Five Myths About Creative People

Five Myths About Creative People

Creative people have been defined by others who want to stereotype creatives as a distinctive, yet defined, type of people. The thing is, not all creative people are created equal.

1. Creative People Are Just Artsy People.

Anyone can be creative, just like anyone can have the trait to be funny or nice. Creativity isn’t limited to the arts; it can be found in nearly every field. It involves witnessing a situation and figuring out a unique work-around solution. Basically, creativity involves not limiting oneself. Those who are given a set of rules or guidelines and follow these rules without question are not creative. Creative people mold guidelines beyond what they are given and develop something exclusive.

2. Creative People Are Original.

Actually, a lot of creativity nowadays isn’t original. Most creations derive from someone else’s work that was already made in the past. Creatives usually unknowingly, and sometimes knowingly, use a creative work from the past as a basis upon which they build a new idea. As long as it’s something that hasn’t been thought of yet, using a past idea is acceptable to make something new.

3. Creative People Are Irresponsible.

Being creative has nothing to do with being organized or not. Some creative people have OCD while others are complete slobs. It usually depends on what they prefer as their method of thinking and living: whether they like to keep things organized at all times so that their head isn’t clouded or if they like to keep things around to remind themselves of different possibilities.

4. Creative People Are Extroverts.

A lot of creative people actually enjoy just keeping to themselves. Most prefer being in solitude because it gives them time to think and reflect. Although they’re not necessarily constantly outgoing, they are usually avid people watchers and like to observe to gain more insight into how we as humans function and perceive.

5. Creative People Are Risk Takers.

Creatives definitely take risks, but not necessarily more than non-creatives. Instead of just randomly going with whatever comes to mind, they still follow certain guidelines upon which they build their thoughts and ideas. They learn to evaluate the risks and benefits of their proposals and make a decision based on what could produce the best outcome.

The key to overcoming stereotypes is to recognize that they shouldn’t even be there in the first place. Sure, creative people can be recognized, but they shouldn’t all be treated the same. A lot of people have made false assumptions on what makes a person creative that have thus led to several myths that should be busted.