THE CREATIVE CURSE
It's a gift so you might as well go with it!

Creative people see the world in a different light. That’s just the way it is. The right side of the brain gets a bigger workout than the left side. Being creative doesn’t necessarily mean that you can jump up on the stage and play the piano, or that you can draw, paint, sing or dance. No, being creative simply means you have a unique way of thinking and your very own way of seeing life around you.

I consider myself to be a creative person. I knew at an early age that I saw not necessarily the bigger picture, but a different picture than a lot of people around me. I worked as a radio announcer, program manager, creative director, new media instructor, and over the years have rubbed shoulders with many talented people who were blazing the same trail. Some of these people were successful, and some struggled. One thing was obvious. The creative types that struggled simply could not come to grips with “the creative curse” that followed them throughout every day.

I once taught a group of people who were re-training in the graphic design/web development field. One of my opening group talks dealt with dealing with the creative process while learning new technology. When I explained to the new class that they would have moments where everything made sense, followed by moments where nothing made sense, mixed in with happiness, sadness, the desire to quit and the desire to succeed, I was amazed at the response. Most of these people had not ever had an instructor, manager, teacher or mentor openly discuss the highs and lows of the creative process before. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I told them that there was no right way or wrong way to accomplish a new task as long as the job hit deadline. We accomplished great things!

We laughed about the ability to pull off a good mood swing followed by a productive hour of outstanding creative work. It is perfectly normal for a creative person to wake up in the morning ready to accomplish great things and want to quit their job before noon, only to feel much better about the world after a lunch hour bike ride.

So if you’re looking to get the most out of a creative person in your workplace, step back, let the person work his or her way. Give that person the ultimate objective of the task and get out of the way. My goodness, don’t ask them how things are going! You’ll kill the creative process by invading their space. And, cut back on the number of meetings you make them attend. The creative person will waste too much time and energy trying to disrupt the structured setting when this creative energy could be going to work for the better good of your productivity. Oh yes, most importantly, whatever you do, don’t make them fill out an evaluation form. You won’t enjoy the outcome.

Paul Richards is a freelance media specialist
www.prmediamix.com