Process of Creative Thinking

Research on how the mind operates makes clear that thinking of new and unusual ideas involves more than a single flash of insight — there are stages before and after a new idea appears. The process begins with the preparation stage, starting from a felt need to think of or produce something new, arising from sensing problems or gaps in information; preparation involves understanding and analysing the task, and becoming aware of background facts, with divergent thinking helping the person view the task from different angles.

While trying to generate alternative ideas and view the problem from an unusual perspective, there may be a feeling of getting stuck, even disgust with failure, leading a person to leave the problem for a while — this is the incubation stage. Creative ideas may not occur while a person is consciously thinking about the problem during incubation, but rather while doing something else and seeking relaxation from conscious effort, such as going to sleep, waking up, bathing or walking. Followed by incubation is the illumination stage — the 'Aha!' or 'I have found it!' experience usually associated with the emergence of creative ideas, typically with a feeling of excitement and satisfaction. …