What Kind of Creative Challenge Are You Looking For?

By: Zoe Samuel
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
What Kind of Creative Challenge Are You Looking For?
Image: Sisoje/E+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

Modern life can be full of all sorts of boring nonsense. There's more paperwork than anyone could possibly justify. There's commuting. There's filling in forms. A lot of us find that many parts of our jobs can be creatively lacking, to say the least, as we stack shelves and order supplies and deal with customers who don't know why they're unhappy but want us to magically fix it anyway.

However, we all need creativity in our lives; otherwise, we get very bored and frustrated, and we start to get less creative, as the "muscle" of our mind atrophies. That's why we either need to find it in our work or outside of it. We can find this in ourselves, or we can find it in others. Indeed, both taking OR teaching a class is equally likely to stretch you creatively, reward you with warm fuzzies, and educate you. It's a matter of finding the right outlet.

If your job is a non-negotiable situation, then maybe you need to get into painting, DIY and other creative ideas that provide what you need at home. If you have a little in the way of resources and some itchy feet, perhaps a language will help you travel, and you'll find your creativity in seeing the wider world and connecting to new people. If your creativity is in the stories inside your head, then get writing! If you've got a few financial skills, then what you really need is to monetize that idea or hobby and start your own company. Take this quiz and find out what creative challenge awaits you!


What was your best class in elementary school?
Art
Literature
Science
French

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Which of the below scares you just a little?
Putting my time into something stupid
Letting people hear what I really think
Giving up security
Speaking in public

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Would someone who entered your house know in what area you are most creative?
They would have no idea!
They might, if they looked in my computer.
They'd know I'm messy. Does that count?
They would have an idea.

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Do you need to be around other people to get inspired?
I prefer it.
No
It depends.
Yes

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What time of day is your muse most active?
Evening
Night time
Morning
Afternoon

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When you are in a boring meeting, what are you secretly doing?
Drawing little houses
Writing little notes
Imagining my future
Surfing travel sites

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How comfortable are you with failure?
Fairly
It's an old friend.
I can totally deal.
Not really

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What sort of money can you put into your creativity?
A few hundred
Almost nothing
Many tens of thousands
A few grand a year

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Would your lifestyle support you traveling more?
No
Once in a while
A little
Yes!

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How do you like to encounter a new idea?
Watch a video
Read a book
Have a discussion
Take a class

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What kind of book do you read most often?
Educational
Novel
Biography
Travel guide

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Whose career do you really admire?
Stella McCartney
J. K. Rowling
Sheryl Sandberg
Christiane Amanpour

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Do you ever dream about making your entire living from your current hobby?
No, but it'd be cool to make a little here and there.
Quite often, yes
Constantly
Once in a while

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When it's games night, which game do you look forward to most?
Pictionary
The one where you read the blurb of a book then everyone writes their own ending, and we guess which is whose!
Murder mystery game
The one where you guess names on people's heads

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Do you love meeting new people often?
I like it from time to time.
I don't like new people.
I could do it all day, every day!
I love doing it often!

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What aspect of your childhood self do you miss most?
I was very playful.
I was constantly telling stories.
I wasn't ashamed to tell people about my ideas.
I could learn anything.

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What space do you have in which to be creative?
Shed or garage
Local coffee shop
Home office
Community workspace

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Where do you have your best ideas?
Playing with my kids
Bathroom, like all the best people
At events with smart people
While traveling

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What area do you work in?
Administration
Marketing
Operations
Design

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In a group setting, how much do you tend to speak up?
Not at all
Any time I have something to say
Every time, whether or not I have anything to say
Most of the time

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How often during an average day do you think, "I could do that better"?
Not often
A bunch of times
Constantly
I don't know about better, but different, yes!

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Ten thousand hours is what it takes to be considered an expert in a subject, but 1,000 puts you squarely in the top few percents. Do you have the discipline to get there?
Probably, but slowly
Yes, quickly
Only if I can do it full time
Possibly not

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What percentage of the people in your life come from wildly different backgrounds to yours?
Under 20%
About half
About 20%
Most of them

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Do you regularly spend time with kids?
Yes, my own
No, but I am good with kids.
No, and I don't want to.
Yes, but they are not my own.

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If you play that game where you have a minute to write down new uses for say, a toothpick, how do you usually do?
I'm not great at those games.
I win!
I do a few really good ones, then get stuck.
I do very well!

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What board game do you love the most?
Monopoly
Scattergories
Chess
Stratego

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Do you feel comfortable asking for the whole cake, not the crumbs - figuratively speaking?
No
Not really
Yes! I want the bakery!
Sometimes

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Do you consider creativity a group or a solo activity?
Mostly solo
Solo
A mix
Mostly group

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The people and the pets have already made it out safe. What would you grab in a fire?
A little puzzle box my kid made for me
My hard drive
Key documents like birth certificates
A glass memento of my trip to Venice

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Do you agree with Mary Poppins that, "In every job that must be done / There is an element of fun"?
Yes, of course!
Not really
Probably
No

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You Got: