Truth be told, having the gift to create is not evident to all. It is through our innate and rather inhuman ability to dedicate time and hone our crafts until we achieve awe-inspiring greatness which serves as the true measure of creativity. While there are starving artists who put value in the quality of their meticulous creations, some are just are as artistic without having to adhere to certain cliches that limit the worldview of what creativity truly means. In fact, you, dear reader, may be one of these highly creative people who are not fully aware of their gift. To make sure that you are indeed a creative person, refer to the signs below and see if you exhibit any of these.
1. You like to solve problems
Whether it’s playing sudoku or doing your math homework, both of which require you to flex your problem-solving muscles, your propensity for finding solutions to the problems in front of you is a sign of creative mind. While there is the debate on whether creativity and critical thinking work in the same plane of consciousness, both are nonetheless interconnected because problems let you draw solutions from your knowledge and experience.
2. You are highly motivated
There is a beautiful stubbornness that exists within motivation. While it encourages bull-headedness and a determined mentality, motivation allows us to pursue our passions to the extent of our finiteness, if not beyond it. According to Gordon Torr’s book Managing Creative People, the higher the intrinsic motivation (doing something for its sake), the greater the creativity of that person will be.
3. You are courageous
Success is never achieved overnight. You will have to fail countless of times before getting it right. By the time Thomas Edison was able to develop thousands of patents and created revolutionary devices (which laid the groundwork for the technology we use today), his teachers have told him that he was “stupid to learn anything” and was fired in this first two jobs for not being productivity. Lesser men would cave in and submit to defeat, but rejection will only fire the courage in creative people like Edison to not only prove their naysayers wrong but also pursue their passions regardless of popular belief.
4. You love playing
Play is the act in which people are not stressed out by work as they relax and do something fun for a change. As the brain is in this state of euphoria, the creative juices naturally flow from you, allowing you to come up with better ideas. This is what LEGO Foundation CEO Dr. Randa Grob-Zakhary wants to instill in people through his building blocks that pave way to childhood development by way of fun learning. “Play allows us to test our capabilities, as all forms of learning should,” says Grob-Zakhary in this interview at Forbes. “It stimulates children’s learning abilities by fostering creativity, building critical thinking, sparking intellectual curiosity, and facilitating learning by doing.”
5. You go against the grain
Your inquisitive mind allows you to question instead of following, inquire instead of agreeing, and be your person instead of being like everyone else. You learn the rules only so you can create new ones for yourself.
6. You are boundless
There is only so much than a man can do and achieve, but that should not limit anyone to dream big. In fact, having boundaries is beneficial in helping us achieve things bigger than anyone would ever imagine. Your limitations are gateways to creative thinking, which fuels the imagination to stretch their capabilities to their potential.
7. You are expressive
You are well aware of what you feel and think and are not afraid to share them. The freedom to self-expression is a skill that comes naturally from creative people and their passion for sharing their most honest thoughts despite what others may say or do. “F*ck Tha Police” is a foul-mouthed rant about racial profiling and police brutality. It is also spoke the truth experienced by black urban youths during the time of its release, which makes it one of the most expressive and memorable songs in N.W.A’s discography.
8. You are emphatic
At the same time, you are concerned with what people feel and think. As a creative person, you want to use your understanding of their thoughts and emotions to provide them something that answers to their needs. Whether it’s a positive response or negative criticism, you take them all in stride and focus on creating something better for them. “When everyone can create very quickly, what is it that will distinguish your product or brand from the rest? Caring for your customers,” says Aaron Walter, head of User Experience at MailChimp about the importance of empathy in creating a product for consumers.
9. You find puns high-larious
Puns have been a widely used poetic device in the English Literature. Hell, if Shakespeare came up with 3,000 puns in all of his plays, then you could say that’s a rather pun-tastic feat. wink wink More importantly, puns are indicative of the mind’s playfulness and creativity with words, which also indicates their sense of humor.
10. You are “wired in”
In 2010’s The Social Network, newly introduced Shawn Parker tried to shake hands with one of Facebook’s programmer but the latter decline while still in the computer with his headphones on. Mark Zuckerburg explains to Shawn that the programmer was “wired in” and can’t be disturbed at all. By being “wired in,” your concentration is at an all-time high, which allows you to brainstorm, develop, produce, and create ideas from scratch much more effectively.
11. You have the Flow
According to Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers and Geoff Colvin in Talent is Overrated in this post, Flow refers to the “mental state of complete absorption in which one is so captivated with practicing a skill that hours can drift away, and one might even lose awareness of one’s surroundings.” Through Flow, work is not a burgeoning task that you have to endure as a means to end. For creative people like you, work is play and allows you to be more engaged with it from a creative standpoint.
12. You find yourself daydreaming
Letting your mind wander may sound like a mindless activity, but it helps your creative juices flowing as you are in constant dialogue with your thoughts during this period. In fact, constant daydreaming paves the way for you to develop more insights from your imagination and creative faculties.
13. Nothing escapes you
You are like a sponge to experiences. You want to soak as many information and observations as possible. For creative people like Joan Didion, it’s about writing every significant moment in her notebook. With technology allowing us to capture experiences through our mobile devices, there is no reason to let vivid moments slip away from you.
14. You are sensitive
Part of being able to immerse yourself in particular experiences is your ability to see the beauty and profundity in even the simplest of things. You can spot the poetry in the most mundane of things because you are aware of small things that comprise the big whole. At the same time, your senses tend to overwhelm you in the face of a strong experience, whether it’s criticism or an applause. Regardless, people high on temperamental sensitivity and rich inner life have more developed creativity compared to others.
15. You like to go for something new
The diversity of experience is of utmost importance for creative people. Whether it’s going out to do something out of the ordinary or acquiring a new skill, having new experiences in your memory bank allows you to escape mundanity and continue feeling your creativity with new experiences to play around with.
16. You can get things done
Creativity is your vehicle, and the sheer act of creation is your destination. Facing a task that seemed insurmountable only fuels the fire to create and make someone out of thin air. Putting things into perspective, had Elon Musk, a.k.a. World’s Raddest Man, succumbed to the seeming impossibility of making online payments, space exploration, and the commercial production of electric cars possible, then PayPal, SpaceX, and Tesla Motors, respectively, would not have existed. Featured photo credit: Eddy Klaus via unsplash.com
