All great ideas follow a certain process for it to be productive and this article will go through how this process works. This is an essential topic because we need to have a creative brain so as to process all the skills, we take in. All the challenges a person could face in their day-to-day work can be benefited from innovative solutions and creative ideas.
There is no discrimination in taking in these steps, anyone can definitely learn from them to have a creative mind and also taking in these steps helps with confidence and courage to go on with inventing great ideas that would benefit other people.
Diving into how this process works, I will share with you an example.
A challenge where a creative solution/brain solved the issue
During the 1970 Apollo 13 mission, an oxygen tank explosion forced astronauts to use the lunar module as a lifeboat. However, its CO₂ filters were incompatible with the ones needed, round filters had to fit into square holes. NASA engineers quickly devised a creative fix using only onboard materials like plastic bags, cardboard and duct tape. The astronauts built the device lowering CO₂ levels and saving their lives.
From this example was when these NASA engineers devised a creative fix using onboard materials like plastic bags, cardboard and duct tape. If these engineers could come up with a quick solution which is even more creative, what could also stop you from having creative minds that would create creative solutions that would solve different challenges that the world faces.
Let’s now go through the 5 stages of the creative process
- RESEARCH: Research is the very first step, by this you will have to check out a few challenges that the world is facing or better start with your community. By going through this you will have a direction and a way forward of starting to bringing your creative mind into action and also after figuring that out, you will still gather information and ideas on how to solve the challenge you chose. By this, you would use different ways, reading through the internet, asking people around.
- CONTEMPLATING: By this you will sit and think of the generated ideas, this step allows subconscious processing of ideas and observing the contributions of the ideas you are about to bring to the challenges you mentioned, think of how long you will put your creative solutions into action. On this step, you also examine what you have learned by looking at the facts from different angles.
- INSIGHTS/ BREAKTRHOUGH: This is the stage after you have done your research and let your subconscious process, your mind makes a flash of the insights that would occur sand this would be characterized by clarity, knowing exactly what you want, emotional uplifting which most of the times comes with excitement and this mostly happens in moments of relaxation or distraction. So, you can encourage this by engaging in activities that make you feel relaxed.
- EVALUATION: By this step, you analyze the ideas you brought to the table, you need to check if these ideas are feasible, understandable, easy to implement and worth pursuing as well, this is the exact point when creativity meets logic and practice.
- IMPLEMENTATION: This is the last step which is more of acting, putting into action all the ideas you have gained throughout the first steps. This involves building, presenting the idea and sharing it out.
Creativity is not a gift reserved for a select few, it is a skill that anyone can nurture through deliberate steps. By following the five stages of the creative process: research, contemplation, insight, evaluation, and implementation, you equip yourself with the tools needed to solve problems, inspire change, and bring meaningful ideas to life. As seen in the Apollo 13 mission, creativity can be the difference between failure and breakthrough. So, whether you’re tackling global issues or local challenges, remember that your mind holds the power to create solutions the world needs. All it takes is the courage to begin, the patience to process, and the determination to act.
Brenna AKARABO/Intern
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