20 Traits of Creative People
by Karen Roberts
Posted on 04 Dec 2018
Take the leap to being more creative. Practice just one of these traits every week and see what happens.
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Challenges status quo -- dissatisfied with current reality, questions authority and routine and confronts assumptions. -
Curious -- actively explores the environment, investigates new possibilities, and honors the sense of awe and wonder. -
Self-motivated -- responds to deep inner needs, proactively initiates new projects, intrinsically rewarded for efforts. -
Visionary -- highly imaginative, maintains a future orientation, thinks in mental pictures. -
Entertains the fantastic -- conjures outrageous scenarios, sees possibilities within the seemingly impossible, honors dreams and daydreams. -
Takes risks -- goes beyond the comfort zone, experimental and non-conforming, courageously willing to "fail." -
Peripatetic -- changes work environments as needed; wanders, walks or travels to inspire fresh thinking; given to movement and interaction. -
Playful/humorous -- appreciates incongruities and surprise, able to appear foolish and child-like, laughs easily and often. -
Self-accepting -- withholds compulsive criticism of their own ideas, understands "perfection is the enemy of the good," unattached to "looking good" in the eyes of others. -
Flexible/adaptive -- open to serendipity and change, able to adjust "game plan" as needed, entertains multiple ideas and solutions. -
Makes new connections -- sees relationships between seemingly disconnected elements, synthesizes odd combinations, distills unusual ideas down to their underlying principles. -
Reflective -- incubates on problems and challenges; seeks out states of immersion; ponders, muses and contemplates. -
Recognizes (and re-cognizes) patterns -- perceptive and discriminating, notices organizing principles and trends, sees (and challenges) the "Big Picture." -
Tolerates ambiguity -- comfortable with chaos, able to entertain paradox, doesn't settle for the first "right idea." -
Committed to learning -- continually seeks knowledge, synthesizes new input quickly, balances information gathering and action. -
Balances intuition and analysis -- alternates between divergent and convergent thinking; entertains hunches before analyzing them; trusts their gut, uses their head. -
Situationally collaborative -- balances rugged individualism with political savvy, open to coaching and support, rallies organizational support as needed. -
Formally articulate -- communicates ideas effectively, translates abstract concepts into meaningful language, creates prototypes with ease. -
Resilient -- bounces back from disappointment, learns quickly from feedback, willing to "try, try again." -
Persevering -- hardworking and persistent, champions new ideas with tenacity, committed to follow-through and bottom-line results.