Creative People Are More Optimistic About Our Future, Apparently

Climate research that might change everything

Are you optimistic about our future? Then you’re likely a creative person. Score highly on tests for creativity? Then you’re probably a climate optimist.

This research was shared in 2023 and has played on my mind ever since. Based on a global survey of nearly 2,300 people, the behavioural economists at BEworks discovered that creative thinking isn’t just about making art or telling stories, it's a way of seeing and shaping the world that naturally leads to hope and action.

In fact, creative people in the study were more likely to believe in humanity’s ability to tackle the climate crisis, to feel personally motivated, and to put effort into sustainable behaviors. The researchers found a strong link between creative mindsets and climate optimism:

‘A creative mindset will be key to taking on the climate challenge. Fostering a creative mindset can be a pathway to building climate optimism and confidence — and thus engagement in building climate solutions.’

I posted the image above, and the research, very widely when it launched, and it caused quite a stir. Thousands shared and commented on my posts (including Bill Gates), and debate raged.

Those who score highest for creativity also scoring highest for optimism particularly triggered the doomists. They felt rather annoyed by the implication that their pessimism would likely mean they’d score low on creative traits.

I enjoyed the whole thing. But then, after all the 👍 ❤️: the world moved on.

But not me. This BEworks research has played on my mind ever since. As I’ve delved further into my own creativity, I yearned to understand WHY - to understand the causation in the correlation.

I also suspected something very important was lurking in this little survey.

Why are creative people more hopeful?

Because creativity is about imagining new possibilities. Inventive and imaginative thought can free us from ‘the way things have always been done’. While many people see climate change as a fixed catastrophe, creative minds see a story still being written and can imagine many different endings.

That’s the experience I’ve most loved about my own journey as a novelist. The permission to invent beyond current rules of reality has exploded my brain. Suddenly, I’ve been unshackled from the rules of the game. I’ve started playing on a different board.

Creative people, especially storytellers, artists, filmmakers, inventors, and writers, have always been the ones who shape how we understand the world, and imagine new ones. As climate scientist Dr. Simon Donner puts it in the BEworks report:

Our imaginations are the key to solving climate change.

Conjuring up different realities is an ability we desperately need in a current reality which could destroy us.

Let’s be clear: optimism doesn’t mean a supine positivity or relaxed assumption that everything will be ok. It also doesn’t mean ignoring the terrible consequences of climate chaos, especially in the most vulnerable communities. In fact, much of the most creative climate art (novels and films especially) is practically dystopian. But I also always find a seed of solutions in these stories. There is always SOMEONE fighting for a better future, looking towards answers, and striving against the dying of the light.

According to the report, nearly half of people globally feel overwhelmed by the climate crisis. 40% feel helpless, and 51% don’t know where to start. But creativity cuts through that fog of fear and inaction, showing us the mindset and mythos to face our grand challenges.

Sparking our own creativity

As a storyteller myself, I don’t want to become a propagandist, even for issues I believe are more important than anything else. Not because I think that creative independence is especially precious, but because propaganda breeds crap storytelling. I do know, however, that climate change is THE most fascinating, shocking, conflict-laden, overwhelming, character-led and important story I will face in my lifetime.

And if it’s true that creative people tend towards optimism, can it be a spark to transform our world in ways unimaginable today?

1. Embrace being a ‘possibility thinker’

The BEworks report highlights that creative minds are naturally good at future-oriented thinking, perseverance, and spotting opportunities. These are all essential for climate solutions. If you’re a creative thinker who hasn’t applied your imagination to climate change: we need your magic!

Pro tip: Collaborate with scientists, engineers, and activists to discover real solutions. Then be playful in how you imagine those solutions changing the world. Love stories, mysteries, speculative worlds, thrillers and cosies about climate change will do more than another solemn documentary.

2. Remix the solutions

People get stuck thinking that climate action is all about sacrifice and giving up things that matter. But creative people can weave beauty, desire, and joy into climate solutions. Whether it's through film, writing, or creative entrepreneurship, show people the benefits of a different way of living.

Pro tip: Create prose, poetry, art, products, stories and music that make sustainability worth living: more desirable, fun, easy, high-status, amusing, cheaper, beneficial and long-lasting.

3. Make climate intimate

Statistics don’t move people; stories do. If half of people are overwhelmed by the scale and height of climate change: cut it down to human size. Explore the lives, loves, challenges and journeys of local heroes, everyday innovators, and exciting activists. Show how climate action connects to the things people already care about - our family, community, and identity.

Pro tip: Focus on specific characters with relatable struggles and victories. Let people see themselves in the story.

Play, invent, and imagine the future

At a time when so many people are stuck in fear and hopelessness, creative people have an essential role: to imagine pathways out of this mess. As the BEworks report makes clear, creativity is not a luxury in this crisis, it’s a critical survival skill.

So if you’ve ever wondered whether your art, your story, your design, your inventiveness or simply your dreams could make a difference, my answer is yes.

Because if we want a better future, we need to imagine it first.

[Please share this post with creative friends who might take this spark and blow their imagination into a flame of hope]