Harvard’s 3 Components of Creativity

Most people consider Harvard respectable. Harvard, the NIH, The Am. Psychological Assoc. have all researched creativity. The news is good for you and me.

They all have lots of interesting things to say, but I’ll just throw out a few here….

“There’s not really any evidence that one person is inherently more creative than another, rather it’s a matter of deciding to engage.”

“As strange as it sounds, creativity can become a habit and making that habit helps you become more productive and happy.”

I talk a lot about the benefits of creativity, you can read about that HERE.

The 3 Components of Creativity (according to Harvard) are:

Engagement
Creative Thinking
Motivation

At the intersection of all three, creativity emerges (the red is in this graphic):

3 circles intersecting

As we tend to each of the 3 components, creativity emerges from anyone and everyone.

Maybe you’re not sure “how” you’d like to engage creatively, that’s ok, it’s an exploration. Maybe you think you don’t have what it takes, that’s not true, everybody does, sure it needs some of your attention, but so does having a rose garden or working out.

One doesn’t realize when they begin a new adventure like planting a garden or working out all the wonderful side benefits that show up.

Let’s just take working out. A lot of people begin this adventure to lose weight. If they stick with it they realize they’re stronger, balance is better, less injury due to this core strength, they can say yes to a new physical activity like hiking, dancing, or boogie boarding with ease. They trust their body.

When I begin something new, I do two things:

I ask my heart to guide me (this way I know I’ll be in alignment with my Higher Self and it’ll be joyful)
I get curious by asking things like, “How does my heart and soul want to play?” or “What’s the most enjoyable way to explore this?”

This way I can be sure it will be fun and not stressful. In fact if it starts getting stressful, it’s a sure sign I’m “off track” and I can reroute myself (just like a GPS :).

Watch for the next three blogs where we’ll talk about each of the 3 creativity components!

In Creative Love & Wholeness,

Harvard's 3 Components of Creativity