Wired To Create

“Creativity is not a talent, it’s a way of operating.” This book demonstrates how creativity arises from personal traits, habits, and environmental influences, making it accessible to everyone willing to explore and nurture it.

1. Embracing Contradictions Builds Creativity

Creative people often embody contradictions, blending traits that might appear incompatible. Psychologist Frank X. Barron’s studies in the 1960s found that creativity thrives not from a single source but from a mix of all kinds of characteristics. Mental "messiness" propels creative minds toward innovation.

Creative individuals, like Pablo Picasso, embrace unstructured work habits. When Picasso painted Guernica, he frequently revised, discarded, and improvised his plans. His work followed no strict guidelines – it was guided by the demands of his art alone.

Studies also reveal that paradoxes are common among accomplished creators. For example, writers showed above-average traits of mental illnesses yet maintained strong overall mental health. Their ability to balance opposing forces within themselves often fueled artistic triumphs.

Examples

• Pablo Picasso’s chaotic process of creating Guernica.
• Writers scoring high in both psychopathology and mental health.
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s observations of flexibility in creative work processes.

2. Passion Sparks Intense Commitment

Creative people often experience life-changing encounters with their craft, leading to an insatiable urge to excel in it. Jacqueline du Pré’s first experience hearing a cello at four years old crystallized her lifelong connection to music.

Psychologist Ellen Winner describes this relentless drive as a “rage to master." For creative individuals, their passion fulfills a major neurological need, akin to food and oxygen. Long-term studies, like E. Paul Torrance’s work, show that when children discover personal interests early, they often carry these passions into adulthood and achieve creative success.

Without an intrinsic love for their work, creative growth becomes difficult. Academic success alone rarely predicts long-term creativity if passion is missing.

Examples

• Jacqueline du Pré’s instant affection for the cello as a child.
• Torrance’s study linking childhood passion to adult creativity.
• The psychological need for engagement, proven through Martha J. Morelock’s research.

3. Sensitivity Strengthens Creativity

Creative minds are highly perceptive and tuned into details others might miss. Studies show that infants with hyperactive nervous systems often grow into keenly sensitive individuals. This sensitivity feeds their creativity, providing more information from their environment to process and use.

For instance, musicians interviewed by Jennifer O. Grimes were found to have rich auditory perceptions, allowing them to hear layers in simple sounds like a bell’s toll. However, heightened awareness can be draining. Sensitive individuals sometimes struggle to block distracting noises or stimuli.

Ultimately, sensitivity enables creative people to see patterns, identify opportunities, and imagine deeper worlds. It sharpens their ability to connect ideas.

Examples

• Infants with hyperactive nervous systems becoming sensitive adults, as studied by Jerome Kagan.
• Grimes’ observation of sensitivity in musicians at heavy metal festivals.
• Elaine Aron’s contention that sensitive people process more environmental data.

4. Openness to New Experiences Fuels Inspiration

Curiosity and exploration are hallmarks of creativity. Traveling or encountering unfamiliar cultures often triggers fresh thoughts and ideas. Studies by Scott Barry Kaufman confirm that an interest in exploring unknown territories is more critical to creativity than IQ or linear thinking.

Dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, encourages people to seek out new experiences and opportunities. Dean Keith Simonton’s research from 1997 showed that historical bursts of creativity often coincided with periods of cultural blending through immigration.

Exploration adds to the mental library of possibilities, giving creators a wider and richer foundation for their work. Without novelty, creativity stagnates.

Examples

• Kaufman’s studies linking curiosity to creative success.
• Dopamine’s connection to excitement for new ideas.
• Simonton’s work showing creative booms after waves of immigration.

5. Daydreaming Unlocks Hidden Thoughts

Daydreaming is far from a waste of time. By allowing the mind to wander, individuals access their unconscious, where many creative solutions hide. Carl Jung used active imagination to tackle emotional struggles and discover new perspectives.

Dual-process theories point to two types of thought: fast, intuitive cognition and slow, logical reasoning. Jung’s reliance on intuitive thinking (type 1) is echoed in “eureka moments," like Archimedes’ realization of water displacement while taking a bath.

When conscious effort stalls, unconscious creativity steps in and offers unexpected insights.

Examples

• Carl Jung’s use of active imagination to navigate personal challenges.
• Scientists’ dual-process theories blending intuition and logic.
• The story of Archimedes’ breakthrough in the bath.

6. Solitude Helps Creativity Thrive

Solitude often paves the way for deep, reflective thought. Many great thinkers used long walks to organize their ideas or tap into their unconscious. Immanuel Kant, for instance, walked the same solitary path every day, using it as a time for undisturbed meditation.

Ingmar Bergman sought isolation on an island, channeling his introspection into films. Similarly, Michel de Montaigne believed inner growth required withdrawing from the “contagion” of societal distractions.

Time alone frees the mind from noise, allowing space for personal discoveries and fresh ideas to emerge.

Examples

• Kant’s daily solitary walks to process ideas.
• Bergman’s retreat to Fårö island for concentrated creativity.
• Montaigne’s thoughts on solitude fostering independence of mind.

7. Adversity Generates Growth

Difficult experiences often breed creativity and self-discovery. Psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun introduced the concept of posttraumatic growth, showing how challenges force people to rebuild their inner worlds.

Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl found meaning in suffering, using his experiences to inspire others. Similarly, painter Paul Klee produced his most prolific work after developing a debilitating illness, transforming pain into creation.

Turning hardship into artwork or innovation is part of a healing process that reshapes people’s identity and potential.

Examples

• Tedeschi and Calhoun’s research on trauma fostering growth.
• Frankl’s ability to find purpose during horrific circumstances.
• Paul Klee’s creative renaissance after a terminal diagnosis.

8. Present Awareness Boosts Creativity

Mindfulness brings focus and clarity, preparing the mind for innovation. Leaders like Steve Jobs attested to how meditation created mental space where insights could thrive.

Not all meditation techniques are equal for creativity. Psychologist Jonathan Schooler found open-monitoring meditation, which allows thoughts to flow freely, generates more ideas than focused meditation.

By cultivating mindful awareness, creative thinkers keep their thoughts grounded in the present – a fertile ground for breakthroughs.

Examples

• Jobs attributing much of his creativity to meditation practice.
• Schooler’s studies showing open-monitoring meditation enhances idea generation.
• Jon Kabat-Zinn’s philosophy of mindful living.

9. Breaking Habits Sparks Fresh Thinking

Routines can trap the mind in repetitive patterns, narrowing creative possibilities. Challenging habits, like swapping coffee for tea or changing the route to work, jolts the brain into seeing old things in new ways.

Effort matters as much as outcome. Innovators frequently push themselves to think differently – dedicating about 50% more energy toward reshaping their thought patterns than others, as Jeff Dyer and Hal Gregersen found.

Mental contrasting, a strategy combining goal visualization with obstacle awareness, can also keep creators motivated rather than complacent.

Examples

• Dyer and Gregersen’s findings on innovators’ mental efforts.
• Tea-for-coffee habit changes breaking functional fixedness.
• Gabriele Oettingen’s mental contrasting method for achieving goals.

Takeaways

1. Carry a notebook to jot down ideas and observations throughout the day.
2. Practice open-monitoring meditation to embrace wandering thoughts and find creative inspiration.
3. Interrupt daily routines by taking small detours, trying new activities, or experimenting with different habits.