Communicative features of creative people.

Neurobiology paints a complex picture of creativity. Scientists now understand that the nature of creativity is much more complex than differences in the right- or left-sided orientation of the brain (left hemisphere \u003d rational and analytical, right \u003d creative and emotional). In fact, creativity is believed to be associated with a number of cognitive processes, nerve impulses and emotions, and we still do not have a complete picture of how the creative mind works.

From a psychological point of view, creative personality types are difficult to define. They are complex, paradoxical and, as a rule, avoid routine. And this is not just a stereotype of a “tortured artist”. Studies have shown that creativity involves the interaction of many character traits, behavior and social influences in one person.

« In fact, it’s harder for creative people to recognize themselves, because they are harder than uncreative"Said Scott Barry Kaufman, a psychologist at the University of New York, who spent years researching creativity, told the Huffington Post. " What is the most paradoxical in a creative person ... these people have a more chaotic mind».

There is no “typical” portrait of a creative person, but there are characteristic features in the behavior of creative people. Here are 18 points that are peculiar to them.

They dream

Creative individuals are dreamers, even though their school teachers may have said that dreaming is a waste of time.
Kaufman and psychologist Rebecca L. Macmillan, she is also a co-author of a document entitled " Ode to positive creative daydreaming", Believe that wandering the mind can help in the process "Creative incubation". And, of course, many people know from experience that the best ideas come to us when we are in our minds in a completely different place.

Neuroscientists have found that imagination involves the same brain processes that are associated with fantasy and creativity.

They all notice

A creative person sees opportunities everywhere and constantly absorbs information that becomes food for creative expression. As Henry James is often quoted, the writer is the one from whom "Nothing escapes".

Joan Didion always carried a notebook with her and said that she writes down observations about people and events, which ultimately help her better understand the complexities and contradictions of her own mind.

They have their own hours of work.

Many great masters admit that they create their best work either very early in the morning or late in the evening. Vladimir Nabokov began writing immediately after waking up at 6 or 7 in the morning, and Frank Lloyd Wright took the habit of waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning and worked for several hours before heading back to bed. People with high creativity do not adhere to the standard daily routine.

They find time for privacy

« To be open to creativity, you must have the ability to constructively use solitude. We must overcome the fear of loneliness "- wrote the American existential psychologist Rollo May.

Artists and creators are often stereotyped as loners, although in reality they may not be. Solitude can be the key to creating better work. Kaufman connects this with the imagination - we must give ourselves time to just dream.

« You need to get in touch with your inner voice in order to be able to express yourself. It’s hard to hear your inner creative voice if you ... are not in touch with yourself and don’t think about yourself ”he says.

They "digest" life barriers

Many of the most iconic stories and songs of all time were created under the influence of heartbreaking pain. Often problems became a catalyst for creating outstanding works. In psychology, this is called post-traumatic growth, which suggests that people are able to use their hardships and early life trauma for substantial creative growth. Researchers have found that trauma can help a person succeed in interpersonal relationships, in life satisfaction, in the growth of spirituality, personal strength, and in opening up new opportunities.

They are in search of new experiences

Creative people like to experience new impressions, sensations and states of mind, and this is an important predetermining factor for a creative result.

« Openness to new experiences is the strongest predictor of creative achievement."Says Kaufman. " There are many different interrelated aspects: intellectual curiosity, the search for thrills, openness to emotions and imagination. And all together - this is an engine for cognition and exploration of the world, both internal and external ”.

They fail

Persistence is an essential quality for creative success, says Kaufman. Failure often lies in wait for a creative person, at least several times, but creative people - at least successful ones - learn not to lament about this.

“Creative people fail, but really good ones fail often.”, Steven Kotler wrote in Forbes in a passage about Einstein’s creative genius.

They ask important questions.

Creative people are voraciously inquisitive. As a rule, they prefer to explore life, and even when they grow up, they retain the interest of the discoverer. Through active conversations or individual mental thinking, creators, looking at the world, constantly ask themselves a lot of questions.

They are watching people

Natural observation and interest in other people's lives sometimes helps to generate the best of ideas.

« "Marcel Proust spent most of his life watching people, he wrote down his comments, and this found a way out in his books."says Kaufman. “For many writers, observing people is very important ...”

They risk

Partly, creative activity requires riskiness, and many successful creative people have to take risks in various aspects of life.

