We normally see personal creativity as a positive, and often it is.
Consider one definition of create:
Of a divine being or natural agency. To bring into being, cause to exist; esp. to produce where nothing was before.
Oxford English Dictionary
Who doesn’t want that description on their tombstone?
Yet I do believe that if creativity is coupled too strongly with an intense passion it can become problematic.
Foe example, I know people who are intensely opposed to the real-world problem of obesity stigma. That’s great. We need people like this to constantly bring all of its subtle (and not so subtle) presentations to light. We can’t fight an enemy we can’t see.
Yet, because these stigma warriors are also creative, they can often weave web of connections which doesn’t make stigma a problem of obesity, but the problem of obesity. Soon, to these creative obesity stigma warriors all problems of obesity have stigma as their cause: A hip arthritis-associated obesity is caused by delayed assessment from orthopedics. An obesity-related cardiomyopathy is from poor access to cardiology stemming from delayed consult due to primary care avoidance. A delayed kidney transplant is from obesity-related Type 2 diabetes is because of systemic bias in getting on transplant lists…. These connections to stigma are endless.
Eventually, with enough creative mojo, every problem with obesity has the root cause of stigma (rather than biochemistry, environment, or genetics). They become a one-trick pony, and because of this—since you know what they are going to say anyway—they will inevitably lose their needed seat at the table.
(Is there a way to prevent this creative fervor? Usually not, but I do find that asking for seemingly simple definitions—such as what do you mean by saying that one thing “causes” another—will at least temper the discussion. Theories of causation are their own tangled web which can ensnare and temper the most creative of minds.)
So let’s be moderate with our praise of creativity, because if overly coupled to passion and unchecked by reason, it can soon lead to bias.