Unleashing the power of creativity is not a singular, magical occurrence. It's a journey, a process that unfolds over time. Let's delve into the intricacies of this process, exploring how creativity is cultivated, nurtured, and ultimately brought to life.
Creative thinking is a process for all of us
In this article, I’ll share the science of creative thinking, discuss which conditions drive creativity and which ones hinder it, and offer practical tips for becoming more creative.
- One of the most influential scientists in history, Sir Isaac Newton, worked on his ideas about gravity for nearly twenty years until he published his groundbreaking book, The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy.
Creative Thinking: Destiny or Development?
Nearly every person is born with some level of creative skill and the majority of our creative thinking abilities are trainable
- Practice and learning impacts your creative output
- Approximately 22% of the variance in creativity is due to the influence of genes
- This is not to say that creativity is 100 percent learned
- Some people are primed to be more creative than others
How to Be More Creative
Constrain yourself
- Write more
- Broaden your knowledge
- Sleep longer
- Enjoy sunshine and nature
- Embrace positive thinking
- Commit to the process and create on a consistent basis
- Ship it
- Creativity is just hard work, choose a pace you can sustain and ship content consistently
Intelligence and Creative Thinking
Being in the top 1% of intelligence has no correlation with being fantastically creative
- You simply have to be smart and work hard
- As long as you meet a threshold of intelligence, then brilliant creative work is well within your reach
- Personality factors become more predictive for creativity
Final Thoughts on Creative Thinking
Creativity is a process, not an event. It’s not just a eureka moment. You have to work through mental barriers and internal blocks
- Commit to practicing your craft deliberately
- Stick with the process for years, perhaps even decades like Newton did, in order to see your creative genius blossom
Growth Mindset
One of the most critical components is how you view your talents internally
- Your creative skills are largely determined by whether you approach the creative process with a fixed mindset or a growth mindset
- The difference between these two mindsets is described in detail in Carol Dweck’s fantastic book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (audiobook)
- A fixed mindset: approaches tasks as if our talents and abilities are fixed and unchanging
- Growth mindset: belief that our abilities can be improved with effort and practice
Embarrassment and Creativity
Most people don’t want to deal with the accompanying embarrassment or shame that is often required to learn a new skill.
- In order to fully embrace the growth mindset and enhance your creativity, you need to be willing to take action in the face of these feelings which so often deter us.
