If you work with creative people everyday as I do as a Creative Director, you will read this list and smile and think, “Yes! That is SO true.” If you don’t, and the creative people around you constantly leave you baffled, take heart. These statements hold so much good truth and they will help you understand them just a little bit better.
1. They have a mind that never slows down. The creative mind is a non-stop machine fueled by intense curiosity. This can be exhausting at times but it is also the source of some crazy fun activities and conversations.
2. They challenge the status quo. Two questions drive every creative person more than any others: What if? and Why not? They question what everyone else takes at face value.
3. They embrace their genius even if others don’t. Creative individuals would rather be authentic than popular. Staying true to who they are, without compromise, is how they define success even if means being misunderstood or marginalized.
4. They have difficulty staying on task. Highly creative people are energized by taking big mental leaps and starting new things. Existing projects can turn into boring slogs when the promise of something new and exciting grabs their attention.
5. They create in cycles. Creativity has a rhythm that flows between periods of high, sometimes manic, activity and slow times that can feel like slumps. Each period is necessary and can’t be skipped just like the natural seasons are interdependent and necessary.
6. They need time to feed their souls. No one can drive cross-country on a single take of gas. In the same way, creative people need to frequently renew their source of inspiration and drive. Often, this requires solitude for periods of time.
7. They need space to create. Having the right environment is essential to peak creativity. It may be a studio, a coffee shop, or a quiet corner of the house. Wherever it is, allow them to set the boundaries and respect them.
8. They focus intensely. Highly creative people tune the entire world out when they’re focused on work. They cannot multi-task effectively and it can take twenty minutes to re-focus after being interrupted, even if the interruption was only twenty seconds.
9. They feel deeply. Creativity is about human expression and communicating deeply. It’s impossible to give what you don’t have, and you can only take someone as far as you have gone yourself. A writer once told me that an artist must scream at the page if they want a whisper to be heard. In the same way, a creative person must feel deep if they are to communicate deeply.
10. They live on the edge of joy and depression. Because they feel deeply, highly creative people often can quickly shift from joy to sadness or even depression. Their sensitive heart, while the source of their brilliance, is also the source of their suffering.
Read 11-20 here: http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/20-things-remember-you-love-highly-creative-person.html?utm_content=buffer4e39f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
