The Creative Process: That Amazing Moment When an Idea Hits

It's like a spark. And it's magical.

I have 170 half-written pieces saved in Evernote, and after closer analysis, I think I hate them all. The sad thing is they all started out in the creative process as a great idea that somehow popped into my head during one of those magical moments when an idea is born. I love that little moment in time. We don't feel dumb, unappreciated, shunned or insecure.

We feel alive.

It usually happens when we're doing something mundane like falling asleep, showering or mowing the lawn. This is also the time where we disconnect from the world and just let go. That's when the beginning of creativity hits.

While not all ideas are good, all are worth exploring. There will be some you can't execute, others that you can't find the right ending for, a handful that morphs into something else and those few that somehow magically come together months after the spark hit you like a bat to the back of the head.

However, there are those times when the best idea is the one that tells you when it's time to move on.

photo by Sean Davis via Creative Commons