Where Does Creativity Come From?

Sometimes creativity shows up where we least expect it.

In the last week, I found creativity in a luxury home at an open house, at a gathering of beautiful 70 and 80 year-olds at a book club, and even at the state fair.

What does it mean to “find creativity” within yourself and witness it around you?

First, understand that all things have an origin, a purpose and can experience a transformation. New connections can be made to produce a new idea or solution and that gift is available to each of us. I consider my own creativity a series of connecting dots in my life. It goes beyond the artistic endeavor to living a creative life of wonder and discovery.

cre·a·tiv·i·ty

ˌkrē-āˈtivitē/

noun 1. the use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.

and from Merriam Webster:

1: the quality of being creative

2: the ability to create

Ability to produce something new through imaginative skill, whether a new solution to a problem, a new method or device, or a new artistic object or form. The term generally refers to a richness of ideas and originality of thinking. Psychological studies of highly creative people have shown that many have a strong interest in apparent disorder, contradiction, and imbalance, which seem to be perceived as challenges. Such individuals may possess an exceptionally deep, broad, and flexible awareness of themselves. Studies also show that intelligence has little correlation with creativity; thus, a highly intelligent person may not be very creative.

I get paid to find solutions for a living and while my creativity as a child began with insatiable curiosity and a love for learning, I’ve found the older I get the more important awareness to people and situations around me and limiting stressors are what keeps me creative and productive. (One’s ‘creativity’ never fully realized means they were producing ideas with nothing to show for them later.)

To be a creative success, we must finish what we start and actively seek out new connections. The very reason I wanted this blog to be about zen, mojo and creativity is because I feel they are so intrinsically connected as to warrant discussion on how to enhance each individually to elevate the whole.

When people ask me, “how are you so creative?” I know it’s not a simple answer, but living a life of engagement and awareness with a strong drive and zeal for identifying problems and creating solutions brings about not only my fictional stories, but an ability to do that for my branding clients. You, too, can become a Seer in the sense that you can accurately predict future developments by identifying the present and bringing about that change you want to see happen. You start connecting the dots with what’s missing? What should be added? What things need to happen here?

In the case of the luxury open house, the book club and the state fair, I got little answers that I routinely pluck from the Universe like fruit being picked from a vine. I store it in my bucket and build on it from there.

In a future post, we’ll discuss ways to super power your imagination. I have some ideas on ideas!

Start seeing and plucking.

***Book News***

Special thanks to the Phoenix Book Club in Tulsa for asking me to be their guest this week. What an amazing group of ladies and a delicious lunch. I love, love, love getting to celebrate others’ successes so please check out Sonia Gensler’s new ghost story, THE DARK BETWEEN, out in hardback and digital. I’m about 15,000 words in on GEMINI, my second book in the Messengers trilogy, which is about 8K behind where I wanted to be on this day, but I have made time for some extra fun.

Onward! xo