The creative attitude
Successful creative thinking is founded on developing a particular attitude, both towards yourself and others: an attitude that is open, willing, flexible and committed. This is what engages the areas of your brain that are involved in creative thinking, enabling your mind to break out of established patterns and think in radically new directions.
Creative thinking is first and foremost a biochemical state in our brains, not unlike the experience of love, panic or joy. Learning how to be creative means learning how to choose this state, just as we can choose to focus before an important meeting or concentrate on the taste of a delicious meal.
By understanding how the brain works and the difference between its two fundamental modes of operation – critical and creative thinking – we are able to use our brains as tools for solving specific creative challenges.
It all comes down to our ability to choose the creative attitude, an openness to letting ourselves be jolted out of our familiar patterns and to venturing into new and unexplored territory.
It is also about how we deal with others, and about our willingness to say "yes and ..." rather than "no" or "but".