While I don’t feel that both aspects have to be directly connected, I enjoy the romantic view that contradictions in our personalities and thinking are helping us to solve the problems the world throws our way.
I’ve found studies exploring the role of contradiction in the traits observed of creative people, aiming to create processes for innovation and generating highly creative solutions.
Here’s something that resonated a lot: “The creative person can be flexible and adapt a personality trait when it is needed and appropriate….”
It’s a no-go to use a quotation out of context, but it supports my main takeaway.
The adaptability of our traits and mindset defines how we address and solve problems. It allows us to change our modus operandi based on the requirements of a given situation. And tells us when to splash out ideas or exercise judgment to converge and select ideas for further refinement and consideration.