The listening to one's "inner voice" category includes traits that involve a personal understanding of who you are, a vision of where you want to go, and a commitment to do whatever it takes to get there.
Awareness of creativeness; Sees self as creative; Sense of purpose; Self-confident
Persistence or Perseverance
Need for and/or demonstration of autonomy, self-direction; Self-initiated, task-oriented behaviors
Independence of thought; Internal locus of control; Judgment, and/or action; Courage; Non-conformity; Does not fear being different (or, argumentative, stubborn, uncooperative, unconventional behaviors)
Need for alone time; Interest in reflective thinking; Introspective (or low levels of sociability, deficient social skills)
Rejects sex-role stereotyping in interests; Free from stereotypes
Intense concentration and absorption in work (or absent-mindedness, the inattentive mind wanders)
Energetic (or hyperactive/overactive physically or mentally)
Willing to work hard; Liking and capacity for thinking and work
Creative people see themselves as creative, possess a desire to create, and have the self-confidence to work toward their sense of purpose in life. In other words, they are aware of their strengths, passions, and convictions. They work hard and intensely concentrate on a subject or problem of interest.
It is common for the creative person to lose sight of time and place when working on a project. Others sometimes misinterpret such behaviors as absent-mindedness or anti-social tendencies.
We often refer to the characteristics associated with listening to one's "inner voice" as self-awareness and motivational dispositions. People exhibit these characteristics by not giving up in the face of adversity, taking responsibility for action, and actively seeking opportunities for applying their creative abilities. You might observe them engaging in:
Showing initiative and taking ownership in problem-solving.
Persisting when things are not yet working.
Reflecting on their goals and progress.
Marching to a different drummer.
Creative people are committed to the vision that they have established for themselves about who they are, where they are going, and how they are going to get there. They trust their own judgment and are persistent in working toward their goals. Listening to one's "inner voice" involves not giving up in the face of ridicule or discouragement from others.
An individual's creative productivity is enhanced by the possession of these traits. Assessment of these characteristics can be quite complex. Self-awareness, confidence, persistence, self-motivation, and task orientation provide the foundation for those behaviors that lead to creative productivity. The personalities of creative productive individuals seem to balance opposite traits: the need to be alone and the need to draw ideas and strength from others; reflection with action; and the need to dream the impossible balanced with intense concentration on achieving the doable. These characteristics are usually best described by the individual or by those close to the individual.
In that this category tries to tap the "inner voice," self-report inventories seem to offer a rich source of data as to the level to which these characteristics have developed within the individual.
Rating scales also can offer measurable data when completed by those in a position to observe: self-initiated, task-oriented behaviors; internal locus of control; independence of thought; persistence; intense concentration; and the willingness to work hard.
Performance data, based on real-life activities and observations of individuals engaged in the problem-solving process, can also be useful.
While many tests do not lend themselves to providing information about this category, there may be a few instruments that can assist in identifying aspects of these characteristics.