[heartturnedtoporcelain]

What initially made me dismiss myself as a 4 was that I wasn't artistically creative. I can write poetry (with little merit), but I don't think of it as a truly creative outlet.

I realized, however, that I'm creative when it comes to ideas. I *love* to craft a paper, to pull piece bits of evidence together and form a coherent position, to have everything click together, and to have a finished product (although the process means more to me in the end). I'm not simply absorbing information, I'm creating something. Even though it's not a stereotypical creative outlet, it's my version of one.

I wonder if this is a function of being a 4w5 as well? I don't know.

 

[RememberWhenItRained]

I wasn't artistically creative

^^ this. Maybe i'm creative in another way, i don't know. i sure don't feel like it though.

 

[audrey551]

I don't feel creative either. I really don't feel like I am talented enough. I always compare myself to "real" talents, people who I feel are artistic, creative, spontaneous and beautiful, I feel I somehow don't have the right to even TRY creating something. The green eyed monster. That's how I know I am 4. Pretty neat, huh? :sad:

I phantasize a lot about useless stuff, coulda woulda shoulda and all that crap, does that qualify as "being creative"?

 

[Windswept Sky]

Well, I am an artist. ^^; But even when I was a child and didn't have that as my focus, I was extremely creative and was always drafting up plans for crazy inventions and stuff. I've been crafting creative ideas my whole life, whether they are applied to art, something practical, or are just creative ways of understanding the world.

I also have a tendency to break rules for the sake of doing the creative, ingenious thing that doesn't fit into them, and that often has nothing to do with art at all.

I find the creative process to have way more value than the end result, too, most of the time. Maybe this is why I like to give away things I make to someone else who will appreciate the end results more than I do.

 

[Azure Bass]

I belittle my talents, but I can play bass, learning to compose, i can draw and mix pastels to make watercolor (Odd.), the art of movement (parkour) is really getting me interested in fitness...And I can write poetry that means something to me. Just listing it off, it's a wonder I don't build on these things if I have them.

Note: I am an INFP.

 

[devono]

i also belittle my talents, spend an extraordinary amount of time fantasizing about qualities i wish i had.
but

my primary creative outlets are writing and caregiving. i'm a creative mother/caregiver, i enjoy making fun and interesting things out of nothing. simple walks in the park, rainy afternoons making collages, baking---even the boring/sad/insignificant.

i help my children see the beauty and bounty of the world and learn to be grateful for simple things.

 

[Merseydolphin]

I want to be creative but have no real talent. OK at art but nothing special.I Just started a life drawing class the teacher encourages students to walk around the class looking at each others work, I feel like tearing mine down so noone can see. I also play guitar but only in my room it would kill me to play for an audience. I Suppose the point is the wish and desire to be creative in the first place. For most people I know this is something that doesnt seem to really matter to them.

 

[Le9acyMuse]

Everyone's posts are interesting. After reading about type 4, I think that our desires to have enriched potentials and live them out for all to see must come from our capabilities to make it happen. We all feel this way for a reason. We're no more "special" than anyone else, but we do have special inborn senses that inspire something. Sometimes type 4s don't know what the inspiration is best used for. Everything, and I do believe this, absolutely everything can be honed to an art. That's what art is. Manifesting your inclinations into influence.

Before I started piano at 10, I don't think I did anything special, but I did put on these little screenplays with my stuffed animals which went on for years. lol Not quite a talent but it was a sign that I had some inner vision that needed acting out. I used my creative energy a lot on the piano. I compose and write songs. Taught myself to sing for 3 years when I really couldn't at first. People's doubts about me pushed me even more strongly, often to unhealthy proportions. But it's paying off.

Whether it's communication, singing, math or sculpting, we all have gifts/talents. Push it and see where it goes. You WILL surprise yourself, I'm sure. I'm an isfp 4w5

 

[Hiccups24-7]

I feel like I am at a crossroads when it comes creative outlets. In the past since I was 17 I was always interested in making music I did that until just a few years ago so it was a huge part of my life for a long time. Starting from writing really bad poetry while learning to play guitar.. then lucky enough to live with someone who I could borrow a mic, bass guitar, drum machine and 4track recorder from. I spent a loooonnnng time writing and recording songs learning the process.. ungraded to using a computer to record and fruity loops drum machines... which were a lot more flexible. About 150-200 songs later I had a few good ones that were worth starting a band with. To those that say you have no talent I don't think art is always about that.. unless you are hoping to make a living from it I went on to join another few bands on bass and loved it until..... I got sick of it. I gave it all up for nothing.
I've since tried getting into video editing but I feel.... like anything if it takes too much work and effort then I expect more results and if I don't get them then it feels like a waste of time. It should just flow and doing stuff with video was too time consuming... just to build up stock footage though fun it was just too time consuming.
It sucks when I have ideas that are too grandiose to actually make reality... this morning I was thinking (like I sometimes do) about a movie idea... it was based around this world of nano-people. A company that started this diorama world of tiny nano people that living in this perfect world and created tiny machines that they controlled and were used to enter (large non nano) peoples bodies to fix health problems. They would go on week long missions inside people and after some time one crew were inside some ones brain when they came in contact with their pineal gland while the (non nano person) was sleeping and slipped through like it was a portal. They ended up meeting what was a god who was like "so we finally get to meet... though I'm surprised at your methods"... god went on to tell them information that they could use to better their own nano world and leave the non-nano people behind.. before they return to their mission. The nano people then secretly decided to construct an artificial pineal gland that they would use to find an even better utopian dream world where they could move to ... it would be a non physical world that they could inhabit from being so tiny. blah blah... But how do you make something like that ....something more than a story? I don't know how to do CGI or anything. The world I see of the nano people thanks to the non-nano people is already a utopia... but I guess the underlying idea is that no matter now much perfection we achieve we'll always have a drive to want more.
So there are a lot of creative "ideas" that just go to waste.... right now I have no real outlet that quenches me... just ideas.

 

[Le9acyMuse]

As long as you automatically gravitate to it as if it's bred in your personality, it's what you should focus on. Outlet-wise. It may just be my path's desire, but I would recommend not concentrating on just one skill. The mental sources of your ideas may come to fruition when you bring them all together. It may quench your longing, too.

So a movie, good writing for it and a bass soundtrack? haha Too grandiose? ha Go for it. It feels good to be known as being good at something, but if it's your true desire you will get there in time. But right now it's not about fame or it paying off all at once or even a fraction. It's about stepping into your dreams and making them grow.

I liked your plot

 

[MilkyLatte]

I'm creative musically. I can play guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and I can sing. I've also crafted a couple of successful electro-tracks; I've always been into the technical stuff when it comes to computers and electronics and, apparently, synthesizers. Some times it seems like I can actually empathize with machines. Example: if a computer is lagging, I can sense its' stress like if it were a person. But combined with creativity, it can become quite good.

 

[GoldenDawn]

I go to art school, but I still very worring about my talents... I love to draw, and make photo's. I feel the free and spontanious sights of insight in work. I want to become a real artist.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I write some bad poetry :laughing:, draw a little, and am a graphic designer. I'm also creative with my dress, the way I decorate, and even the way I cook. I see my sp instinct to create a cozy sanctuary for myself in some of these hobbies.

More than anything though, I like to take a creative view on things. Look at them from a different angle, tear it down to see the principles, and then create something new from what I see as the basic concept. This could just be Ne though. It's how I seek to understand the world & myself. The unique identity aspect is not just how I seek to come across, but how I seek to see things. I seek to see them in a different way. "Seek" is the key word; I'm not claiming originality. :tongue:

 

[apathy ends the world]

I sometimes write poetry, otherwise I've come to the conclusion that my thinking is the only creative thing about me. I used to draw, but I had higher standards for myself in that area than I was capable of achieving. I also find ranting can be creative. Journal writing/free writing, too.

 

[Nymma]

I am very creative, but still craves for MORE. I am gifted at creating my own writting styles, at inventing expressions, etc. I am very imaginative in the realm of ideas, whether it is for the plot of one of my planned novels, or at ways of seeing the world, or at inventing solutions. I can also come up with lots of original ideas for art, like,say, drawing, but since I can't draw to save my life, said ideas remain in my head. i would say that my primary asset is imagination; without it, I would be lost, since I'm too unconventional to fit in this society...

What is annoying is that I suffer from the illness of JALOUSY. Somehow, the bee of greed has biten me and left its horribly permanent traces. If I see someone more creative than me, I will sulk inwardly, be very depressed, and do everything in my power to surpass said person. i just cannot live with the fact that there are people more imaginative than me, it's driving me nuts. :frustrating:

I am really getting quite obsessed with it, it's not even funny. My goal is to become the more imaginative person in the world...Now, obviously, it's too unrealistic for me to actually acheive this....which will just get me bitter, disappointed for the rest of my life. my too high standards are killing me. I need a cure NOW.

 

[Le9acyMuse]

I am very creative, but still craves for MORE. I am gifted at creating my own writting styles, at inventing expressions, etc. I am very imaginative in the realm of ideas, whether it is for the plot of one of my planned novels, or at ways of seeing the world, or at inventing solutions. I can also come up with lots of original ideas for art, like,say, drawing, but since I can't draw to save my life, said ideas remain in my head. i would say that my primary asset is imagination; without it, I would be lost, since I'm too unconventional to fit in this society...

