You may have heard it oftentimes being said, “He’s just an artsy type, he’ll never be successful.” I can’t speak to anyone’s individual prospects for success, but research seems to say that this assessment of the artistic personality is just plain wrong.
Tech site Fastcompany.com reports creative persons might have more going on inside their heads than noncreative types give them credit for.
They cite a study out of BI Norwegian Business School that found meaningful differences between creative and noncreative persons. The researcher, Professor Oyvid L. Martinsen, questioned 481 people and found seven elements of a creative personality. Among the findings are that creative people have active imaginations (as if you did not suspect that). When creative people appear to have their “head in the clouds,” the study found that they are actually deeply absorbed in their work. They also have a greater sense of the world around them than noncreative individuals.
The study also found that creative personalities have a rebellious spirit, and don’t always like rules and systems. And, while being more introverted, they found artists to be highly motivated to succeed, and took more active steps to achieve that success. However, this comes with what is sometimes called a “prickly” personality when dealing with interpersonal relationships. Martinsen says this is because creative people sometimes have to distance themselves from the world around them to find something they can improve.
Does any of this sound familiar? Do you see any of these characteristics in your children, your spouse, or even you? If you do, there just might be a creative person wanting to explore his creative personality. The ARTree can help. Your children will enjoy our classes (see Season’s magazine for our schedule), or you can volunteer to be an arts instructor or assistant.
Find out how you can get creative by visiting us at www.theartree.org.