Does Creativity Lead to Fulfillment?

July 9, 2025 | Valerie Patrick |

I am a creativity crusader who has been obsessed with fulfillment so I wondered if creativity leads to fulfillment. My creativity crusading comes from my purpose to empower so creativity flourishes. I have been a student of creativity for as long as I can remember. The first major business book that I read was Teresa Amabile’s Creativity in Context back in the late 1990’s. I pursued my purpose to empower so creativity flourishes in my various corporate leadership roles such as Head of Creative Center and Sustainability Coordinator for our company’s North America operations. I also wrote a section titled The Challenges of Team Creativity in Chapter 5 of my book When Bad Teams Happen to Good People: Your Complete Repair Guide for Successful Teamwork.1 Further, I have shared a wide range of content on creativity including publications, blog posts, podcasts, and videos.2 Finally, I am conducting a marketing survey as input for a planned on-line course on how professionals can empower themselves to be more creative.3

My passion for creativity is strong but I have also been obsessed with fulfillment. My passion for creativity comes from my purpose to empower so creativity flourishes but I do not understand why I am so obsessed with fulfillment. This post explores the differences between, similarities of, and interventions for creativity and fulfillment.

Differences Between Creativity and Fulfillment

I will focus on three of the many differences between creativity and fulfillment from my research and experience in this section. First is the experience associated with creativity versus fulfillment. Second is who is best qualified to assess the level of creativity or fulfillment. Third is the timescale to reward for creativity compared to fulfillment.

One difference between creativity and fulfillment is the experience. The experience associated with creativity has been called an “ah-ha” moment by neuroscientists and behavioral scientists who study creativity. An “ah-ha” moment is an intense moment of joy. You can experience an ah-ha moment when you solve a puzzle requiring creativity such as a Remote Associates Test or RAT. The RAT presents you with three seemingly random words and asks you to come up with a fourth word that works with each of the three words. An example RAT item is dress – dial – flower.4 The solution to this RAT item is sun because there are sundresses, sun dials, and sunflowers. In contrast, the experience associated with fulfillment is a sense of satisfaction and worthwhileness. Satisfaction and worthwhileness are both positive emotions like joy but they are low-intensity emotions unlike joy. So, creativity leads to an intense positive experience while fulfillment leads to an experience of satisfaction or a less intense positive experience.

A second difference between creativity and fulfillment is who is best qualified to make an assessment. The different factors to consider in assessing creativity include the level of expertise of the creator, whether the process used or product created is being assessed, and the environment where creativity took place. The different factors to consider in assessing fulfillment include the timeframe and which aspects of life are included. For our purposes here, I will consider a work product for creativity and all aspects of life up to the present time for fulfillment. Teresa Amabile developed the Consensual Assessment Technique or CAT5 to assess a creative product which is considered the most effective tool to measure creative work by creativity researchers worldwide. The CAT is based on collating individual assessments by a panel of judges who are experienced experts in the domain being assessed. Fulfillment on all aspects of life up to the present time is assessed with the Fulfilled Life Scale which was developed from researching over 700 people over a wide age range.6 The Fulfilled Life Scale is a self-assessment because only you can determine the level of satisfaction you feel with your life. So, a creative work is assessed by credible others while fulfillment is assessed by the one seeking to be fulfilled.

A third difference between creativity and fulfillment is the timescale to reward. Creativity is a set of skills that can be improved and applied for joy in the short-term whereas fulfillment is a set of skills that can be improved and applied for satisfaction over the long-term. For example, the skills required for creativity include problem-finding, brainstorming, selecting ideas for implementation, and implementing a new idea to produce value. There are techniques to improve brainstorming that can be applied to address a problem you encounter at work in the short-term. In contrast, the skills required for fulfillment include self-actualization, impact, worthwhileness, being in harmony, expressing gratitude, feeling contentment, and being free of regret. There are several mindsets and practices that need to be cultivated to develop the skills required for fulfillment which are more time-consuming than developing the skills required for creativity. So, the skills required to experience the reward of creativity can be acquired and applied in mere minutes while the skills required to experience the reward of fulfillment take a longer investment of time.

