Do you need more complexity in your life?

Is your personality in a rut? Are you becoming bored by your own, predictable responses and actions? Are you having a hard time seeing life or a certain person or situation from a different perspective? Is your creativity lagging?

Maybe you need more complexity in your life.

Complex (from Merriam-Webster Online):
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin complexus, past participle of complecti to embrace, comprise (a multitude of objects), from com- + plectere to braid — more at ply
Date: 1645

1 a : composed of two or more parts :  composite  b (1) of a word :  having a bound form as one or more of its immediate constituents <unmanly is a complex word> (2) of a sentence : consisting of a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses
2 : hard to separate, analyze, or solve

I value simplicity. Simple priorities. Simple goals. Simple clothes. Simple hair. Simple food.

However, according to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of, among other books, Flow, Creativity, and Talented Teenagers, sometimes it’s good to aim for complexity. He writes,

“I have devoted 30 years of research to how creative people live and work, to make more understandable the mysterious process by which they come up with new ideas and new things. Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals. If I had to express in one word what makes their personalities different from others, it’s complexity. They show tendencies of thought and action that in most people are segregated. They contain contradictory extremes…”  The Creative Personality

These are brief descriptions of Csikszentmihalyi’s ten  “contradictory extremes” or Dimensions of Complexity. Where are you most lopsided?

Energetic and restful: Creative people can have both sustained bursts of energy and deep periods of rest.

Intelligent and naïve: Creative people are both extremely smart about some things and surprisingly innocent about others.

Playful and disciplined: Creative people have both a zany (divergent) and a straight-forward (convergent) side.

Fanciful and reality-based: Creative people have one foot in the clouds and the other on the ground.

Humble and proud: Creative people are not driven by their egos and may even shy from publicity or recognition, but they also accept and are glad for their gifts and accomplishments.

Masculine and feminine: Creative people exhibit traditionally male and female traits, such as assertiveness and tenderness (note that this dimension has nothing to do with sexual preferences).

Rebellious and conservative: Creative people sometimes are not afraid to break with the status quo and at other times stick with
tradition.

Passionate and objective: Creative people can fall in love with the world while still seeing the world as it is.

Suffering and blissful: Creative people know and feel suffering without losing a sense of joy and wonder.

Introverted and extroverted: Creative people are comfortable being by themselves but can also learn and use skills of interdependence.

The idea is that rather than a single strand, you weave a braid of traits and choices. Rather than excluding that which you previously have avoided, you embrace new ideas and experiences, even when they are not entirely comfortable.

To learn more about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and his ideas, watch this TED Talk in which he discusses creativity, fulfillment, and flow:

This week, choose one of the dimensions above and consciously try on whatever side of the spectrum is less comfortable for you, then come back here and tell us about your experience!