Wednesday 3 November 2021

the joys of being an amateur

Expounding on the above observation by the recently departed Csíkszentmihályi Mihály that recognises in its literal sense means loving devotion, we learn courtesy of Kottke, about the psychologist’s classification of creatives by their paradoxical behaviour, listing out ten traits that seemingly tear asunder.

  1. Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they’re also often quiet and at rest.
  2. Creative people tend to be smart yet naive at the same time.
  3. Creative people combine play-fulness and discip-line, or respon-sibility and irresponsibility.
  4. Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality.
  5. Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted.
  6. Creative people are humble and proud at the same time.
  7. Creative people, to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping.
  8. Creative people are both rebellious and conservative.
  9. Most creative people are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.
  10. Creative people’s openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment.

Do you find your own tendencies laid out here? Sometimes it’s easier to sell the contradiction when one differentiates between public-facing and inward-focussed.