Similarities Between Creativity and Fulfillment

I will focus on three of the many similarities between creativity and fulfillment from my research and experience in this section. First is the role of curiosity in fueling both creativity and fulfillment. Second is the role of intrinsic motivation in supporting creativity and fulfillment. Third is the importance of process in expressing creativity and realizing fulfillment.

One similarity between creativity and fulfillment is the role of curiosity. Dr. Kaufman said “openness to experiences – the drive for cognitive exploration of inner and outer experiences – is the personality trait most consistently associated with creativity.”7 Dr. Kaufman believes that the personality trait of openness to experience is the best predictor of creativity. Dr. Kaufman also points out that the trait of openness to experience looks more like intellectual curiosity for professionals. So, openness to experience is really a form of curiosity. Curiosity about ourselves is necessary on the path to fulfillment. Cassandra Worthy, a fellow chemical engineer, in her 2024 TEDx talk titled “Sustaining a Fulfilled Life through Curiosity,“8 says the following:

  • “By seeking to know ourselves we are fueling our light, that energy that animates.”
  • “By seeking to know me, I was getting better at finding a reality that brought me joy and fulfillment.”

Curiosity about yourself is a necessary step to uncovering your purpose which provides a foundation for fulfillment. So, curiosity is a core habit of the most creative people and curiosity of the self provides a foundation for fulfillment.

A second similarity between creativity and fulfillment is intrinsic motivation. Dr. Teresa Amabile, who wrote the seminal book on workplace creativity in 1996 called Creativity in Context, shares some results from a 2017 workplace study of 238 professionals across 7 different companies.9 Dr. Amabile found that creativity in the workplace correlated with what she calls positive inner work life. Specifically, the more meaningful your work is to you, the more positive your emotions, and the more positive your perceptions of your coworkers, the more likely you are to be creative at work. This workplace study supports Amabile’s 40 years of research showing the importance of intrinsic motivation to creativity. Intrinsic motivation is the motivation to do something because you are interested, curious, and typically find it enjoyable or personally challenging. A positive inner work life correlates with intrinsic motivation. We experience intrinsic motivation when we engage in something for its own sake rather than for an external reward. We engage in something for its own sake because we find that activity to be personally fulfilling.10 So, intrinsic motivation correlates with both higher levels of creativity and fulfillment.

A third similarity between creativity and fulfillment is the importance of process. The products of creativity include creative works, elegant solutions to important problems, and new approaches to achieve a desired result. The products of fulfillment include contentment, being in harmony, and feeling free from regret. Process is needed to access the products of creativity and fulfillment because these products are the result of conscious effort.

The two fundamental elements that characterize creativity are newness and helpfulness. Our nonconscious brain is wired to find patterns but not the new associations needed for creativity. Creativity is challenging because we are working against our brain’s natural wiring to find patterns. Further, creativity does not come naturally from our nonconscious brain because creativity takes engaging the limited capacity of our conscious-thinking brain.11 Researchers have found that when people are engaged in creative tasks, they are using the same brain regions that are used for noncreative tasks.12 If the same brain regions are used for noncreative and creative tasks, then we all have the basic brain hardware needed to be creative. But hardware does not work well without the right software. So, people need to develop the software required for creativity, which is the process of using the brain hardware to get the desired product. Fulfillment is characterized by both cognitive and affective elements. Like creativity, fulfillment does not come naturally from our nonconscious brain because the cognitive elements of fulfillment take engaging the conscious-thinking brain. Products of fulfillment like contentment are enabled by processes like self-actualization. Products of creativity like music are enabled by processes like intentional practice. So, the products of creativity and fulfillment are accessed through process.

Example Interventions to Improve Creativity

I am going to focus on three interventions to improve creativity here which from my study and practice of creativity are of particular importance. The first intervention to improve creativity is intentional learning. The second intervention to improve creativity is curiosity. The third intervention to improve creativity is inspiration.