« There is a deep and meaningful connection between risk taking and creativity, and this is often overlooked."Writes Steven Kotler on Forbes. " Creativity is the act of creating something out of nothing. It requires the publication of what at first existed only in the imagination. Such an occupation is not for the timid. Wasted time, tarnished reputation, wasted money - ... These are all side effects when creativity goes awry».

They see everything in life as an opportunity for self-expression.

Nietzsche believed that life and the world should be regarded as a work of art. Creative individuals are constantly looking for opportunities to express themselves in everyday life.

« Creative expression is self-expression. Creativity is nothing more than a private expression of your needs, desires and uniqueness. ”says Kaufman.

They follow their true passion

Creative people tend to have intrinsic motivation. This means that they act, guided by some kind of inner desire, and not the desire for external reward or recognition.

Psychologists say that creative people are excited by exciting activities, and this is a sign of internal motivation. Studies show that simply thinking about one's own reasons for acting can be challenging enough to boost creativity.

They go beyond the boundaries of their own mind

Kaufman argues that the ability to dream is still necessary in order to help us go beyond the usual vision and explore other ways of thinking that can be an important asset for creativity.

« Daydreaming evolves to let us let go of the present"Says Kaufman. " The brain network associated with reverie is the brain network associated with the theory of the mind. I like to call it the "network of imagination" - it allows you to imagine yourself in the future, as well as imagine other people's thoughts. ".

They lose a sense of time

Creative individuals may find that when they write, dance, draw, or somehow express themselves, they find themselves “ in a state of flow”, Which helps them create at the highest level. This is a mental state when a person goes beyond the limits of conscious thought in order to achieve a state of increased concentration and tranquility. Then he is practically not subject to either internal or external stimuli, which can interfere with his activities.

You find yourself " in a state of flow"When doing what you really like, which makes you feel good.

They surround themselves with beauty

Creators, as a rule, have excellent taste and love to be in beautiful surroundings.

A study recently published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts showed that musicians, including music teachers and soloists, show a high sensitivity and sensitivity to artistic beauty.

Factum  It became interesting what such non-standard-minded people are, and with the help of scientists we have established some of their features.

1. Creative individuals are constantly in the clouds

If you watch them in a noisy company, where everyone communicates and has fun, they will sit in the corner of the room, write something, draw, think about something. At school, such children can be seen in a geometry lesson while Maria Ivanovna explains the Pythagorean theorem. They often go into themselves, forgetting about everything in the world, and it is precisely in such moments that brilliant thoughts are born in their head.

2. They are good observers, and they are good at analyzing what is happening around.

Anything can serve as a source of new ideas for them: landscapes, buildings, elements of clothing or decor. Clinging to some trifle, such people will create a masterpiece, turn a word into a whole story.

3. The daily routine does not exist

Waking up at 7, having lunch at noon, having noon at 16, having dinner at 19 and going to bed at 22 is definitely not the lot of creative people. They will work when they want, eat, if the chance comes up (or they can completely forget about it), and will sleep on anything and any way - even at the desk.

4. They love solitude

Many are afraid of loneliness, but not creative creatures. For them, this is a way to hide from the aggression of the world, from the formalities prevailing in society. Left alone, knowing that no one will disturb and drive away their muse, creative individuals can safely enjoy the present.

5. They always want to experience something new.

Routine - what is it? Creative people have never heard of this. The monotonous rhythm of life - “work - home - sleep” - is the worst thing that can happen to them. They need adrenaline, they need movement, new emotions.

6. They are not afraid to take risks.

To come up with something new, sometimes you need to do unexpected things, put everything at stake. Whatever it is: work, personal life. It is impossible to create something unusual without risking it.

7. For them, failure and failure is a huge motivation

Life, as we know, is in black and white stripes. Unbelievable success can be followed by a tremendous failure. All ingenious inventors and artists ever have doubts, are mistaken. But, if others would have abandoned the case halfway, without seeing intelligible results, creative people will not leave everything that simple. Of course, persistence is not only characteristic of non-standard-minded individuals, but for the latter this quality is very important.

8. They do what inspires them.

The most important thing for creative people is to do what they really like. They do not need any recognition. And they will not come up with something from under a stick either. The freedom to create new and new, to work better and better - this is happiness.

