attitudes might even hamper our own creativity.
So let’s look at some traits of creative people that might actually surprise you.
Creative people do need to work hard
It is a popular but wrong impression that creative minds make up their lack of hard work with their creative genius. Their valuable ideas are so precious that they can afford to laze around in-between these outbursts of genius.
But quite the opposite is true. Creative minds are endlessly working in-between those highlights. They are going through bad ideas (see below) and pitching their good ideas. Also they are acquiring the skills and knowledge needed for creative output (see below).
Creative individuals have many bad ideas
In our idealized perception, highly creative individuals strike gold every time they put their mind towards a problem.
Nevertheless, creative people have many bad ideas, too. The art is to sort the good from the bad ones ideas.
Some creative people schedule their creativity
There is the romantic impression of unbridled creative forces that suddenly take over the mind of the genius.
In reality however, creativity can be scheduled to a certain extend. Some creative minds even need the dedicated time, space, and focus to work on their respective challenges.
Others schedule their creativity without even realizing it. Have you ever heard someone say: “I have my best ideas under the shower.”? Apparently this person found an optimal time and place to be creative.
Creativity does need to be practiced
A popular misconception is that you are born a creative person. Either you are creative or you are not.
But nothing could be further from the truth. Creativity can and must be practiced. Creative skills only develop over time and with practice. In some fields, a certain level of knowledge or experience is even necessary to make any creative contribution.
Creative individuals often have contradicting traits
You might be surprised to learn, that creative individuals have contradicting characteristics. This does not fit the prejudice of a genius that lives only the extreme.
For more on these contradicting traits of highly creative people read this blog post.