What is annoying is that I suffer from the illness of JALOUSY. Somehow, the bee of greed has biten me and left its horribly permanent traces. If I see someone more creative than me, I will sulk inwardly, be very depressed, and do everything in my power to surpass said person. i just cannot live with the fact that there are people more imaginative than me, it's driving me nuts. :frustrating:

I am really getting quite obsessed with it, it's not even funny. My goal is to become the more imaginative person in the world...Now, obviously, it's too unrealistic for me to actually acheive this....which will just get me bitter, disappointed for the rest of my life. my too high standards are killing me. I need a cure NOW.

I am the same about singing. Super obsessed and dead set on claiming the most coveted spot among the greats. I want complete mastery. Often, nothing else exists except me and my voice, the one true thing I own even when I had lost touch with my will to live. I've been at my self-taught methods for 3 years now, constantly revising it. Yes! So there's someone else losing sleep over such things!

 

[MilkyLatte]

I know about the envy thing. When I was forming a jam-band with my friends, they wanted someone else than me to sing even though I've always been the singer. And it absolutely had to be him. Felt terrible. Luckily I later found out it was because he's the only one of us who can't play an instrument, so that eased the circumstances a bit :blushed:

 

[Nymma]

I am the same about singing. Super obsessed and dead set on claiming the most coveted spot among the greats. I want complete mastery. Often, nothing else exists except me and my voice, the one true thing I own even when I had lost touch with my will to live. I've been at my self-taught methods for 3 years now, constantly revising it. Yes! So there's someone else losing sleep over such things!

Hmm, I relate a lot to this: "the one true thing I own when I had lost touch with my will to live". When I was depressed, bordering on suicidal, the only thing that kept me going was that I should continue to live just in case I would acheive my dreams(becoming the next JKrowling,in fact surpass her, as well as becoming THE IMAGINATIVE person of all times). Having goals is by far the best remedy when one looses everything. Glad to see you used past tense, though.

I think we put so much importance at becoming the best because it's what gives us meaning as individuals, human beings. Humans all live and die, and as it's possible that we just become nothing at death, thus, wasting away like insignifiant beings and forever, the only thing that remains is our individuality. Being different, the one that stands out, having made an impact on society with our talents and having acheived beyond the limit of what is possible,beyond what everyone else has ever accomplished, well, it's what gives us identity. Wouldn't our lives be meaningless if we were just carbon copies of the average person? How utterly useless it would be to live as the next soulless "robot" beside you...No, by placing ridiculously high standards upon oursleves and -hopefully- acheiving said goals, well, it's the thing that will make us different and meaningful. (after all, interesting and meaningful persons are always unique from all others...). While we still will die (As a 4w5 & 5w4, I have a big phobia of dying), at least we will make our own personal trace on this earth, and in the end, it's what will really matter to us as creative meaningful folks with souls...

I know I often lament about the difficulty at acheiving my high dreams, but I prefer this to being someone without a dream, because IMO, such people have no identity, thus, being meaningless in existence. So you're doing self-taught methods? I do the same... I personnally beleive that it's the best education one can receive. By teaching oursleves, we create our own techniques and styles, and we discover a lot more richness than people who rely on "qualified teachers". I think we are likely to succeed best with our ways...

P.S.: Glad to see you like having someone in the same dilemna as you:laughing:

 

[BlissfulDreams]

When I was younger, I was "creative" in the stereotypical sense. I drew detailed pictures of animals when I was about 8-9 years old. It had a calming effect on me and any stresses I felt seemed to diminish. I'd lock myself in my room for hours until I was done. But I was a total perfectionist and sometimes it just ended up making me upset that my drawings weren't good enough. I also liked to shape things with modelling clay. I made little action figures and a figurine for different projects. I also went through a phase where I would write stories, but I never felt that they were good enough.

But as I got older, I became less creative in that way and more so in a mindful sense. I kind of live in my head now and I have detailed thoughts and storylines of possibilities, ambitions, dreams, and fantasies about what could be.

I'm also like you, heartturnedtoporcelain, in that I like to put together papers. I like to do the research and connect ideas to form my own thoughts. I tend to be quite scatterbrained and I find that it helps me make sense of some subjects.

Another thing that I do is try to put my thoughts into words that I think would make sense from another person's position. I try to imagine myself in their shoes and the things they may have faced in life. I try to think about the best things to say and the way I should say them. I wish I could do this more. The times where I have really done this, I felt a really strong connection to other people. Sometimes I have the knack for saying the right thing and the other person has an "a-ha" moment or suddenly feels understood.

 

[beachdreamer78]

I hate that Type 4's are known for creativity because I am certainly not creative at all...

In fact, i am very jealous of those who are creative (envy is a type 4 thing)...

i feel less than, inferior, lacking (type 4 again)...

I have some basic dialogue ideas for stories...but that's it...

I am an enneagram 4, INFJ...

i wish I knew my identity...Type 4...