Creativity Is Nourished by Conflict

Talk to any brilliant creative about their life leading up to their success and you’ll discover some messy stuff. The role of conflict —…

Talk to any brilliant creative about their life leading up to their success and you’ll discover some messy stuff. The role of conflict — conflict with others and conflict within — is especially evident when you examine the inflection points in creative careers.

Illustration by Oscar Ramos Orozco, for 99U.

Consider the inner conflict of depression for a famous painter like Vincent van Gogh, or the role of a devastating break-up that inspires a career-making album like Alanis Morisette’s breakthrough Jagged Little Pill. Look anywhere and you’ll see it, from Woody Allen’s finest films developed during bouts of his depression to Janet Jackson’s triple-platinum album The Velvet Rope — widely attributed to a battle with anxiety from a failed marriage and a difficult childhood.

Creativity is nourished by conflict.

Another example hits home this year, and especially this week.