Wow, you think about things in a really strange way

Creativity can be profoundly isolating.

It’s one of those superpowers that can also be its own kryptonite.

Looking back over the course of my life, people have always seemed to think my behavior and thinking was weird. Not necessarily in a deviant way, just different.

This led to loneliness on numerous occasions. Many times my own fault, sometimes other people’s fault.

But all in all, the anxiety that comes with the territory of being a highly creative person is undeniable.

No wonder I started wearing a nametag everyday. Hey, that idea was weird, but at least people knew my name. Which is more than I can say about many of my other failed identity experiments.

Point being, imagination comes at a social and emotional cost. But if you’ve ever felt isolated because of the way your brain works, know that you’re not alone, and know that the upside outweighs the downside.

My cousin is a primary school art teacher, and she often tells me about these infamous creativity scales. There are nearly three hundred assessments currently in use by teachers, parents, therapists and other educators, any of which are fascinating to read. There’s one scale in particular that caught my eye recently.

Reading it actually went a long way in making me feel less alone in the world. After all, this is a clinically researched scale about an adjective that people have used to describe me for the past forty years. There must be some merit to it. Here are some of those questions. Maybe you’ll see your own reflection mirrored back to yourself too:

Do your thoughts often go off in odd or unusual directions?

Will people often look at you as if you’d said something really weird?

Do people tell you that you think about things in a really strange way?

Do people tell you that you’re one of the most unusual people they know?

Are you nonconformist and willing to do things your own way?

Are you opinionated and willing to talk openly and freely?

Do you have an uninhibited and freewheeling style?

Do your strange ideas seem to make sense to you, but often viewed as too unusual to explain to anyone?

Sounds like the story of my life.

Now, that list of questions indexes more on the negative side. Which is probably why the list brought up old feelings of shame, loneliness and fear.

Made me think back to my childhood and even adulthood when people made fun of me for being what they called, too creative.

But digging deeper into these assessments, there were also many questions that gave me a sense of pride and empowerment. See if you relate to any of these:

Do you take risks, do things differently or try difficult things?

Do you have an extraordinary sense of humor in everyday situations?

Are you flexible and always able to accommodate unexpected changes in situation?

Can you motivate and direct yourself?

Are you curious about many things?

Do you engage in a deliberate systematic investigation and develop a plan of action?

Are you imaginative and do you enjoy fantasy?

Will you come up with many solutions to a problem?

Also the story of my life. Sounds to me like the kind of leader everybody wants on their team.

And that’s the real beauty about creativity. Once we are willing to own the fact that our imagination makes others confused or uncomfortable at the onset, if we can push past that initial shame, we can blast through to the other side where real impact takes place.

Who was the last person who shamed you for being too creative?