It happened just this morning! I was watching my favorite sci\u2011fi series when I felt the thrill of a creative idea for my class\u2014then immediately thought, \u201cUgh, that\u2019s embarrassing. I have no idea how I\u2019d make that work. Better play it safe.\u201d The opportunity for creativity withered, the chills faded, and I was back to my trusty distraction. I want to be creative, but maybe it\u2019s just not me\u2014so I shelve my \u201cbrilliant\u201d ideas as silly daydreams. Still, the drive lingers. Maybe I just need another book on creative thinking<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s be honest: there\u2019s no shortage of books promising to unleash your inner creative genius\u2014from painting like Picasso to solving life’s practical puzzles like a Sherlock Holmes. But Zorana Ivcevic Pringle\u2019s The Creativity Choice<\/em> addresses something they often miss: how creatives move from having creative ideas to choosing to take meaningful creative action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If ideas are everywhere, why do so few become reality? What’s holding us back from moving more of these fanciful daydreams into the playground of reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will see this isn\u2019t about uncovering hidden talents or dissecting your artistic personality. Instead, it\u2019s about making critical, often uncomfortable decisions to turn ideas into tangible outcomes. As she succinctly puts it, \u201cmaking an idea happen starts with a choice. You have to choose to act\u2014despite physical, material, or emotional obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plenty of books rally us with motivational stories or vague encouragements to chase our dreams, but Pringle offers something more substantial. Through rigorous psychological research and rich interviews, she pinpoints the key moments when ideas turn into reality, highlighting messy but necessary decisions along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ever wonder why your best ideas gather dust, get forgotten, and are washed away with the rain of daily struggles? Pringle\u2019s practical, research-based approach provides the nudge you might need. It\u2019s not about how many ideas you have; it\u2019s about repeatedly choosing to act on them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creativity: A Choice\u2014Again and Again and …<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Regular readers know I\u2019m a college instructor\u2014and teaching, at its core, is about constant creative evolution. We’re always revising, experimenting, and adjusting methods to keep pace with change. How often have you dreamt up a lesson only to let it shrivel under self-doubt or the judgment of your inner critics? Pringle\u2019s insights encourage us to get to know these obstacles and approach creativity with courage and resilience, even when doubts shout loudest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her core argument is simple yet liberating: Creativity isn\u2019t exclusive to artistic geniuses; it’s a series of deliberate choices available to everyone. But making the creative choice takes practice. A new habit of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What really stops our ideas from coming to life isn\u2019t a lack of genius\u2014it\u2019s the nagging resistance within, the fear of looking foolish, and the pull to fit in. Pringle\u2019s funny stories from her Croatian childhood remind us how early we learn to hide our quirks instead of celebrating them. I still cringe remembering painstakingly tracing pictures from an old art book to pass off as my own\u2014nothing says ‘creative genius’ like stealing someone else\u2019s doodles. I\u2019m sure my third-grade classmates were blown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The (Actual) Science of Getting Things Done<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather than perpetuating the myth of the lone creative genius in the throes of passion with a can of paint, Pringle dives into the real practical science. Creativity combines originality with practicality and goes beyond painting\u2014think cooking, coding, or even rearranging your messy desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through examples like YouTubers reviving ancient recipes or engineers building clever apps, she shows how creativity thrives because<\/em> of constraints. Limitations push us to innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of her key tools? Emotional granularity\u2014naming and using feelings constructively. Waiting to feel confident, she warns, is the fastest way to stall out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And no, creativity isn\u2019t a smooth ride. It\u2019s messy, uncomfortable, and full of detours. But successful creators learn to work with<\/em> discomfort, not avoid it<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, it\u2019s not a solo act. Pringle highlights the importance of \u201cbonding\u201d connections (supportive folks) and \u201cbridging\u201d ones (fresh perspectives). Without them, ideas often fade before they begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This book helped me look a little more mindfully at myself and the choices I’m making. Teaching and learning are inherently creative, yet we often hesitate to trust our ideas fully. Pringle reminds me (and maybe you too) that internal critics, though stubborn, are beatable. Creativity in education isn\u2019t always smooth\u2014just ask anyone who’s tried exciting teenagers about algebra. But choosing to act on those moments when we feel that creative tickle makes teaching even more meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The real magic, Pringle argues, lies in the small, courageous choices we make all the time. The Creativity Choice<\/em> might not guarantee constant triumph, but it prepares us to choose creativity more often\u2014and perhaps that’s the ultimate secret. Time for you<\/em> to choose…<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It happened just this morning! I was watching my favorite sci\u2011fi series when I felt the thrill of a creative idea for my class\u2014then immediately thought, \u201cUgh, that\u2019s embarrassing. I have no idea how I\u2019d make that work. Better play it safe.\u201d The opportunity for creativity withered, the chills faded, and I was back to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":6662559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,48],"class_list":["post-6662558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-reviews","tag-book-reviews","tag-creativity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6662558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6662558"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6662558\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6662564,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6662558\/revisions\/6662564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6662559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6662558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6662558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learningandthebrain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6662558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}