Psychology Today reports "When psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi studied eminent people, he found that they held almost contradictory impulses and qualities within:
* a desire for solitude but also a need for social stimulation;
* superior knowledge on a subject but also a childlike naivete.
These qualities seemed to fuel their ability to come up with great ideas and their ability to execute them--quite a combination. Exploring the less-prominent parts of your personality could activate the same ying-yang nature found in creative geniuses."
I think the trick is knowing which part to let out when--often the biggest problems we have is giving in to the feelings that we SHOULD be getting out there and being social when our creative impulses are hinting we need solitary time, or feeling we SHOULD get to work on practical issues when our childlike nature wants to explore some more.
Of course, for some people the opposite may be true--I've known some creative people who get stuck in the childlike "wondering but not doing" state forever and need a kick up the backside from their underdeveloped more practical nature.
Maybe the best course is to consider whether you've been trying to suppress one part of your nature and give it a bit more room.
(If you'd like tips on how to be more creative and productive, get a copy of my newest book, "Creativity Now!" published by Pearson and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)