Creativity is on of those things that people don’t know how to define, but they know it when they see it. In 1950, Joy Paul Guilford, the president of the American Psychology Association, called for greater emphasis on creativity research. Almost 70 years later, psychologists still haven’t reached an agreed upon definition. Many people say that creativity is the generation of something new that has value. This is vague because the question of “to whom?” remains unanswered.

Creativity is the way that people solve problems in new and better ways. From cooking over an open fire to using a pot-bellied stove to using a stove with controlled temperatures to using an energy efficient stove, these improvements are due to someone being creative with the question of how do we make food better to eat and more convenient to make. Without creativity, humans would still be eating raw meat if they survived as a species at all.

There are many definitions of creativity. The most important thing to remember is that being creative involves the use of the imagination to solve a problem in a new way. Don’t let a definition stop you from realizing your creative potential.

Need more definitions of creativity from artists, comic book writers, and other people who make a living through their creativity? Check out these videos on my YouTube channel. You can also find more definitions in “Disneyland Is Creativity: 25 Tips for Becoming More Creative.”