What is Creativity?

Creativity is difficult to define. Some see it as simply a path to a problem's solution. Others would categorize it as a personality trait, available to anyone to varying degrees, or as an interaction of an individual with their environment. Still others see it as a major component of a certain number of personalities, specifically for artists and scientists who use their creative gifts as a lifestyle of questions and music, paintings and theories. Each of these views seem to have a certain amount of validity; and for each of them, the idea of creativity includes two types of thinking: the conscious processing everyone uses daily and the esoteric unconscious processing that culminates in that magical "aha" insight that changes a perspective and opens up new worlds.

Creativity as a process brings together all the knowledge, both general and specific, explicit and implicit, that a person has gleaned through their education and experiences as well as their personal memories, emotions, values, goals, and unique blend of personality traits in order to discover-or uncover-something that is new about the universe.
There are many who believe that there are artists and scientists who live their lives simply to ask questions and to try to discover answers or at least connections; they are said to be living a "creative self." However, everyone has access to the same cognitive processes of creativity, allowing anyone to discover creative insights in their relationships, their careers, their families, and all other aspects of their lives.

The creative process, as best as anyone can define it, consists of four main stages: preparation, incubation, inspiration, and manifestation. The preparation stage includes defining the problem and gathering the information necessary to understand the problem and to search for possible solutions. It involves paying attention to the situation as it is, categorizing information about the problem, looking for patterns within the problem, and retrieving memories with relevant information and processes. The most important factor in the preparation step is an open mind; because creativity will look at the way something is and see that it is not enough. It is important to tolerate this dichotomy, for it is the starting point for new ideas. It is not until the old ways start to fall apart that new ways can be constructed.

After the preparation stage comes incubation. During this phase, the unconscious mind breaks down the old associations and finds new connections. This phase emphasizes the workings of the inner mind, the pathways that are under the surface, so insights often appear activities unrelated to conscious thinking-while driving or exercising or upon waking. Often the incubation stage is done alone, as the mind needs quiet to process all the contrasting and contradictory information.
The third phase of creativity is inspiration. This is where the preparation and incubation come together to bring about new ideas and solutions for the problem. Many see this as a moment of insight, the "aha" moment where new connections are apparent, but others see it as a gradual unearthing of new pathways. Either way, this is where the new solutions make themselves known, where there is a leap of faith from the way things are to possibilities that exist in the situation.

After inspiration comes manifestation, where the new solutions must be tested and formed, organized into usable concepts, and verified. Although many emphasize the role of the unconscious in the creative process, it must be balanced with the conscious examination to make sure that the new solution is workable. Without the rational analysis of the conscious cognitive processes, the new idea is useless and inapplicable. This final step takes the kernel of the creative idea and develops it into theories, products, symphonies, and sculptures that demonstrate the new connections and concepts.
However, the creative process utilizes more of the person than just the cognitive processes. For example, for creativity to be significant to humanity, the proclivity to solve problems must be blended with the motivation to seek them out. Creative individuals also need supportive environments to foster both the skills of creativity and the tenacity for it. Even those who believe that creativity cannot be taught have to agree that the rational analysis needed to reveal the creative idea can and must be taught in order for creativity to have meaning.

Creativity also depends on the personal differences inherent in individual personality traits, expectancies, goals, beliefs, values, competencies, and experiences. It is experience that structures creative thought. Without experience, creativity has no information to draw on and no defined problems to shine its spotlight on.

Another element crucial to creativity is emotion. In research done with computer programs trying to reflect human cognitive processes, artificial intelligence has not been able to come close to human abilities in creative problem solving because they are incapable of emotion. Emotion is a heuristic to understanding problems and solutions as well as gauging the responses of others to the new solutions. Because emotion is crucial to social learning and has significant effects in changing attitudes, it is what provides the real meaning in creativity. Without the relationships and social contexts of human emotion, the solutions that creative thinking bring about have no application.

There are those who use these processes not only to solve problems creatively but instead to live creatively. Their lives are continual searches for new solutions, and their lifestyles are expansions of the creative process. These creative people spend their days in the chaos and uncertainty that exists between what is and what could be. They have a special combination of personality traits that make it possible to live within the emotional and situational constraints of a creative lifestyle.
These creative types tend to be a mixture of contradictory characteristics, much like creativity is the contradiction of reality and possibility. Creatives tend to be both extroverted and introverted, passionate and objective, wise and childish, playful and disciplined, and smart and naïve. They are rebellious and independent but deeply steeped in tradition. They are both humble and proud, energetic and restful, and often have traits characteristic of both male and female, regardless of their own sex. They are self-reflective, sensitive to their environments, and have the heightened awareness to perceive many layers of meaning quickly.

These creative types have the capacity to integrate a wide range of human possibilities within themselves, often creating new selves along their journeys. They can see a variety of perspectives and cultivate a flexible perspective on life. They thrive on conflict and curiosity, and their lives are closely connected to the search for Maslow's idea of self-actualization. Their ability to create something new from the old, to live in chaos while creating order, and to embody apparently contradictory traits in unison, along with their individual differences, personal experiences, sensitive emotional life, and driving curiosity makes these creative types the forces that bring change to the universe. Their lives and the products of those lives-the great advances in science, business, and art-all demonstrate the importance of creativity on a universal scale. That is the ultimate purpose and achievement of creativity-to form a better life for everyone. "The purpose of the universe must manifest through the self. We become most creative in our adult life when we recognize early on that the cosmic purpose is trying to act through our lives and when we become aligned with that cosmic purpose."

Creativity is a cognitive gift that anyone can access and foster. Although not everyone can live the chaotic, creative lives of artists, anyone can improve the various cognitive processes that are used during the creation process, such as memory, attention, categorizing, and critical thinking. Whether the outcome is a more efficient way to solve everyday problems, a breakthrough in physics, or a new Academy Award winning documentary, creativity is an important and powerful tool for change.