Characteristics of Creative Person

Conan O’Brien expresses himself for Fast Company’s Most Creative People issue (June 2011). 

This is funny!

Creative people are idealistic, energetic, confident, independent, thorough, adventurous, child-like, possesses a sense of humour, are perseverance and spontaneous and are risk-takers. Do you possess any one (or more) of these characteristic? If you do, then you are a creative person.

Creative people are independent thinkers. They can work by themselves and are not afraid of what people may say. They transcend accepted patterns of thinking. They do not conform to rules and regulations that restrict their freedom to think and act. They do not follow the crowd. People who are creative are full of energy. They possess a certain characteristic zest and a habit for spontaneous action. Creativity requires energy. Energetic people have the power and stamina to create new ideas, new things and new journeys.

Creative people are more likely to engage in adventurous and stimulating acts such as kayaking, mountain climbing, going places in rural areas or working overseas. They trod the unbeaten path. They have a strong curiosity and urge to understand the world around them and to try almost everything. Hence their wide interests and unusual hobbies. A sense of self-confidence is central to creativity. One cannot create if one is not confident of one’s abilities and capabilities. Self-confidence is not only inborn but it may also be developed through experience and exercise.

People who are creative are also playful and child-like. They have no prejudices and are not tainted by adult notions of what is proper and not proper. They are still full of wonder and are not afraid of criticism and comment. They are not bound by convention. Creative people are non-conformists to some extent. A sense of humour is another attribute of creative people. Humour may lead to great discoveries, invention and artistic creation. A fanciful, playful and excitable state of mind is an important feature of creative thinking and creative thinkers. Developing the ability to see the humorous side of life is a prerequisite to creativity.

A strong sense of perseverance, persistence and unwillingness to give up is another characteristic of creative people. They do not give up so easily or so readily. They will try again and again. Each failure is viewed as a learning experience. Creative people also risk-takers. Risk is everywhere. We take risk while driving to work, while playing games and when giving an opinion. If we do not try out new ideas and take risk, how do we know it will work or not? The greatest failure is not to attempt a new idea at all. The world’s greatest inventors, discoverers and pioneers are all risk-takers. Because they have independent mind and high-confidence in themselves, they are more willing to take creative risk than the average person. They dare to differ, to make changes and to deviate from the usual.

Are the characteristics enumerated above innate or are they acquired? The answer is – both. We are born with creative characteristics and we can learn to be creative too. Creative abilities exist in varying degrees in everyone of us. It is a matter of getting these abilities to surface and make them work for you. Creativity is within every one of us. It not the exclusive possession of a select few*.

Lord, Give Us Today Our Daily Idea(s)

*These characteristic are taken from Leo Ann Mean’s On Creativity: Awaken the Creative Mind (Chapter 2: Creative Person). Use and modified without permission. That’s what creative people do.