The Art of Being Creative
We often think that being creative is something we either have inside us, or we don’t. But this is far from the truth. Being creative is about taking risks. It’s about trying, failing, and doing it over again. Creativity is about creating a connection with your experiences and using them to create new things. It can also spark after channeling your inner child, brainstorming while showering, and even after doodling over sticky notes. Being creative is about giving yourself a chance to come up with something. And no, you don’t have to be an extroverted person in order to be creative. Creativity can also happen to the introverts, the dreamers, and the conservative.

What is creativity? Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and somehow valuable is formed.
Wikipedia
The Spark of an Idea
The spark of an idea comes to us in flash. It calls out to us. It’s an idea that wants life! It’s up to us whether we want to act on that idea, or not. Regardless, this idea is going to continue wandering until someone acts on it. It’s like this one time that you come up with something and you’re just making jokes about how it could be a great invention in the ‘future’. The next thing you know, you see that exact idea already on TV because someone else acted upon it without even blinking! Suddenly, you regret letting go of the idea that once came to visit you.
But if you grasp on it, and act on it, it’s like the big-bang happening in your head! And then you realize that being creative is mostly about us–about having the courage to do things out of our comfort zone. The art of creativity is filled with mysteries and great ideas, but it’s also an amazing journey of self-discovery.
The 4 Stages of the Creative Process
In the book titled The Art of Thought (1926) by Graham Wallas, he walks us through his theory of the 4 stages of the creative process. These are:

- Preparation. The process of consciously collecting information and focusing on the opportunity of the idea presented.
- Incubation. An unconscious process. Meaning, that after giving the idea some thought, we now ‘sleep on it’. This is when the brain begins to create the connections needed to formulate the ideas. It’s like a subconscious way of fantasizing about your idea.
- Illumination. This is the ‘aha!’ moment! It’s like an event happening. A gut feeling. Illumination is the process of realization.
- Verification. This is when the ideas are put to the test. You can test your ideas with yourself, or with others.
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Channeling your Creativity
After getting familiar with the stages of the creative process, I’m pretty sure you feel ready to act on that idea that’s been going around in your head for quite some time. After all, thinking out of the box is what really gets us to what we want. To do so, here are some ways to get you started in channeling your own creativity.
- Write by hand. Writing by hand can help with the development of your ideas and with memorization.
- Dim your lights. Research from the Journal of Environmental Psychology has shown how darkness and dim lighting can improve your creative performance.
- Never stop learning! Greater knowledge amplifies your thinking.
wow! you totally nailed the creative process and I think it’s important to understand it better to boost it!
Thank you! I’m glad this was helpful!
This will help me get my ideas into motion. So many times I get stuck with my creativity
I’m sure that once you begin processing your ideas, your creativity will flow differently. We just have to be open to this process.
Very interesting article. You are right about ideas coming to us in a flash and how we should act on an idea. I think we also need someone to motivate us to take the idea forward. Whenever my kids come up with new ideas I love to encourage them and help them achieve them.
Thank you so much for reading! And no doubt, motivation is key!
Great article! Totally agree with the 4 stages of creativity and getting familiar with these stages for sure will boost your creativity!
Absolutely!
I genuinely wish I was creative. I’ve tried to find a creative outlet and struggled. I feel like maybe reading this a few times could help me figure it out!
We’re all creative in one way or another. Just set some time aside to really gather your thoughts and write down anything that comes to mind. Many of us are creatives in writing, and that’s just as much a valid outlet of creativity as any other!
I love how you have comprehensively analysed a word that we throw away so casually. Creativity. That illumination part is what I’m craving for currently!
Thank you! Illumination will get to you soon enough. It’s happening!🤗
Glad you shared this amazing and valuable information with us..being creative is the most essential and important thing for everyone..great work though..these tips and ideas are truly gonna be very useful and helpful indeed…
Thanks for reading! I’m very glad that this has been useful. We are all creative beings. Sometimes we just need to know how being creative really works.
Excellent read! I love when I have the “aha” moment when working on a project! The feeling is divine!!
We totally agree! 🙂