1. They understand how to enjoy something instead of obsess over it.
2. They can live outside their own heads.
3. They know how to be practical.
Artists oftentimes excel at the abstract, but struggle with the mundane. They may know how to paint a portrait of you, but might not know how to do their taxes. Non-artistic people should take pride in their ability to handle the stuff that seems basic, but is alien to so many artistic people.
4. They don’t overthink things.
It takes forever for artists to make decisions. They go back and forth (and back and forth) before they take action, and even then, they’re still not convinced that action was the right choice. Non-artistic people often know how to make decisions and not worry as much if they made the wrong choice.
5. They have more time on their hands.
It takes a long time to make art. There’s a common saying that it takes 10,000 hours to get good at something, particularly something artistic. That’s 10,000 hours that could be spent hanging with friends, going new places or just living your life. But time for stuff like that is exclusively reserved for non-artistic people.
6. They understand that it’s okay to indulge in junk entertainment every once in awhile.
7. They don’t need to express themselves.
8. They understand that there are things more important than art.
9. They know the meaning of a real day’s work.
Making art is work—there’s no question about it. But it’s an odd type of work that doesn’t leave you as satisfied as you might be when you clock out of your work shift. Sometimes a construction worker feels more fulfilled than an artist, and oftentimes, they get paid more for their time and effort.
10. They’re usually better socially.
11. They just remember instead of reflect.
Artistic people are likely to focus too much on the past. They get caught in a rut in which they’re constantly trying to figure out what things meant, when they should really just focus on the present and the future. Non-artistic people are less likely to make that mistake, remembering the things that happened to them but not over analyzing them to death.
12. They’re better at letting things go.
Artistic people are prone to hold onto feelings like anger and grief and sadness. They think they need those negative emotions to fuel their art. Non-artistic don’t have harmful thoughts like that. That’s just another reason so-called “artists” should, at times, be jealous of the non-artistic, and not take shame in who they are. Featured photo credit: Alex Eylar via flickr.com
