If You Are A Creative Person, Congratulations: Your Brain Works Differently

The brain of the creative person is like a living room with floor to ceiling windows. In this infinite space, intelligence is entertained and intuition delights; the impossible becomes possible and the ordinary turns into poetry. Nothing is absurd for this mind who knows very well that behind banality hides an extraordinary world.

. Anyone who thinks this way has probably never read one of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Rarely have we been shown in such a clear and fun way that between observation and deduction there is a fascinating process called creativity. This is the most festive, daring, and vital part of all of our mental processes.

“There is nothing more misleading than proof. “

-Sherlock Holmes-

Okay, but what’s the difference between a creative person’s brain and another person’s brain? If we think about the character of this same Sherlock Holmes or if we visualize Salvador Dalí, Nikola Tesla, Van Gogh, Mozart or Leonardo Da Vinci,  we already guess certain traits in which the brilliance is sometimes mixed with somewhat complex personal dimensions.

So much so that Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi himself, after more than 30 years of research on this topic, finally had an answer. The creative person is not a single individual. It represents a whole of “me” in the same space,  a complex, dynamic entity, sometimes obscure but always vibrant and receptive to what surrounds it.

However, there is one aspect we should keep in mind:  Creativity requires training. Although to many it comes across as a gift, this ability is like a powerful muscle that we can work out every day.

What the brain of a creative person hides

In 1960 one of the most fascinating studies in history was carried out. Frank X. Barron, a  pioneer in the study of the psychology of creativity, invited a series of personalities of his time to spend a few days in a student residence at the University of California, Berkeley.

Among the people in this guest group were writers like Truman Capote and Frank O’Connor, as well as famous architects, scientists and mathematicians. The goal was as simple as it was exciting: to  find out what made them different from the rest of the people and how the machinery of their brains worked.

The conclusions that have been drawn are not far removed from those we still have today. These are the following.

Intelligence and creativity are not connected

Quite the opposite of what many people may believe, IQ is not associated with high creativity. What’s more, today there is no test to identify a creative person. We are faced with a dimension so vast, unlimited and multidimensional that it is impossible to delimit it in classical and standardized proofs.

The dark side of creative genius

A curious fact observed by Dr. Barron and his colleague Donald MacKinnon is that  creativity often slightly increased the index of psychopathology. Up to 15% above average. This supposed “dark side” had a very interesting explanation.

• The creative person has slight traits that go with this personality: he is introspective, sometimes provocative, goes beyond the established order and, at the same time, takes risks.
• Despite everything, his mental health is above average. Introspection is not pathological: on the contrary, it is a wonderfully effective tool for acquiring better self-awareness.

The creative person is connected to his inner world and is at the same time very receptive to what surrounds him. It is in this perfect harmony that the magic is found: by knowing its shadow areas but by constantly feeding the light of its environment.

If you are a creative person, you are a courageous person

Highly creative people are actually not that many. It might sound demoralizing, but it’s actually due to a very concrete reason:

• The creative person takes risks and goes beyond the established order without worrying about what others say or do.
• Likewise, she has the ability to take calculated risks and think in unusual ways. She does not act on the basis of external goals or based on what others can offer her.

The art of disorder and the magic of complexity

The creative person juggles their brain. It is in chaos that she finds balance; clutter is a challenge and complexity in her mind turns into simplicity.

“Imagination is the voice of daring. “

-Henry Miller-

In the minds of creative people dwell commanders who chart new paths based on past experiences. They do simulations like the best of architects. They think like authentic yogis in order to distance themselves from the ordinary, thus reaching the extraordinary.

• Also, seeing all the fine processes that take place in their brain, we can deduce that they do not only use the famous right hemisphere, the  one that hides intuition, colors, shapes or imagination.
• The creative person is an optimizer of brain potential. We were talking at the beginning of Sherlock Holmes. The famous character of Conan Doyle is the best example of how a creative person uses both hemispheres.

One begins by observing, using logic, linear information, sequence, analysis and language. Later, . To broaden perspectives through the imagination.

This is how we create, this  is how we infer and transform our world to make fairer, smarter, more creative decisions. It is something wonderful and full of possibilities that deserves to be fostered every day.

Dare to think differently.