Those creative types ~ 2014-01-12

There seems to always be an element of society that lives on the fringes. They don't fit the mold; they don't follow the crowd. I'm talking about the creative types. People who see no reason to do something a certain way just because it's always been done that way. People who, when confronted with the phrase, "Think outside the box" reply, "What box?"

In school, they excel at teaching themselves if they are allowed that freedom. However, they are not that skilled at memorizing facts and lists and regurgitating them on a test.

In the workplace, they may change jobs frequently. Almost anything can be interesting for a while, but once a skill is mastered and there is nothing new to experience, they can easily become bored. They are not well suited to repetitive tasks that require speed and concentration such as working fast food or assembly lines. And I'm guessing not many of them end up in sports. However, if you give them a huge, complicated task and plenty of time to work it out, the results can be amazing. Do not assume that they are undisciplined; they are perfectly capable of committing long hours to a cause they believe in. Realize that their discipline is driven by their desire, whether it's to learn, grow and experience new things, to help someone or further a cause they believe in.

They will walk away from a perfectly good job without any future prospects lined up. Some people call this illogical; impractical. They call it knowing when it's time to move on, even if they can't explain why. You will of course find many of them attracted to fields typically thought of as creative, such as visual arts, performing arts, TV & film, music composition, animation, etc. However, there are also many in careers often thought of as not 'artsy', but that provide a continuous challenge. These could include construction, computer programming, architecture, web design, and those really good teachers you remember. Anything where every project is different. Just don't ask them to do the same project twice. Ever.

Their personal relationships can often be volatile. One argument can make them feel that the relationship is over, no matter how long it has been stable. If two of these creative types are in a relationship together, the drama can get out of hand, but when paired with other more 'flatline' personalities, they can balance each other out.

Personality-wise, there is no sitting on the fence with them: Either you like them or you don't. They don't have the kind of personalities to be easily overlooked in a group, and if they do feel overlooked they'll seek out a different group. They have intuition and are emotionally driven; traits that society seems to accept more readily in women but that I believe are really about equal.

These people are uninhibited. They speak their minds and act the way they feel. Any deviation from that is a learned behavior. Sure, they can control themselves; It just doesn't come naturally like it seems to for some other personality types. They may often feel like they're taking their great big personalities and cramming them into a tiny little socially acceptable box.

They are the inventors and the entertainers; the innovators and the educators.

Allow me to introduce ourselves to you. We are the crazies and you need us.