One intervention to improve creativity is intentional learning. Dr. Keith Sawyer provides practical ways you can practice intentional learning for creativity based on his research.13 For example, Dr. Sawyer points out that learners who want to get more creative reflect on their learning process and change it up to keep challenged. Part of my learning process is writing and teaching on new topics related to my expertise so that I seek the deeper understanding needed to explain topics to others who are not experts. Dr. Sawyer also recommends becoming a T-shaped person. The vertical line of the “T” represents deep expertise in a particular domain while the horizontal line of the “T” represents lower levels of expertise across many different domains. T-shaped people get creative ideas by making connections between what is done in other areas and what is done in their area of expertise. A domain can be an intellectual field such as teamwork in my case or an artistic field like music, painting, acting, photography, journalism, writing, speaking, and more.

A second intervention to improve creativity is curiosity. Curiosity is the desire to learn and learning is an important ingredient to creativity. Curiosity is the inquisitive thinking needed to uncover problems or opportunities and notice things that can be helpful to a problem or opportunity. Archimedes had the problem of determining if the King’s crown was made of pure gold. It was Archimedes’ curiosity that got him to wonder why the water level went up in the tub when he got in to take a bath. Archimedes was then able to use volume displacement in water to determine the density of a bar of gold or weight per unit volume. He could then compare the weight and volume displacement of the crown to that of a bar of gold and solve the King’s problem. Curiosity can be increased by polishing your mind with the minds of others, practicing zooming in and out on topics or subjects of interest, and reading widely.

A third intervention to improve creativity is inspiration. Inspiration is the desire to apply what you have learned through your curiosity. Researchers have described inspiration as a “motivational state that compels individuals to bring ideas into fruition.”14 Inspiration to address a problem or opportunity comes from understanding why addressing that problem or opportunity is of interest to you. Inspiration to address a problem or opportunity can be improved by looking for a connection between the problem or opportunity and what you care about.

Example Interventions to Improve Fulfillment

I am going to focus on three interventions to improve fulfillment here which according to my research and pursuit of fulfillment are of particular importance. The first intervention to improve fulfillment is articulating your purpose. A second intervention to improve fulfillment is practicing a growth mindset. A third intervention to improve fulfillment is uncovering your values.

One intervention to improve fulfillment is articulating your purpose. Articulating your purpose contributes to all three cognitive and all four affective components of fulfillment. Purpose can be in different contexts like the purpose of an organization or your life purpose independent of your work. One aspect of meaning is finding the purpose of your role within the greater context of what is important to the organization. Another aspect of meaning is finding how your work contributes to your life purpose. Meaning in the context of the organization is important for engagement in your work at the organization. But, meaning in the context of your life purpose can supercharge your contribution by producing peak performance through flow. I have done many different purpose exercises over the course of my life so far and the most profound and useful exercise has been the purpose exercise that Simon Sinek describes in his book Find Your Why.15

A second intervention to improve fulfillment is practicing a growth mindset. Practicing a growth mindset contributes to all three cognitive and three of the four affective components of fulfillment. Dr. Carol Dweck did the groundbreaking research on growth mindset.16 Dr. Dweck found that a good way to understand growth mindset is to compare it to a fixed mindset. She identified the importance of different mindsets by studying the differences between people who are equally talented but achieve different levels of success in work. Dr. Dweck found that the belief in hard work to achieve goals leads to more success than the belief in innate abilities. Dr. Dweck called the belief that you can improve your abilities or develop new abilities with hard work a growth mindset. In contrast, Dr. Dweck called the belief that you do not have control over your abilities a fixed mindset. Practicing a growth mindset means reminding yourself that with the right effort and hard work you can succeed in something new.

A third intervention to improve fulfillment is uncovering your values. It is hard to come up with our most important values when asked because our most important values are programmed into our non-conscious. Uncovering your values contributes to one of the three cognitive and three of the four affective components of fulfillment. For example, one of my values is a love of learning so the most fulfilling parts of my career have involved me learning or teaching others. Identifying your most important values for your career takes understanding how you are wired to contribute. You can take the Core Values Index to reveal how you are wired to contribute based on your innate motivations and drivers.17 Next, you can rank the degree of resonance with the results of the Core Value Index for a list of values. I have compiled a list of 180 values with descriptions in my Fulfillment course.18 The goal is to uncover your top 5 to 10 values and then you can work consistent with those values to improve your fulfillment.

