A better answer just might be one that many DPHA members share; we have creative minds. Unlike most others, as someone who communicates for a living my mind starts to spin when certain words and phrases are uttered or read. An example, when my wife says, “I’m going to jump in the shower”, I respond by advising to stand, it’s much safer. Writers, designers, marketers and many showroom professionals are creative. Their minds never seem to shut down. Why? In his classic work, A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger von Oech explained the art of creativity is the ability to look at the same things differently. That’s why we see things and imagine infinite possibilities when our friends and others are generally happy with the status quo.
Sometimes I don’t know how or why my mind works the way it does. I wanted to find out how a creative mind works, so I received insight from writer Hannah Heath, who identified nine characteristics of creative brains.
Creatives believe they are the threshold of something big. We believe that perfection is achievable even though we never can get to perfect. We always think that there is a better solution, a more appropriate scheme, a small detail that needs to be addressed even after we publish or hit send. We can’t get discouraged, because the next column, guide, manuscript, etc. offers another chance to reach perfection.
Failure is not an option because we have faith that our talent will always reign supreme. We don’t and can’t quit simply because we are ahead. We push ourselves to try and reach the next level to help assure that we will not fail.
We can’t ignore our creativity. There’s no on-off switch in our brains that controls our creative mindset. When we are not creating something, we are thinking about creating something because it makes us feel better.
We are dreamers. We envision being on top of the profession, being the go-to resource in our market, the person that the trade publications call to ask our opinions because they matter the most.
Creative minds can’t be explained, even to ourselves. That’s why when we walk into the showroom or stand in the shower, fireworks go off. We imagine new spaces, creative applications and better solutions. That’s why we wake up in the middle of the night, ready to go. There is no logical explanation. It’s just who we are.
We are our own worst critics. Yes, we take pride in our work, but we constantly second guess and are not able to evaluate our services objectively.
Being creative can be lonely. We understand that our lens is different from most others. That’s why we feel colors, taste emotions and touch sounds, as Heath notes. At times, we incorrectly believe that we are the only people who see the world the way we do and that can be lonely.
We love what we do. I have started to field questions from friends and DPHA members about when I would plan to retire. My response is why retire? I love what I do and I could not imagine doing anything else. Could you? What makes your creative mind tick? Let’s share experiences on DPHA’s Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
Creatives believe they are the threshold of something big. We believe that perfection is achievable even though we never can get to perfect. We always think that there is a better solution, a more appropriate scheme, a small detail that needs to be addressed even after we publish or hit send. We can’t get discouraged, because the next column, guide, manuscript, etc. offers another chance to reach perfection.
Failure is not an option because we have faith that our talent will always reign supreme. We don’t and can’t quit simply because we are ahead. We push ourselves to try and reach the next level to help assure that we will not fail.
We can’t ignore our creativity. There’s no on-off switch in our brains that controls our creative mindset. When we are not creating something, we are thinking about creating something because it makes us feel better.
We are dreamers. We envision being on top of the profession, being the go-to resource in our market, the person that the trade publications call to ask our opinions because they matter the most.
Creative minds can’t be explained, even to ourselves. That’s why when we walk into the showroom or stand in the shower, fireworks go off. We imagine new spaces, creative applications and better solutions. That’s why we wake up in the middle of the night, ready to go. There is no logical explanation. It’s just who we are.
We are our own worst critics. Yes, we take pride in our work, but we constantly second guess and are not able to evaluate our services objectively.
Being creative can be lonely. We understand that our lens is different from most others. That’s why we feel colors, taste emotions and touch sounds, as Heath notes. At times, we incorrectly believe that we are the only people who see the world the way we do and that can be lonely.
We love what we do. I have started to field questions from friends and DPHA members about when I would plan to retire. My response is why retire? I love what I do and I could not imagine doing anything else. Could you? What makes your creative mind tick? Let’s share experiences on DPHA’s Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
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