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Creativity Defined
Creativity is an act of making something
new. It is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas
or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas
or concepts.
A "new" idea is a combination of old elements. Being able to devise new
combinations depend on your ability to discern relationships between
seemingly disparate items.
'Creativity is the juxtaposition of ideas which were previously thought to
be unrelated.' It is your ability to combine ideas in a unique way or to
make useful associations among ideas.
An Important Pre-Condition
Although creative people come from varied backgrounds, they all have one
thing in common – they love what they are doing.
You Are Creative!
Creativity is not about inventing something totally new, it is about making
new – synergistic! – connections. You don't have to be a special kind of
person to be creative – everyone can do it. It's not about who you are, it's
about what you do. You just need to start looking for multiple solutions
rather than settling for just one, and give yourself permission to be
playful and inquisitive, flexible and versatile.
Psychologists call the activities associated with idea generation "loose
associative thinking" processes. Associative thinking is not linear or
sequential. It is jumpy. To invent new connections, the maintenance of
uncertainty is important for a time.
Creativity is a skill and a talent that can be learned and developed through
practice by sharpening relentlessly your creative thinking skills and
exercising your natural creative powers. With this skill, you can
dramatically accelerate your personal and professional growth.
Practice Every Day
How often should you practice if you wish to win the World Tennis Cup: once
a month? once a week? every day? How often should you exercise your right
brain's creative muscles if you wish to master your creative skills: once a
month? once a week? every day?
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