Conclusion

My conclusion is creativity does lead to fulfillment because the similarities outweigh the differences. The differences are based on the experience and assessment associated with creativity and fulfillment which is not too earth-shattering. Creativity and fulfillment are two different concepts so how they are experienced and assessed should be different. The similarities are based on what you need to do to improve each creativity and fulfillment such as cultivate curiosity, tap into intrinsic motivation, and focus on process. So, my time spent pursuing creativity has naturally led to the pursuit of fulfillment because of the similarities. The top interventions to improve creativity and fulfillment are also somewhat different but supportive of both concepts. For example, improving curiosity is an intervention to improve creativity while curiosity about the self like articulating your purpose is important to fulfillment. Also, intentional learning is another intervention to improve creativity while practicing a growth mindset which improves learning is important to fulfillment. Finally, inspiration which is tied to interest is an intervention to improve creativity while uncovering your values or what most engages and interests you is important to fulfillment.

Summary

My purpose is to empower so creativity flourishes but I have been mesmerized by the topic of fulfillment so I wanted to understand how fulfillment relates to my purpose. My research revealed that the similarities between creativity and fulfillment outweigh the differences so it is natural that my passion for creativity has led to my current focus on fulfillment.

Creativity and fulfillment are assessed in different ways. For example, the individual is best equipped to assess fulfillment and there are tools available for self-assessment such as the Fulfilled Life Scale. But, qualified others are best equipped to assess creativity because creativity needs a foundation of mastery in the impacted field or domain. Creativity and fulfillment are also experienced in different ways. Researchers liken the experience of creativity to an “ah-ha” moment or a short but intense feeling of joy. Fulfillment is characterized by low-intensity emotions like contentment, being in harmony, and gratitude. Creativity and fulfillment have many similarities in the interventions needed in their pursuit. For example, intellectual curiosity is the personality trait most consistently associated with creative individuals and curiosity about the self to articulate a life purpose is needed for all seven components of fulfillment. Also, intentional learning that leads to domain mastery and becoming a “T-shaped” person provides a foundation for creativity while practicing a growth mindset which enhances learning is needed for six of the seven components of fulfillment. Finally, inspiration or seeing a connection between a problem or opportunity and what you care about is important to creativity while uncovering your values or what is important to you is needed for four of the seven components of fulfillment. So, seeking to improve creativity puts you on the path to pursue fulfillment.

References

  1. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1632651823
  2. https://fulcrumconnection.com/1377-2/
  3. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FVZ2ZVZ
  4. https://www.remote-associates-test.com/
  5. Amabile, T. M. “The Social Psychology of Creativity: A Consensual Assessment Technique,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, no. 5, November 1982, pages 997–1013.
  6. Baumann D. and Ruch W., 2022, Measuring What Counts in Life: The Development and Initial Validation of the Fulfilled Life Scale (FLS), Frontiers of Psychology, 12:795931, doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.795931
  7. https://scottbarrykaufman.com/resources/openness-to-experience-and-creative-achievement/
  8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucq5e7bGVFA
  9. https://vimeo.com/226352521
  10. https://www.forbes.com/councils/theyec/2020/10/12/how-to-leverage-intrinsic-motivation-for-personal-fulfillment/
  11. Certification in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership program by the NeuroLeadership Institute in the Fall of 2017.
  12. Keith Sawyer. “The Cognitive Neuroscience of Creativity: A Critical Review.” Creativity Research Journal 23:2 (2011): 137–54.
  13. Keith Sawyer. Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity (New York: Jossey-Bass, 2013).
  14. Oleynick VC, Thrash TM, LeFew MC, Moldovan EG, Kieffaber PD. The scientific study of inspiration in the creative process: challenges and opportunities. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2014 Jun 25;8:436. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00436. PMID: 25009483; PMCID: PMC4070479.
  15. Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker. Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team. New York: Portfolio, 2017.
  16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ
  17. https://members.taylorprotocols.com/Tools/CVIGift.aspx?lang=en-US&GiftHash=d0a50e9c-2976-1037-b045-81e5f930037e
  18. https://valerie-s-site-68ec.thinkific.com/products/courses/science-and-practice-of-fulfillment

Recent Posts

Categories