Creativity has been the foundation of such brilliance yet is still so vague in definition. It can be defined in so many ways that makes it difficult to express creativity in its purest form. It brings unique feelings in each one of us and we see creativity through different lenses. While there is some foundation on what creativity is based on, even the expression of the foundation itself can be questioned. The inspiration of creativity is stimulated differently and can be nurtured in each of us.
This article will attempt to express what creativity means through a pair of unique eyes: mine.
The Beauty of Creativity
“Creativity is intelligence having fun” -Albert Einstein
We are unique creatures that look to express and manifest ideas that are new to the world. Creativity itself is envisioned just as uniquely as we are individually unique. It pushes to look beyond to see what’s there, what could be there or what can be improved. In Runco and Jaeger’s (2012) writing on the subject it is mentioned the creativity must have two elements for its foundation which is originality and effectiveness, which they describe as “the form of value”. Narrowing down what creativity means is a difficult task as it is open to interpretation. For the purpose of this article the main component of creativity is curiosity and the process to manifest creativity.
Creativity has to have a starting point regardless of the subject matter or idea. An ignition to set off a person on an exploration mission to find a new way. Curiosity is the ignition, the starting point to allow one’s imagination to focus on one issue, problem, or task and figure out a way to change, improve or diffuse it. It could be this passion of wanting to make the world a better place no matter the context. An artist wants to bring in beauty and self-exploration while a scientist may want find efficiency’s and life changing research but both for the purpose in their eyes to create something new that is useful. It is said that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the same might be said on creativity.
Ignition of Creativity
There is beauty in creativity as it manifests into a new original thought, expression, idea or innovation that makes others judge its usefulness. Creativity comes out of process to be successful. Even an artist has a process in some way before creating just as a scientist does but their methods can be completely opposite and still produce beautiful results. When a person is passionate about an idea and takes the time to nurture and focus on it then creativity can be born and the new original creation can be produced.
Csikszentmihalyi (1996) describes a creative person as one being flexible to different situations and having the ability to adapt to them to reach the necessary goals at hand. This seems to ring true as creative people never seem to stop creating. They continuously look for ways to create and have an internal trigger of energy that is based more on their mental focus than genetics (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996, p. 3). They don’t waste time on things that are not important to them, they make time to pursue what stimulates them and find the resources to be able to complete their creative process.
Creativity Process in 5 Steps
Creativity is a process in every form although the steps may be labeled differently the stepping stones of creativity is similar on all paths. This process usually consists of five steps to lead to innovation of the creativity.
- The first step is the recognizing of the issue at hand that can spark curiosity to learn more about it.
- The second, which is believed to be a crucial step in the process is the imagination stage, which Csikszentmihalyi (1996) states in his term “incubation” as the most creative step. It also can be used as, the back to the drawing board step, if the next stages fail to succeed.
- In the third step is where one tries the idea out to see if it all fits together, if it makes sense.
- The fourth step is about validating the idea to make sure of its usefulness to the applied problem.
- And the last step is to make it happen, which can be hard to establish the innovation of the creative process that just occurred. Actually creating the end result and producing it for the world to see. Tangible evidence of creativity is the innovation, the result of the process or the outcome, as mentioned in lecture (Pennsylvania State University, n.d.).
Igniting Your Creativity
While you cannot force creativity out of someone there are ways to nurture the process. Sometimes it can be as simple as changing your environment to one that inspires you or may be having that accessibility to resources to move forward in the process. One can have training to open their mind and learn to be more flexible and adaptable. Sometimes it is just carving out the time to really focus and drive yourself into one idea and purpose and not allowing any distractions to hinder you. Rewarding ourselves and having recognition can help the flow of creativity and keep the process moving. All and all one should find what interests they are passionate about and seek to enhance those areas of life.
Creativity is beautiful and complex and the outcomes are often worth it. Curiosity is the seed of the creative process, the spark of the ignition of creativity. This curiosity starts the creativity process which fuels ideas to grow and blossom. Nurturing the creativity process can help stimulate the flow. It is from this where original and effective creativity manifests into a beautiful outcome.
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins.
Runco, M. A. & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92-96.
Pennsylvania State University (n.d.). PSY 813 Lessons. Retrieved on August 24, 2016 from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802310
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