Post date: Nov 19, 2010 12:54:13 PM
Creativity exists in all realms and every field of study,
from psychology to business, from education to physics and
the most notable - the Arts. To understand how one can be
creative we must first define it in the context of function.
Creativity begins with one's natural ability to use their
past experiences, their imagination, and the environment
around them to manipulate and act upon a concept or idea and
in turn develop that new concept/idea into reality. It can
be further simplified as the passion to create something(within the context of one's field of experience) innovativethat others can observe. Creativity involves two fundamentalactions: imaginative thinking (at times thinking radicallyoff one's field of experience) and then producing theresults of those thoughts into something tangible.This has been a widely accepted way of creative action,though the dilemma exists when we take into considerationthe prodigious savant or "knowing one" as they have beenaffectionately dubbed. Savants appear to be unable todemonstrate creative thinking in the way that we havedefined because for them they have no past experience tobase their innovation on, yet surprisingly they still appearto us to be limitlessly inventive. What they possess is aprolific fascination with a small field of experience whichis a trait that all highly creative people share.
It follows that the top of the 5 ways to get creative is to
begin with choosing a field of experience--everybody has
something which interests them. You should begin by
identifying a narrow subject or field that interests you and
passionately take steps to understand it completely. An
example would be the artist whose fascination with
post-impressionist art compels him to practice day in and
day out, learning all the techniques involved.
A second way is to seek some form of inspiration.
Inspiration can exist in the form of innovative creations of
a mentor or someone you admire whose work causes you to
search 'inwards' for answers.
Third, challenge yourself: try that, which, in your mind may
seem possible but in the real world seems impractical. It is
interesting to know that every invention first existed in
someone's mind first and the only way to know for certain if
something is impractical is to create it.
Fourth, develop the fantasy by writing it down; keeping that
fantastic idea permanently etched somewhere will help you
track your progress towards a bigger picture.
Fifth, consult as much as possible. Bouncing your ideas off
of more experienced people and friends help you see things in
new light. It can be as simple as asking them out for coffee
or drinks to informally chat about what you are trying to
achieve. Sometimes your eureka moment will spring out in the
most unlikely of circumstances.
About the Author:
Rick works at C.R.I.S. Camera Services (
http://www.criscam.com ) in camera repair research and
development. In his spare time, Rick enjoys photography,
traveling, and art.