Top 5 Ways To Get Creative.: an Ezine article.

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) innovative that others can observe. Creativity involves two fundamental actions: imaginative thinking (at times thinking radically off one's field of experience) and then producing the results of those thoughts into something tangible.

This has been a widely accepted way of creative action, though the dilemma exists when we take into consideration the prodigious savant or "knowing one" as they have been affectionately dubbed. Savants appear to be unable to demonstrate creative thinking in the way that we have defined because for them they have no past experience to base their innovation on, yet surprisingly they still appear to us to be limitlessly inventive. What they possess is a prolific fascination with a small field of experience which is 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.

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Develop the fantasy by writing it down; keeping that fantastic idea permanently etched somewhere will help you track your progress towards a bigger picture.

5. 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.