I first picked up Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi because I was searching for answers about myself. After being fired for the third time, I found myself deep in introspection, trying to understand why my experiences working in companies felt stifling, and why I couldn’t seem to fit in. I kept asking myself:
- Why do I feel so trapped working in a company?
- Why does it feel like I’m caged in a box, much like being back in school?
- Why do I feel these companies overlook my potential? I know I’m capable of so much more.
- Why am I so slow at coding? Could my dyslexia be playing a part?
- What am I truly good at?
I started reflecting on the past, going back to moments where I felt alive, where I had positive feedback loops that boosted my confidence and growth, a feeling Mihaly might describe as being in a “state of flow.” Some of those moments as a child involved sports, dancing, biology, and art—activities that naturally aligned with my interests and abilities. One of the best experiences of my life was studying Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Brighton. I was in my element, working in labs with state-of-the-art equipment, testing human performance physiology, and engaging in meaningful conversations with passionate lecturers. There was this mutual curiosity and excitement during one-on-one discussions that made learning an exhilarating process.
Another transformative experience occurred when I joined the university’s entrepreneurial group, Beepurple. Self-made entrepreneurs would guide us through the journey of building a business, encouraging us to brainstorm, break down ideas, and understand what it takes to succeed. My excitement during those moments was palpable—my eyes sparkled, my mind buzzed, and I felt like the world was my oyster. That’s when I knew I wanted to become an entrepreneur.
But after university, life hit hard. I took jobs that paid the bills but left me feeling creatively starved. My mental and emotional energy began to wither away, and I couldn’t help but ask myself: “Why am I like this? Why can’t I just be a well-behaved employee, get the job done, and keep quiet? Why do I keep getting fired? What’s wrong with me?”
The turning point came when I stumbled across Jordan Peterson, who spoke about the plight of creative people. He explained that if creatives don’t express themselves, they begin to wither away. This resonated deeply with me. I started to explore what it meant to be a true creative, taking the Big 5 personality test, which confirmed what I suspected: I scored high in openness to experience, specifically in intellect, artistic interests, and imagination. The results made sense, and I decided to hone in on what I was good at rather than swimming against the current.
While coding was never my strength, many colleagues complimented my eye for UX and UI design. Visual perception, imagination—these were things that came naturally to me, and they aligned with my personality. But I still wondered, what could I do daily that would put me in a state of flow?
Coding was draining, requiring breaks every 45 minutes because of the heavy syntax and the frustration of debugging. There was no tangible creation to admire at the end of the process, no visual satisfaction like what a builder, painter, or designer might experience. So, I delved deeper into researching creativity and stumbled upon several questions:
- Are creatives born or made?
- Does creativity stem from expertise in a subject?
- Why do creatives seem to wither if they’re not using their creativity? Is this true, or do they need to endure hardships and achieve mastery before they find their flow?
That’s when I came across Creativity by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the same author who coined the concept of flow. His deep dive into the subject compelled me to buy the book and discover more. The book explores creativity as something dependent on society’s acceptance—it isn’t just an inherent trait but something validated by experts and recognized within a domain. Mihaly explains:
“Creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one. And the definition of a creative person is: someone whose thoughts or actions change a domain, or establish a new domain.”
Reading this, I realized creativity isn’t isolated. It needs societal acknowledgment, a culture of symbolic rules, and validation from experts to thrive. Without that, creativity remains undefined. But the book also touches on the internal drive that fuels creatives—curiosity, love for their subject, and a relentless pursuit of refinement:
“But contributions that require a lifetime of struggle are impossible without curiosity and love for the subject.”
One particular quote struck me:
“Creative people, it seems, are original without being bizarre. The novelty they see is rooted in reality.”
This spoke to my struggle. Creativity doesn’t exist in isolation, nor is it an unbound, chaotic force. It’s rooted in reality, in the tangible, and most importantly, in something meaningful that others can recognize and validate. Mihaly also discusses how creative individuals must often traverse extremes, from social to anti-social, open to closed, sensitive to aggressive. It’s the ability to shift between these opposites that fuels creativity and brings about the most meaningful creations.
Ultimately, reading Creativity has helped me understand that perhaps my struggle wasn’t just about fitting into the corporate world or coding jobs but about not aligning with the type of work that fosters my creative nature. Creative people don’t have careers—they create them.
As I continue on this path, I’m reminded that being true to my creativity means finding work that resonates with me deeply, where I can lose myself in the flow and emerge with something tangible, something that reflects my potential. Creativity has reminded me that the most important journey is staying curious, nurturing my interests, and remembering that the satisfaction comes not from financial rewards or validation from others, but from the act of creation itself.
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