The Creative Mind (Part Two)

So...

We know from studies of "creative types" that there is no single "creative personality." That's good news, because it doesn't exclude me...or you.

But psychologists who've examined the topic have found certain traits among persons of greater creative achievement.

The most important are Complexity and Flexibility, and for our purposes, those two are close cousins.

In essence, what researchers have found is that highly creative types are more skillful at moving freely, fluidly, along the full spectrum of human personality. Because of this ability to adapt, they are perhaps more complex than the average human being (and we know how complex humans tend to be!)

In his book, Creativity (1996) Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, who has spent his career as a psychologist studying various aspects of creativity, achievement, and high performance, expands on this concept.

Based on his years of study, he argues that highly creative persons present paradoxes of complexity: When it comes to their behavior, instead of being this OR that, they tend to be this AND that.

Csikszentmihaly discusses a number of these "personality paradoxes." Let's look at them, in series, and see what we can learn:

Great physical energy, and often at rest.

Creativity requires great effort (Profound, huh? I know, that's what you come here for....)

Mental effort, physical effort, emotional effort. Long hours, intense concentration. Lots and lots of what Flannery O'Connor called "get."

To put the cookies on the bottom shelf: Highly creative types can't be lazy.

Except, sometimes you need to be.

Csikszentmihaly's point about polarity requires a creative person to move between these two states, with some skill at knowing when each is required.

For a season, you may have to "give it all you've got." For a season, you may have nothing to give.

Sing with me now: To everything (turn, turn, turn)...

Einstein worked ferociously hard creating his theories (something to do with "time" and "relatives." You can look it up). He would even work at his desk while rocking his daughter's cradle with one foot.

Then he escaped for long weekends, sailboating on the lakes of Switzerland.

Some have noted that highly creative individuals are more likely to need afternoon naps (you're welcome for that piece of ammunition).

Intense energy and effort.....AND....rest and relaxation. If you're serious about your creativity, you'd better get serious about both.

How are you doing on this first polarity? Leaning to one side or the other? How do you boost your energy? What helps you unwind?