9. Creative individuals often put themselves in the place of others

After all, it is so interesting to get to know someone else's philosophy, to look at the world from a different point of view. For a moment, starting to think like another person is a great way to self-develop, and also learn to understand others.

10. They notice everything

These people have the ability to combine parts into a single whole. They see something that others do not see, and use their observations to better understand the essence of a phenomenon.

Without such people, the world would be more boring and dreary. Creative personalities encourage us to develop, change us for the better. Saying that they are 100% different from "non-creative" is wrong - they just have a desire to create something new. But originality and trying to invent the uninvented is possible and necessary for everyone.

From childhood we are told that we need to behave ourselves well, obey our parents, respect our elders, follow our advice, and everything will be as good as you can’t imagine. Then we go to school, and society makes adjustments to our ideas, providing a choice: fight for individuality or not stand out from the crowd to become less noticeable.

Individuality takes over and often makes the child an object of ridicule. And now, already as a student, a person either begins to fear his potential and hides it away from himself, or hides his work from others in fear that they will abhor all who happen to get to know him. Recognized yourself? Then there are nine reasons why it is not easy for you to live in harmony with the world around you.

• The right to cut the rope is always for the one who hung it

In other words, you challenge everything that you see around you, and for you this is a natural reaction to conformism and utilitarianism. Thus, according to the theory of the esteemed Mikhail Afanasevich Bulgakov, you suspend the rope, and the right to cut it, that is, to show others how ordinary their ideas are, simple souls and unpretentious thoughts, is yours. You are bored with the world, the world is uncomfortable with you.

  However, the desire to be comfortable is often the last on the list of a creative person

• Non-stop mode

Living according to normal human laws, namely going to bed in the evening, getting up early in the morning, going to work / study / internship, is for you something as complicated as the laws of physics or research in robotics. Do you like to work until late at night, then sleep until noon, drink a lot of coffee, meet new people, constantly share thoughts that are never “expired”, conduct intellectual conversations, constantly spin like a squirrel in a wheel. The world responds to this way of life with misunderstanding and, even less pleasantly, with irritation. It’s unpleasant, but the book itself will not write, right?

• “You are under our care, and therefore must do what we tell you”

Yes, parents really play a huge role in everyone’s life. They raise us and you, invest money and time so that their child can find a place in any field, and they are very worried when everything goes wrong. It is worth saying that you are free to live the way you want, reproaches and an attempt to strengthen control over your life begin. At a minimum, such an increase is accompanied by insinuating questions, an attempt to get a detailed report from you about the day spent, and more frequent calls. This behavior of parents often causes a backlash: their priceless child becomes more closed to them, trust in parents and resentment towards them is lost, accompanied by the thought: “Well, since you don’t believe in me, I won’t say anything at all.”

• Too absent-minded to be taken seriously

Your attention can never be focused on one subject. If circumstances require this, holding attention requires incredible effort. It's simple: there are so many thoughts that their one-sided orientation is impossible in principle, because there is so much more to think about. Unfortunately, the fact that at the moment you’re not responding to the teacher’s voice for the third minute because you are considering the next chapter from Umberto Eco’s “Absent Structure” is known to no one but you. Hence all these strange looks and whispers. Only those who communicate with him seriously can take a creative person seriously. The rest do not consider him from this world because of a constantly absent look.

But what can you do if the surrounding reality is so boring that you consider pride to leave your thoughts away from it?

• Popularity - I want it, but it pricks

You will not exchange your identity for it, even if you really want to. A creative person is so keenly aware of his discrepancy with his surroundings that he really hates the idea of \u200b\u200bbecoming part of it. Why? Because for him it is nothing more than a gray mass. You do not even remember them by name, and the explanation for this is the identity of these people. Therefore, you are more likely to be a loner than the soul of the company, because it is much more difficult with yourself than with any of them, but this makes you hundreds of times more interesting.

• The idea generator is like a constantly boiling machine

You are used to thinking. Constantly. Twenty-four hours a day. Even in a dream, your brain does not rest, and you wake up from another dream, which was even brighter than you could imagine. Everything that you see is subjected to careful reflection, then analysis, and then inferences. It interferes with others. Very often, creative people can hear such exclamations from friends and acquaintances as, “Stop thinking already! You think too much! ” It is impossible for them to understand how you do not get tired of incessant thoughts in your head, and you really get tired of them. And their misunderstanding is regarded as a personal insult.

