Creativity is the ability to develop new ideas or utilize objects or information in novel ways. When you’re being creative, you can see the hidden patterns, make connections between things that aren’t normally related, and come up with new ideas. Often you can take an existing idea, see what’s missing, and create a better product or service.
Creativity is a process
Creativity is a process, not an event. Creativity is commonly thought of as a flash of brilliance resulting in a creative moment and a revolutionary idea. That’s not how it works.
Often, that genius moment was a result of years of working on the problem or asking questions, searching for a solution, and trying different things. Yes, an answer may have come suddenly when all the thinking and processing come together at one point, which looks like it came from nowhere. But it was not an isolated, random thought or pure luck.
As we said before, creativity isn’t a flash or stroke of genius. It is mostly grit and practice, genetics, and a little natural ability. Read How to Find Your Hidden Creative Genius.
We all have some brilliance in us. That doesn’t mean we will create the next great masterpiece, a million-dollar business, or even something we do professionally. Think of how you have created something that met a need or fixed a problem. It may have been an issue that needed to be solved, and you had to work and rework it until it was the right solution. That is creativity.
Creative Thinking Skills
“Without creative thinking skills, creativity is just an idea firing inside some neurons. For example, Creative education is learning all the chords on the guitar, while creativity is arranging those notes in a new way. With education, the artist has the techniques available to turn that mindset into something real.”
If you would like to take a class in a particular skill Creativelive https://www.creativelive.com offers many classes. (This is not an affiliate).
Let’s say you like to design clothes. You look at fashion magazines and study trends. You take courses on sewing, fitting, draping, materials, and all aspects of the design and construction process. You may not earn an income from it, but after absorbing all the information, ideas, and techniques, you have an idea for a piece of clothing that came from your creativity. All the education has come together in what looks like a moment of genius. It may take many tries to get it to meet your standards.
Additional studies suggest that habits like writing down new ideas, trying new things, and regularly learning unfamiliar subjects can help foster creativity.
Can creativity be learned?
While science shows that creativity comes from our own unique personalities, experiences, and visions, creative education can help turn that spark of an idea into a finished creation.
Creativity itself isn’t learned, but you can be more creative by practicing, exploring new ideas, being innovative, and thinking outside the box.
You can use your experiences and information and, with your unique spin, come up with something new and original. When you look at problems through your lens of knowledge and education, you can create a new solution to a problem or need. Creativity isn’t being the first person to think of an idea, but connecting ideas to create something new.
It may be a word, an image, or something you heard that triggers an idea that leads to something creative. It’s also good to delve into unrelated fields because they bring a different perspective while giving you a break from thinking about the current problem.
Why an entrepreneur needs creative skills
As an entrepreneur, creativity is necessary. Often you need to solve a problem in your business that no one else can fix, which can take a lot of innovation. Or you need to develop a new product, service, or idea that will give you an edge and new customers. That can often be discovered by looking at what’s out there and making it better, and you are in the right place to do that.
5 Steps for a creative brain
Creative thinking is useful in many areas of your life, and understanding how to improve can be learned. Below I give you the 5 stages of the creative process developed by James Webb Young in 1940. This article summarizes it as a short guide with explanations..
- Gather new material. Focus on learning.
- Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind. Look at it from different angles.
- Step away from the problem. Put the problem out of your mind.
- Let your idea return to you. The idea will return with insight and renewed energy.
- Shape and develop your idea based on feedback. Release it to the world and adapt as needed.
Creativity is about connecting ideas and these steps help you with that journey.
Conclusion
Creativity is a result of years of learning, experimenting, doing, and practicing. The ideas that come about are not a random flash of inspiration but are a melding of grit, genius, and your unique vision and experiences.
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