6 Imagination powers creativity
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research. — Albert Einstein.
Everything you can imagine is real. — Pablo Picasso
Creativity is powered by imagination. Nothing can be created without it first being created in someone’s imagination. Ideas can only come from somebody’s imagination.
“Discovery is seeing what everybody else has seen, and thinking what nobody else has thought.” Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Photo by Tommaso Cantelli, Unsplash, is licensed under Unsplash License.
Consider how the first person discovered that oysters were food. How did they get the idea that oysters could be eaten? From looking at one? Creative people are known for looking at the same thing as others and seeing different possibilities.
Watch these two videos about some very interesting ideas for sculptures. How do you think the artist generated these ideas?
Aparna Rao: Art that craves your attention https://youtu.be/PrZwUTdFmis
. . . . .
Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously https://youtu.be/9YekkGz1E2k
Watch the following video about the top 20 trends for 2019, then ask yourself where did the ideas for these innovations come from?
Watch this video and consider how the imagination of the artist generated the ideas for this work.
Where do your ideas come from? Do your good ideas come from anywhere different than your bad ideas?
We need to fuel our imagination constantly so it will continue to give us new ideas and points of view. This is not only required to generate ideas in the initial stages of the creative process but we also need strong imaginations to select the best ideas, develop and execute implementation plans, overcome setbacks and to evaluate our success. Imagination actually powers all of the steps in the creative process.
Some of the best ways to fuel our imaginations come from the arts:
- Reading fiction
- Listening to music
- Reading poetry
- Viewing visual and performance artworks
- Playing games
- Solving puzzles
Imaginations are also fueled through sharing, conversing, and collaborating with others.
What do you do to fuel your imagination? Is it working for you?
Not everyone fuels their imaginations in the same way. This explains why the arts are so valuable in our society and why there is so much diversity in the arts. For example even in music, there is a wide array of diversity, and we all have our own personal tastes in music that appeal to us.
What forms of art appeal to you? Why does it appeal to you? Does it fuel your imagination?
Unfortunately, many of us have had our imaginations “schooled” out of us and we need to relearn how to use our imaginations. Like a muscle, we can redevelop our imaginations through exercise and practice. Watch this video by Ken Robinson. Can you relate?
Consider what is keeping you from using your imagination to power your creativity. What can you do to unleash your imagination?
Challenge:
Start right now to use your imagination more. Start today to fuel your imagination through any of the methods described above or one of your own. Share your decisions and results with a friend.
