Unhappy? (But not to the point where it's crushing you). Could that help your creativity instead of hindering it?
On PsychCentral, Joe Wilner writes: There are certain states of mind that prevent us from being open to our creative nature. One research finding reports that being scared, nervous, and anxious is related to decreases in creativity.
Interestingly, though, negative emotions have also been show to be a source of creative inspiration through sublimation, such as artistic expression as an outlet for distressing emotions.
Surprisingly, pessimism has been shown to relate to enhancement in creativity, whereas optimism was actually neutral.Other positive emotional states, such as interest, curiosity, and happiness, were all related to increases in creativity."
Sounds contradictory, doesn't it?
I suspect that there are two ways that such emotions lead to creative activity: one is when you're in the middle of the emotion and doing something creative is an escape. The other is when you have at least a little bit of distance from it and are able to see how to transform it into your medium of choice, like a short story, screenplay or painting.
Singer/songwriter James Taylor puts it this way: "Being entirely satisfied and comfortable makes for a nice potato. Stress, as long as it doesn't beat you down and defeat you, is good. And finding a way out of a confusing and baffling life situation gives you something to offer other people."
