Being creative isn’t about being the first (or only) person to think of an idea. More often, creativity is about connecting ideas.

Nearly all great ideas follow a similar creative process and this article explains how this process works. Understanding this is important because creative thinking is one of the most useful skills you can possess. Nearly every problem you face in work and in life can benefit from creative solutions, lateral thinking, and innovative ideas.

Anyone can learn to be creative by using these five steps. That’s not to say being creative is easy. Uncovering your creative genius requires courage and tons of practice.

Step 1: Gather new material

At first, you learn. During this stage you focus on 1) learning specific material directly related to your task and 2) learning general material by becoming fascinated with a wide range of concepts.

Step 2: Thoroughly work over the materials in your mind

During this stage, you examine what you have learned by looking at the facts from different angles and experimenting with fitting various ideas together.

Step 3: Step away from the problem

Next, you put the problem completely out of your mind and go do something else that excites you and energizes you.

Step 4: Let your idea return to you

At some point, but only after you have stopped thinking about it, your idea will come back to you with a flash of insight and renewed energy.

Step 5: Shape and develop your idea based on feedback

For any idea to succeed, you must release it out into the world, submit it to criticism, and adapt it as needed.

The creative process is the act of making new connections between old ideas. Thus, we can say creative thinking is the task of recognizing relationships between concepts.

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