Understanding Creative Intelligence and Its Issues

“Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” - Albert Einstein.

Have you ever been told that you are a perfectionist, too sensitive, dreamy, or an overthinker?

While having a high level of creative intelligence is a blessing, it won't be so much because traditional intelligence is valued more in our society, schools, and workplaces. You might struggle if you, your loved ones, or your relatives do not know what it means to be creatively intelligent.

Sociologist Mary Taylor of the Creative Intelligence Centre states that “creative abilities are often classified as a burden in a society that does not value creativity, and very creative people often suffer psychological pain throughout their lives because they do not see themselves or recognize their abilities clearly. Also, their abilities often disappear due to emotional, professional, and relational difficulties.”

The creative person is acutely aware of their issues, but they frequently don't realize their own potential. Living in a society that prefers analytical and rational thinking and behavior, they try to adapt to situations that do not suit them and then blame themselves when it does not work.

According to Taylor, “This incorrect way of thinking can seriously harm a person's perception of themselves. Moreover, attempts to fix this issue from this angle frequently fail because the original interpretation was incorrect in the first place. The deepest unrest among creative people frequently arises from their inability to demonstrate their skills to the outside world despite their deep sense of competence. They frequently become disoriented in their quest to piece this puzzle together.”

Most creative people eventually live marginalized lives due to self-blame and ignorance, which forces them to take jobs that are unsatisfactory and do not match their skills and qualifications. Additionally, they frequently experience severe psychological suffering.

First-Stage Issues (Issues That Stem Directly from the Ability Itself)

• Depression results from a lack of intellectual and creative stimulation in unstimulating environments.
• Feeling overwhelmed as a result of having trouble controlling their creative ideas and varied thinking patterns, which means they struggle with a constant stream of new ideas and their capacity to process ideas on several levels at once.
• Sensory overload results in anxiety, disturbance, and exhaustion caused by a combination of strong sensory skills and environmental stimulation.

Important questions in assessing such problems include:

• Do my strong visual skills drive me to create an environment of visual order and beauty, or do I really have obsessive-compulsive disorder?
• Do I genuinely have depression, or am I just a romantic residing among rational people?
• Do I physically try to keep up with my many ideas and interests through multiple projects and activities, or do I suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder?
• Identity Issues: Most highly creative people accept misconceptions about themselves, including beliefs that they are too sensitive, too emotional, perfectionists, and overthinkers. These negative traits can damage an individual’s self-image and fail to identify talents that may be hidden behind the perceived problem.
• Adaptation Issues: Most highly creative people struggle with the concept of adaptation because they have a cloudy self-perception of their skills. This may result in situations where they move aimlessly from one job or relationship to another.
• Academic Issues: Highly creative people often possess abilities that fall outside the scope of standard tests, which typically favor analytical thinking and logical, mathematical, and linguistic abilities. Moreover, academic issues can arise from a mismatch between the learning style and the teaching method. For example, when a teacher who relies on an analytical thinking approach expects a student who relies on a diverse creative thinking approach to solve a problem using a step-by-step method, excluding intuitive and deductive problem-solving methods.
• Health Issues: Taylor states, “I have observed a strong correlation in my psychotherapy practice between people who have multiple creative abilities and specific health issues, frequently in the areas of allergies, immunological deficiencies, thyroid issues, and metabolic disorders.”

Second-Stage Issues (When We Ignore or Misinterpret First-Stage Issues)

Though they might imply otherwise, the first- and second-stage issues are not the product of an underlying personal defect. Rather, they are the outcome of the strain that comes from having ill-defined creative abilities in a culture that does not value or foster creative intelligence.

According to Taylor, “If effective interventions are not used, the first- and second-stage issues will likely increase over time because creative abilities are based on a physiological foundation and cannot be stopped.”

What is Creative Intelligence?

Intelligent people only sometimes work in creative fields like writing or painting. Most hold regular jobs and might not even consider themselves creative.

Creative intelligence is more about one's approach to and comprehension of life than it is about particular activities. It can be characterized as an above-average level of commitment and determination.

Applying creative intelligence means being mindful and attentive to the present moment. We would all be more creative if we focused more on the hidden talents and abilities that exist within each of us and others rather than on our work, accomplishments, goals, and desires. We insist on amplifying our fears in all situations and endeavors, fixating on our wants and needs to the exclusion of what is right in front of us, and holding fast to our beliefs while neglecting to hear what others have to say.

Are You a Highly Creative Person?

Take this questionnaire to see how you have used this ability in your life, particularly when it is categorized as a burden.

What was happening at those times? Did you blame yourself? How does it change your perception of the event if you look back and see yourself as a highly creative person with an unrecognized talent?

For best results, write down your answers to these questions:

• Do you feel different from the people around you, or are you on a different path from most others?
• Have you ever been told that you are a perfectionist or an overthinker?
• Have your teachers scolded you for daydreaming or staring out the window?
• Have you been told that you are a very rash or bothersome student?
• Do you find yourself engaging in imaginative activities that others around you don't seem to understand?
• Do you think you have too many interests?
• Have you been told that you are overly emotional?
• Do you move from one project to another?
• Do you have many unfinished projects in mind?
• Do you ever feel like you need more ideas and projects to handle?
• Do external stimuli like the weather, bright lights, loud music, and others' moods affect you more than they do others?
• Have you been told that you are too sensitive?
• Are you dissatisfied with many of your relationships?
• Do you feel that no one understands you, even though people ask you for advice?
• Do you believe that you need to achieve your full potential in your work despite having a high degree of competence, ability, experience, and perhaps achievement as well?

If you answered “yes” to more than 3 of these questions, you are highly creative.

In Conclusion

Creative intelligence sets people apart from the crowd, enabling them to think outside the box and devise fresh approaches to age-old issues. It can be summed up as the capacity to generate fresh, original ideas or link preexisting concepts in novel and surprising ways.