Creativity is something we use everywhere, and yet its deeper layer is often misunderstood.
It is often reduced to something that happens on its own, and some people are believed to be born creative.
It is a process, not an event. Why? Because it involves so many steps when we look at it closely, and we realize that it takes a long time to actually produce exceptional creative work.
Take, for example, the painting Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci.
It took him almost 14 years to finish one painting. He built his work through many iterations over the years.
He didn’t begin his work from scratch every time; otherwise, it would not have been possible to build such a painting in 14 years.
So why does it need a process? Because otherwise the work and the ideas don’t get compounded.
We start from scratch, and even if we are exceptionally good at idea generation, our work fails to compound and build upon existing ideas.
Creativity cannot be forced, and the more we try to force it, the less we experience it in our work and life.