• Why not talk easier?

Because the "book" mind builds sentences in the way that suits it best - colorfully, richly, with pictures and examples. You constantly fantasize and cheat, invent fables, and you do this not to amuse the people. You need this in order to check what else your imagination is capable of. You tell stories and accompany them with pictures. Often you are so verbose that untrained people such behavior seems wild.

You consider monotonous thinking as wildness, and this is completely your right.

• “I am utter insignificance, and do not dare to convince me of the opposite”

Creative people most often have problems with accepting themselves. Believe in yourself - how is it? Something from the realm of fantasy, because there are so many talented people around, how to compete with them? This is a standard set of thoughts of any creative person. He looks down upon those who try to convince him otherwise. Why, they don’t understand how much more complicated than they think.

• Bipolar disorder? No, normal condition

Your constant leaps from sadness to joy, and then back, many confuse with bipolar disorder. Therefore, they are afraid of you and bypass. You see it differently. Creative person determines the special depth of perception of himself, others, existing problems. This is where these sharp mood swings come from, which for many look frightening.

“It is interesting to be original. Unoriginality is boring ”- such words can be heard from every third person. Hear and decide that he is only asking. And will remain deceived by himself. But in this particular case, the well-known proverb “Well-fed, the hungry does not understand” is triggered. Therefore, the creative person remains to live with himself and conduct constant defense. For people of a non-creative mindset, further on, “creators” cannot be understood.

Everyone who has experienced depression is familiar with the feeling of loneliness and uselessness. Behind frustration lies something more, something that is not visible to the naked eye. People with developed creative thinking do not perceive the world around them like everyone else.

More and more evidence is emerging of the relationship between creativity, depression, and various mental disorders. But this does not mean that all geniuses are mad, and all madmen are geniuses. Although famous creators and their talents were sometimes associated with the peculiarities of the psyche, science proves that representatives of creative professions often experience depression due to the perceptions of the world around them. It seems to some artists and writers that they are prone to spleen more than others, in fact for them this is a natural state.

The “other” brain

Neurobiologist Nancy Andreasen believes that people with less pronounced creative abilities quickly adapt to new situations, changing their place and environment due to information received from authoritative figures. They find it easier in life because they trust the opinion of authority and rarely question what they learn from it.

Another thing is people with creative thinking. They experience the same situations differently. Flexibility of thinking is the foundation of creativity. It allows you to perceive things and events with a fresh, unencumbered look. But it also affects the inner world of creative people: it is complex and ambiguous. There are many questions in their world and few simple answers.

Surround yourself with similar people. Then creativity will blossom

If ordinary people quickly respond to new situations, depending on what parents, teachers, politicians, pastors, rabbis or priests used to tell them, a creative person lives in a more volatile and vague world. The poet looks at the world from a different angle: he doubts, weighs, and analyzes all the time. This causes a feeling of isolation, alienation or depression - writers, composers, musicians, artists, after all, are different from the majority, therefore they feel alien and strange. The environment habitual for an ordinary person in a creative person can cause stress.

Find yours

The feeling of isolation and loneliness is more or less familiar and understandable to every person. But creative ones need to look for oneself in order to experience genuine involvement. Politicians would feel uncomfortable in a dance school, just as creative minds are disappointed, trying to fit into generally accepted norms. In order to realize their differences from others and understand what makes them so special, the right incentives and support are needed. Otherwise, there is a high probability of withdrawing into yourself.

What to do? How not to be discouraged?

Accept your creativity

According to Nancy Andreasen, all creative-minded people should remember several things: “You must acknowledge your abilities and under no circumstances give them an abyss in vain. You need to value your talents and develop them, as if you are caring for your favorite garden. If we choke talents, we suppress our true identity, which leads to deep depression. We must also accept our oddities. We will always seem strange to less original people. Being strange is much more interesting than normal. Surround yourself with similar people. Then creativity will blossom. In addition, they will love and support you as you are. ”

If we stifle our talents, we repress our true identity, which leads to deep depression

Nancy Andreasen admits - creative people are really more prone to mental disorders because they experience "difficulties with filtering and perceiving the information entering the brain." Some of them avoid social contact because of the high sensitivity of their nature. However, understanding and recognizing your uniqueness helps move forward in the fight against depression.

So the most important thing is to find your circle or those who support you or share your worldview with you.