The document discusses the definition and importance of creativity, highlighting its relevance beyond artists to everyone's problem-solving skills. It outlines methods for enhancing creativity, such as brainstorming, mind mapping, and collaborating with others, as well as the stages of the creative process—from preparation to elaboration. Additionally, it emphasizes that creativity can be developed through practice, exploration, and reflection.

1. Overview of Creativity
Dr. Anil V Dusane
Sir Parashurambhau College
Pune, India
anildusane@gmail.com
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2. Creativity
Creativity is the process of producing something
original and worthwhile.
Creativity is finding new ways of solving
problems.
Creativity skill is not only for artists, musicians,
writers, scientists but useful for everybody.
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3. Enrichment of creativity
Believe that the problems have multiple solutions.
Explore a variety of solutions for a problem or situations instead of what first comes in your mind.
Brainstorming can help you to explore an innovative solution.
Question the assumptions.
Bias and assumptions lock your creativity. The creative person questions the assumptions and
bias.
Maintain a creativity journal.
Always carry a small notebook and a pen with you. If you catch a new idea, quickly note it down.
This habit will help you to track the creative process. 3

4. Enrichment of creativity
Create a mind map
Write down a central topic or crucial word to it, connect the ideas, and look for innovative answers for a
problem.
Challenge your creativity.
Continually challenge your creative ability by trying out new things. Avoid using the same solutions you have
used in the past.
Overcoming the obstacles.
Creative thinkers inevitably encounter obstacles or resistance. First, you have to identify the challenges and
then find out innovative solutions to overcome the difficulties in a creative way.
Cross-fertilize the ideas
Think across subjects and disciplines. This generates new ideas and very innovative solutions to the
problems.
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5. Enrichment of creativity
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Creative thinking
It is a way to look at and solve problems from a different perspective, avoiding orthodox solutions
and thinking outside the box.
This creative process allows you to explore connections, meet new challenges and seek solutions
that are unusual, original and fresh.
Look at the problem through different dimensions.
For this, try the "Six Hats" technique. This technique allows you to look at any problem from six
different perspectives.
Look at the situation emotionally (red hat): What do your feelings tell you?
Look at the situation objectively (white hat): What are the facts?
Think with a positive perspective(yellow hat): Which elements of the solution will work?
Think a negative aspect (black hat): Which elements of the solution won't work?
Think creatively (green hat): What are some alternative ideas?
Think broadly (blue hat): What is the best overall solution?

6. Enrichment of creativity
Create opportunities for creativity
Never expect creativity just to happen. Moreover, new sources give you fresh ideas while
inspiration motivates you to generate innovative solutions. Reading books, visiting a
museum, listening to new music, interacting with strangers, traveling at new places, etc.
provide a creative atmosphere.
Provide exercise to your brain
Brain needs exercise to keep it fit. You can provide training to your mind by voracious
reading, talking with intellectuals, constructive arguing, etc. give your brain cells a workout.
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7. Enrichment of creativity
Look for alternative scenarios
Go for a “what if” while approaching towards the solution of a problem. If you take a specific approach, question
what will the outcome be? By looking at these alternatives beforehand, you'll be able to develop creative
solutions to the problems.
Take sensible risks
Creative persons take sensible risks and set new trends.
Tolerate ambiguity
A creative idea tends to come in bits and pieces. These ideas develop over a time. However, the period in which
the idea is developing tends to be uncomfortable. Allow the mistakes to happen because this is the part of
integral part of creativity.
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8. Enrichment of creativity
Allow time for creative thinking.
The creative insight needs time to understand a problem and ponder on it.
Delay the gratification.
You should be able to work on a project or task or problem patiently for a longer period without immediate or
interim rewards.
Search for creative collaborations.
Creativity is often viewed as a solitary occupation. However, collaboration with creative people stimulates
creativity.
Find excitement in the task.
Certainly, the most creative persons are intrinsically motivated in their job. They are least bothered about money
or prestige. 8

9. Activities for enhancing your creativity
Try something which you are not familiar with, such as listen to the music of different countries.
Cut out the photographs from various magazines. Paste the pictures on a poster board without any intellectualizing. Look what your subconscious mind
has created.
Write freely without editing and judging your thoughts in 20 minutes.
Spend some time in nature by observing different colored animals and plants. Try to make sketches that show a combination of different plants and
animals and colour it.
Attend theatrical events and concerts. Try to incorporate some new combinations in your performances.
Paint using any favorite medium such as finger paints or acrylics with sponges or watercolors. See what new comes forth.
Try out new recipes.
Write a simple form of poetry (haiku), a three-lined poem. Try what new things you can create in the fewest words.
Take a problem your are facing in your day to day life and try to find out totally new solution for it.
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10. Stages of Creativity
Preparation
Incubation
InsightEvaluation
Elaboration
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11. THE FIVE STAGES OF THE CREATIVE PROCESS
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Preparation is the first stage of the creative process.
The idea that you are immersing yourself in a specific domain. If you are a musician you are absorbing a lot of the
music that is inspiring you to create this new piece. If you’re a writer you are reading other writers in this area. If you
are an artist you are looking at other artist’s work in the area that you are looking at creating something in. If you are a
scientist you are looking at all the background research. And if you are an entrepreneur or marketer you are looking at
all the previous market research and work on gap analysis.
This stage is normally best carried out in a quiet environment. In this stage you are try to absorb as much information
and learn necessary skills so as to go information into your sub-conscious mind.

12. Incubation is the second state.
This is an extremely important stage because sometimes it can
takes days, or weeks, or months or sometimes even years.
Start to churn the information that you have gathered. Ponder on
the problem in the back of your mind i.e. in the sub-conscious mind.
It is not really under your control, how long that stage will last.
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13. Insight is the third state of creativity process.
This most often happen when you are doing some kind of low-level physical activity; going for
a shower, driving a car, having a walk. In this stage subconscious mind is bubbling away and
bringing idea/s to the forefront. With insight it is really the idea of the ‘Eureka’ moment.
Although it is probably the smallest part of the five stages but the most important.
In this stage some novel solution may struck.
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14. Evaluation
This is the stage where a lot of creative persons struggle because often there are so many ideas and there is a
limited amount of time.
At this stage, it requires self-criticism and reflection. A creative person must ask a question to oneself, Is this a
novel or new idea or is it one that is done before?”
The persons who are called the most creative people are very good at this stage. These creative people use self-
criticism and reflection. They choose and workout one or two ideas based on merit.
Constructive self-criticism is a valuable creative practice.
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15. Elaboration
The elaboration stage is the 99% perspiration stage and 1% inspiration.
This is where you are actually doing the work. The creative process is not
only ‘Eureka moment’ or the preparation part but put in the hard work.
This stage is about testing the idea and producing something novel and
creative. It may be in the tangible or non-tangible form.
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16. Creativity tests
Creativity tests measure specific cognitive processes such as thinking divergently, making associations, constructing and
combining broad categories, or working on many ideas simultaneously.
These test also measure noncognitive aspects of creativity such as motivation (e.g., impulse expression, desire for
novelty, risk‐taking), and facilitatory personal properties like flexibility, tolerance for independence, or positive attitudes
to differentness.
The creativity test are mostly measures of creative potential. The creative achievement is not exclusively depend on the
creative potential but it depends on technical skill, knowledge of a field, mental health, or even opportunity.
The multidimensional creativity concept demands the assessments on several tests, rather than relying on a single score.
Divergent thinking (DT) tests are very often used in the creativity studies.
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17. Thank you
Dr. Anil Vishnu Dusane
Sir Parashurabhau College, Pune, India
anildusane@gmail.com
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