CREATIVE THINKING

Had it not been for our ability to think creatively, we would always have remained the same as we were at the beginning of our existence. Unlike other animals we have the capacity to think. The human child is born with an unlimited potential for creativity. However, as the child grows older, he/she loses much of their creativity. By the time we turn forty, says Eiffert (2000), most of us express less than two per cent of the measurable creativity we demonstrated as young children. Therefore, the ability to think, creatively must be reawakened and trained with encouragement and practice. Our creative ability is an aspect of our essential nature. All of us, without exception, have the ability to engage in creative pursuits. How creative we are depends on the conscious effort we make. There is a desperate social need for people to be creative. With scientific discoveries and inventions proceeding at such a rapid pace, a generally passive and culture bound people cannot cope with the multiplying issues and problems, unless individuals and groups can imagine, construct and creatively devise new ways of relating to these complex changes. As Wycoff (1986) puts it, we desperately need more creativity and innovation in our business, in our families, in our country and in the world. The ability to innovate will make the difference between success and failure in almost every situation where it is applied. Hence, it is highly imperative to I III w what creativity is, how important it is, what promotes creativity, what blocks it, and how creativity can be developed in the classroom.

Definition and meaning of "creativity"

The last fifty years saw a lot of research on creativity. Despite this, there is no consensus among scholars as to what really creativity is. There is little conceptual agreement among them. A complete list of all the available definitions and their interpretation, therefore, would be unwarranted here. A casual glance over various definitions would reveal that they range in scope and complexity from simple problem solving to actualization of self. Despite this, it would be beneficial to pick up a few definitions of creativity and with their help explain the nature and the meaning of the term creativity.

Blond's Encyclopaedia of Education (1969) handles the question of creativity in the sense of flexibility, originality and sensitivity in response to ideas or situations".

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica defines creativity as "the ability to make or otherwise bring into existence something new, whether a new solution to a problem; a new method or device or a new artistic object or form.

According to Rogers (1972), creative process is the emergence in action of a novel relational product, growing out of uniqueness of the individual the one hand and the materials, events, people circumstance of life on the other."

Edward de Bono (1992) has brought in three diverse concepts in his definition of creativity. At the simplest level, he says, creativity means, "bringing into being something that was not before". The second aspect his definition raises is that the new thing must have "value"; and to these, he adds a third element, namely that it must include the concepts of "unexpectedness and change".

"Creativity" and "creative" are words, says Eiffert (2000), which people can use to express how they live, how they communicate ideas, how they do their jobs and how they deal with relationships. Creativity, Eiffert further observes, is a process that expands your choices and releases your potential into some form of expression. It is expanding your awareness of your potential however that might manifest itself.

Importance of creativity

Our mind, when confronted with problems that are inevitable, or issues that are inescapable, has the tendency to figure things out for itself. As soon as the mind arrives at some pattern that it thinks acceptable, I would stop thinking and begin following the pattern just like a driver who sticks to a familiar route. The mind does not seek to find out other possible t1ternatives that could be used in solving a particular problem or issue. Only when the individual who has to solve the problem puts pressure on the mind does the search begin. The human mind thus doesn't have a natural tendency to go on an exploration on its own Initiative. It functions only under compulsion. Since it is our concern to arrive at the right decision and solve our problems as effectively and as efficiently as possible, we need to know the most appropriate techniques and tools that could be used in generating all the possible options that could be used in solving our problem. Creative thinking - thinking that generates alternatives r thinking that leads to formation of hypotheses - is, therefore, important if we wish to solve our problems and make our decisions in the best possible way.

The act of creativity is concerned with exploring novel ways of thinking, being and expressing ourselves. It is, in fact, a way of expanding ourselves and celebrating our uniqueness in the universe. As Langrehr (2001) observes, our brain is something that is underutilized. We certainly need to use the brain if we wish to make the best out of our lives. We are left with no choice. An unthinking life that is associated with too much TV watching, isolation and automatic physical activity is more likely to lead to plagues and axon tangles in the brain. We need to exercise the brain everyday and keep it agile and active by developing the skill of thinking. No matter even if our attempt at it is a simple one. It is not necessary that a creative action should immediately lead to useful discovery. Often a creative action may lead to nothing other than a new insight or the liberation of a new thought. If we 'keep practising thinking, it would add value to our lives. It may. lead to improved business decisions, or simply more Job satisfaction due to new ways of thinking Creativity alone can allow us to express our greatest possible self on a daily basis, Le., on an ongoing basis.