[excerpted from, 9 Keys to Creativity: Positive Psychology ©2023]

Judgment and open-mindedness, as mentioned, are considered the same character strength in positive psychology, as one must be openminded in order to see an issue from alternate perspectives and make an impartial judgment, or change one’s previous opinion or decision. They are indeed related, but for our purposes separated out – and open-mindedness is our next key to creativity.

It’s perhaps a bit easier to understand how this quality relates to increased creativity. Creativity, after all, is a form of opening one’s mind and letting the ideas and concepts flow. In this key, however, we’ll look specifically at openness, and psychological flexibility.

First, a word about openness.

In 5-trait personality theory, ‘the Big Five’, and the most common way of viewing personality though there are many, we have 5 essential traits: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, each with their polar opposite and many shades in between. The trait of openness – one who is open to new ideas (epistemic / cognitive curiosity) and experience (perceptive / sensory curiosity), and who’s also open to alternate viewpoints and indeed worldviews, is perhaps the most naturally creative. The person with a high degree of openness is not only curious and creative, but also insightful, imaginative, innovative, and comfortable with change.

According to Diessner (2019), this trait increases rapidly between the ages of 10-22, slowing and stabilizing around age 30. It remains stable to age 50, when it increases again over the next decade. One’s openness then begins to steadily decline from age 60 onward – though certain interventions for increasing openness have shown some promise in this age cohort, specifically tasks of inductive reasoning, while more research is needed.

And so, we cultivate openness and open-mindedness, in order to better access our creativity.

There’s a great deal of research to support this. Tan et al. (2019) found that openness enhances creativity, mediated by our internal motivation. Gocłowska et al. (2019) found openness and novelty seeking, or curiosity, contributes to greater creative performance. And a meta-analysis of multiple studies performed by Zare and Flinchbaugh (2019) indicated that openness to experience was a strong predictor of creativity. In a study of adolescents conducted by Dametto and Noronha (2021), the trait of openness showed a strong relationship with the positive psychology character strengths of creativity and curiosity, along with that of appreciation of beauty and excellence found in the virtue category of transcendence.

 Psychological flexibility relates closely to openness. And while neither of these was developed within the positive psychology framework, they’re nevertheless closely aligned. Psychological flexibility is the ‘superpower’ of mental health, and the pinnacle of emotional health and wellbeing; specifically, it’s the ability to remain in the present moment despite challenges or discomfort, in order to pursue one’s goals (Doorley et al., 2020) and values (Waldeck et al., 2021).

We can think of psychological flexibility also as adaptability; while they aren’t precisely the same, there’s a good deal of overlap (Waldeck et al.). As well, it’s a measure of coping skills in its reference to the ease with which one handles change and uncertainty, and is closely aligned with life satisfaction (Lucas and Moore, 2020). Psychological flexibility has also been shown to increase engagement or flow, creativity, and openness (Kashdan & Rottenberg, 2010).

So, how can we develop openness to experience, and psychological flexibility?

Take a walk in an area you haven’t walked in before. Stop to consider the graffiti and street art. Talk to a stranger along the way. Read a well-written article or webpage of ideas that differ from your own.

Observe your emotions with curiosity and distance, becoming more comfortable with those that aren’t positive or pleasant. Consider deeply why you believe something and whether alternate beliefs or views could also be true.

Set a goal of learning one new thing each day. Some days, this may just be something new about yourself.

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Exercises:

First, boost your confidence and relaxed state; do something familiar and easy, for which you have some talent or skill. Then, change one aspect so that it becomes a bit less familiar and more challenging. And repeat.

When traveling, stay with locals. Engage them in conversation if possible. Observe. Contemplate. Or, stay at a hostel (no matter your age), and talk with other guests from a range of countries and cultures.

As an alternative to travel, we can access cultures different from our own in other ways. Watch foreign films with subtitles, from a range of other countries. Try foods from other cultures which aren’t already familiar to you. Read translated books of authors from other countries (not just those who also share your language). Listen to music from around the world.

Try a hobby or leisure activity that you’ve never done, even better if it’s in a category you’ve never tried in any form, and top points if it’s creative! And: repeat.

Have a conversation with someone whose opinions, or entire worldview, differ from your own. (Agree on some ground rules first, such as active listening without interruption, remaining calm, listening carefully, agreeing in advance to disagree rather than attempt to convince — but to respectfully hear one another’s views.)

Consider your daily, and life, routines. And make some changes.

Gain some distance from your internalized self-criticism. Every time you notice it, change it. Let “I’m so stupid” become “That was stupid” and then become “Occasionally I do a stupid thing – like everyone.” We can, and should, learn from our mistakes – but we don’t have to take them on as character flaws.

Do things that make you feel uncomfortable. (This is another version of, Get out of your comfort zone.) Start small. But try to do something out of your routine, and perhaps a little uncomfortable if only because of its unfamiliarity or your lack of skill, every day. Or as often as possible.

Let this become your mantra: Try one new thing today. Make one change in routine. Consider one new idea or perspective.

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References:

Dametto DM and Noronha APP (2021). Study between personality traits and character strengths in adolescents. Current Psychology 40, 2067–2072. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-0146-2

Diessner R (2019). Bountiful Beauty: Increasing Appreciation of Beauty. In: Understanding the Beauty Appreciation Trait. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32333-2_9

Doorley JD, Goodman FR, Kelso KC et al. (2020). Psychological flexibility: What we know, what we do not know, and what we think we know. Social & Personality Psychology: Compass 14: 1-11 e12566. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12566

Gocłowska MA, Ritter SM, Elliot AJ et al. (2019). Novelty seeking is linked to openness and extraversion, and can lead to greater creative performance. Journal of Personality 87, 252-266. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12387

Kashdan TB and Rottenberg J (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review 30:7, 865-878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2010.03.001  

Lucas JJ and Moore KA (2020). Psychological flexibility: positive implications for mental health and life satisfaction. Health Promotion International 35:2, 312–320. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz036

Tan CS, Lau XS, Kung YT et al. (2019). Openness to Experience Enhances Creativity: The Mediating Role of Intrinsic Motivation and the Creative Process Engagement. Journal of Creative Behavior 53, 109-119. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.170

Waldeck D, Pancani L, Holliman A et al. (2021). Adaptability and psychological flexibility: Overlapping constructs? Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science 19, 72-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2021.01.002

Zare M and Flinchbaugh C (2019). Voice, creativity, and big five personality traits: A meta-analysis, Human Performance 32:1, 30-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/08959285.2018.1550782