WEEK 1: Defining Creativity

Are you a CREATIVE person?
How would you define CREATIVITY?
Why we need to be CREATIVE?
How to be a CREATIVE person?
CREATIVITY is a part of human nature or it must be learned?
How to enhance your CREATIVITY?

Have you been asked the same question as the above? Maybe some of those questions might be heard before when we talk about CREATIVITY or CREATIVE. Sometimes, creativity is too subjective to describe. When we talk about creativity, every people has their own opinion or interpretation on what it is. Creativity is quite difficult to describe, but it is not impossible to measure too.

Here are some of the common definitions of creativity that can be found in the internet:

Creativity is a mental and social process involving the generation of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the creative mind between existing ideas or concepts. - Wikipedia

Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. - Human Motivation, 3rd ed., by Robert E. Franken, pg.396.

I define creativity is the act of turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. Creativity involves two processes: thinking, then producing. - Linda Naiman, founder of Creativity at Work

The ability to transcend traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships, or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretations, etc.; originality, progressiveness, or imagination: the need for creativity in modern industry; creativity in the performing arts. - Dictionary.com

In my point of view, CREATIVITY is an ability to think, to do, to create (or anything esle) in a unique way, different with other people. Making or designing something new is also can be considered as creative. To be creative, we need to see things in a new ways or in a different perspectives. In my opinion, creativity can goes far beyond the arts. It can goes in design, music, film making, presentation, and so on which is too many to be listed here. So, it just up to the individual to judge whether the things is creative or not.

Oh ya, how about cooking? Is it consider the way to express the creativity? If you ask me, my answer would be 100% YES! Actually, my new hobby is cooking and I love it very much! I always feel excited and enjoy from the time I want to buy the ingredients till the time when the cooking is done. I think that cooking is one of several ways to show our creativity. For example, if we want to make a dessert, we can change the original ingredients to something similar or maybe adding some other ingredients to make it more colourful, looks great and the most important, taste great! Hehe.. Last trimester break, I've made a dessert which called Fried Ice-Cream or we called it "Ais Krim Goreng" in Malay. Instead of serving a plain dessert on a plate, I added some colourful chocolate rice, chocolate chips and some melted chocolate as a topping for the Fried Ice-Cream. It looks more interesting to eat. *drooling* (OMG! This post makes me feel hungry.. Hahaha!)

OK! Forget about the food and lets continue talking about creativity. I believe that creativity can be taught and learned. That's why we learn CREATIVE STUDIES right? Hehehe.. We learn how to think out of the box and came out with "crazy" ideas as long as it is CREATIVE. Certain people may not born as a creative person but there is not impossible to learn about it. One more thing, I believe that when you enjoy and love what you do, it is much easier to be creative. When we have passion in our work, we can be extremely creative in it as well.

I think that's all for now. See you in the next posting. :)