When I was a kid, my mom sometimes accused me of being stubborn. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Both of us are strong-willed.
Mom and I are also curious, and share an insatiable desire to improve things. Living in Taiwan, my friend Crystal learned to recognize a look of critique in my eye and she would say, “If you were doing it?” I learned to check that impulse for criticism. The discerning eye can bring re freshing ideas, but a critical spirit is deadening: light and dark sides of creativity.
One of the most universal characteristics of a creative person is curiosity about everything: questions you wish wouldn’t be asked, insights that jus don’t dovetail with the thought you have been trying to communicate. The creative person is also imaginative. He or she actually cultivates imagination. The creative person is enthusiastic and discerning, knowing what’s good about his or her creations and what needs to be rethought. He or she will stick to ideas and productions that personal assessment affirms are worthwhile.
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The creative person has a strong will. This often makes the student hard to teach. Creative people are convinced they know a better way, and it’s frustrating for others to admit that they sometimes do.
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Creative students are independent in their thinking. They will not bend to the opinion of others. They enjoy being different. That marked independence often makes them leaders. This lack of bending adds some stress to their lives—and often to their teachers’ lives as well. However, this stress is one of the spurs to creativity. (page 42)
Do you recognize yourself in this description? Is there someone in your life who has some or all of these characteristics? What does it take to develop creativity like this?
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