Imaginative people are, according to some thinkers, the engine of progress .

The ability to find new ideas and proposals based on lateral thinking is something that many people can benefit from. Perhaps that is why, today, many of the professions that receive most admiration and attention have to do with creativity: art, sport, etc.

Creativity is therefore very much appreciated. And yet, it is not always easy to recognize the signs that indicate that a person has a special facility for creative thinking and behavior, especially if they are young, or people in whom social pressure has made a dent to the point of producing fear of being original in something.

The imaginative personality in 11 characteristics

Below, I propose some basic characteristics that can serve to identify an imaginative person .

1. Have a pragmatic view on standards

Contrary to what one might think, creative and imaginative people do not have to disregard formal or informal rules, but they do not overestimate them. That is to say, that they have clear that the reason of being of these codes of conduct is their utility , so there is no reason to elevate to the category of sacred totem the rules that regulate social behaviour.

2. Good capacity for lateral thinking

Creativity is based, in part, on lateral thinking , that is, ways of thinking that are beyond conventions and expectations. Therefore, they do not easily settle for adapting to the roles they are supposed to fit. And sometimes they feel the need to go outside the script.

3. Ease of being surprising

Surprise is one of the consequences of originality, and imaginative and creative thinking produces originality in abundance . That is why creative people can easily stand out, for better or for worse, and regardless of whether what they do is seen by others with good or bad eyes. In addition, they are not immune to the fear of criticism, so this ability to create surprise is not always expressed.

4. Broad cultural concerns

Imaginative people tend to enjoy the fact that they are always exploring new ideas and original aesthetics , and that is why they look for inspiration in the ideas and works of others. This does not mean that they are interested in all forms of art and culture, but that they spend a lot of time navigating between them until they discover what they like.

5. Eagerness to create things

Someone creative is not passive, but is constantly looking for ways to exercise his or her facility to create , be it new cultural products or own ideas.

6. Find distractions easily

Creativity is not only a way of imagining things that can be done in the future, but it is also the facility to interpret the present as a source of creative potential . That is why people of this type are able to automatically come up with stimulating and promising ideas simply by taking a look around, and hence can always have things to do in mind.

7. Imitation is not a taboo

The development of activities based on creativity is always based on the inspiration and influence of other people. That is why, although it may seem strange and counterintuitive, creative people are not afraid to imitate others if they believe they can bring a point of novelty and vision of their own to what they do . In the end, the desire to create is greater than the desire to appear new and original to others.

8. Tend to want to take risks

Creativity is an adventure in which one must take risks : for example, getting involved in a project and having the results end up being disappointing. That’s why highly creative people not only have original ideas, but also dare to develop them, which serves to make them constantly practice lateral thinking instead of staying in the first phase of the creative process. The paralysis of analysis is not a valid option.

9. They offer more questions than answers

In subjects where there is no great social consensus, creative people show more facility to think from points of view than to show firm and absolute conclusions on a subject . In fact, clinging to a single point of view can be seen as a limitation.

This does not mean that they cannot have very strong opinions on controversial issues, but that their discourse on these topics is often not airtight or circular and is based, in part, on beliefs and hopes that cannot be easily explained in words.

10. Tendency towards ambition

Imaginative people are very often ambitious , and they are prone to think about the future as something different from the present and to think about their own life as something subject to change. That is why the idea that they can reach their goals (not necessarily based on economic or social status) usually haunts them, something that does not happen in people who perceive their life as a series of monotonous activities.

11. Flexibility

The ability to think in very varied terms can be applied to a wide variety of situations. That is why imaginative people are also capable of finding original solutions to everyday problems … and provided that these problems do not have a direct bearing on the management of their own emotions.