Creative People Shouldn’t ‘Tone It Down’
By Cynthia Morris
Sarah Bernhardt
I’ve been accused of being ‘too much’ all my life.
Too loud, too fast, too smart, too multi-talented, too audacious.
I’ve never been able to live according to that external standard of ‘just right’.
Artists are often ‘too much’.
It’s the job of the artist and writer to reflect what they see and feel. This expression of their art and talents must be larger than life.
The trouble is, our expression doesn’t always jibe with what’s going on in the ‘normal’ world.
Once creative people stop trying to calibrate their expression to a ‘norm’ they can thrive more easily.
I was once coaching a client about her talents and how she could best express them. It became clear to us that she was a larger-than-life personality, and that her talents required a bigger stage than she was currently occupying.
> Continued in her article Too Much, Not Enough – Why Creative People Shouldn’t ‘Tone It Down’
Visit her site: Original Impulse
Also see more articles by Cynthia Morris
Book: Create Your Writer’s Life: A Guide to Writing With Joy and Ease by Cynthia Morris.
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Thanks to Cynthia Morris for her enthusiastic review of my book:
“Packed full of insights and resources for the creative life, Developing Multiple Talents offers new ways to thrive as a creative person. Douglas Eby addresses many of the issues we face – fear, lack of confidence and focus – allowing the creative person to feel understood and ultimately empowered. Normalizing the challenges in the creative process provides a huge step toward coping with those challenges.
“Douglas’s book gives readers a resource for understanding and accepting our problems and our gifts. I highly recommend Developing Multiple Talents as a resource for anyone who wants to understand the psychology behind our creative drive.”
Developing Multiple Talents: The personal side of creative expression
[Kindle] [Website with more versions]
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See multiple posts on the topic of Intensity.
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Hi Cynthia, I perfectly understand where you’re coming from. I know many of my past friends will not want to accept me for what I’m doing with my life. It’s personal development, it’s self growth, it’s all things that I love but scares the living daylights out of my relatives…like why am I up on stage and “Telling” people what they can do to become far more accomplished.
But, I am always a student of all things that brings accomplishment and personal mastery.
Thanks Emma, great reply and great reading. I agree, and am quite a designer myself. Of course, this leaves me even more frustrated, not able to design, nor fully utilize my skills. The P&G article was great, including the interview with Claudia Kotchka. Interestingly enough, she left P&G in 2008, and is now a consultant. Even at her level she couldn’t find the right support, audience, and reward for her efforts at the large company. Perhaps creative, talented people are doomed to be underappreciated and end up working for themselves?
Hi Craig,
A lot of people in your situation seem to take the “if you can’t beat ‘em, do your own thing” route and become entrepreneurs.
Which is good if it leads to satisfaction for them, but also in a way unfortunate because “redesigners” can have a lot to offer the right large(r) company, if the company is willing to see that person’s potential.
Although I can’t say I’ve seen this happening in practice yet and it sounds like you haven’t either, business thinking is starting to change. For example:
http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/rogermartin/DesignofBusiness.pdf (particularly the chart at the bottom of page 9)
You may be interested in my blog where I write about “how people succeed” (I did not set out to write for gifted/HSP people, but since I am one, I have no doubt that it influences the approach I take).
And if I come up with any answers (or even better, good questions), you can bet you will find them there!
Emma
Thanks Douglas, it is an excellent article. I have seen it before, and it is useful. Personal awareness, though, doesn’t change the work environment, it only changes your perception of the environment. If it is too skewed, it will be impossible to correct.
Noks has been helpful as well, we both belong to the same high iq society TNS.
I am looking for the next opportunity, and my eyes are wide open thanks to Noks, and people like you. Thanks for your comments.
Excellent article, but how does one end up in a position where that creativity and extra enthusiasm is appreciated? I am an engineer, a creative field. I have been fired from my last two positions, mainly for being too creative, and not conforming to the “get it done as the boss wants it” mentality.
Finding a work environment that supports exceptional people can be a major challenge. You might find this article of interest (on my High Ability site): Giftedness in the work environment, By Noks Nauta, Sieuwke Ronner.