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According to the Cambridge Dictionary, creativity is “the ability to produce or use original and unusual ideas.” It sounds simple enough, but it is a complex skill that all humans have, in varying degrees, and it can be developed.

This is important, because we often hold limiting beliefs about our ability to be creative. We might think that the “true” creatives are artists, writers, performers, and the like – and if we make our livelihoods in other professions, we may fail to recognize or appreciate our creativity. That is a shame.

We might wistfully recall how as children we let our imaginations run free and how exciting and interesting that could be. Yet, for most of us, as our life responsibilities grew, the time we spent imagining shrunk. We started to see imagination as a source of childish flights of fancy, when in reality, imagination and the creativity it generates are sources of valuable and inspirational ideas and – big and small – that can provide us momentum and vivacity.

In the mid-20th century, American psychologist Abraham Maslow forwarded a hierarchy of human needs. At the top of his pyramid are self-actualizing needs, the needs to fulfill oneself, to become all that one is capable of becoming. It is here that he placed creativity. Perhaps this added to the perception that creativity is a “nice to have” – something people can strive for, but not something to concern themselves with if lower-order needs are not met.

While I am not a psychologist, I respectfully and vehemently disagree with Maslow’s placement of creativity within his hierarchy. Sure, one could argue that if our physiological and safety needs (the two lowest levels of his pyramid) are not met, our focus needs to be on those, not on getting creative. Yet, this points to one of the many paradoxes of creativity … research has shown both that actual or perceived constraints can restrain creativity and that scarce resources can motivate creativity.

Here I find another bone to pick with Maslow, though that may be unfair to him as I write this nearly 75 years after his heyday, and we have learned a lot in that time. He suggested that creativity attempts to resolve dichotomies (or paradoxes), yet today we know that creativity is most powerful when it embraces them. Creativity itself is inherently paradoxical – it calls for divergent and convergent thinking, novelty and usefulness, exploration of the new and exploitation of the known, etc. Working with, rather than attempting to resolve, these tensions can enhance creativity.

Learning to generate energy, not anxiety, from holding these tensions is one way to develop our creativity. Another way to strengthen our creativity is to make a point of taking “brain breaks” by limiting digital and other distractions. In stillness, our minds have freedom to wander and time to be curious. Various studies have found that unwinding, reflecting and daydreaming are activities associated with idea generation, a fundamental element of creativity.

While technology can sometimes be distracting, it too can catalyze our creativity skills. For example, a World Economic Forum report found that artificial intelligence (AI) can identify patterns, see bigger pictures, and guide experimentation that humans can then leverage in creative ways.

The same report, though, highlighted research finding that real-life experiences and personal interactions, things that AI cannot replicate, are essential for idea development.

Yes, another dichotomy to navigate. Allowing AI to spark and expand our creative thinking without replacing that thinking will be a key for human creativity to thrive in our increasingly technological world.

So let me go back to where I started … when is the last time you had an original or unusual idea? When is the last time you acted on an original or unusual idea? I don’t ask these questions with any judgment; I ask because I suspect that you have had and used unique ideas – that you have been creative – more than you might first think. And if indeed you are feeling less creative than you might like to be, ask yourself what is limiting you? What could you do to counteract the constraints? In what ways might you work to intentionally activate your creativity more?

For me, I get stuck in my head worrying about the quality of my ideas or about taking time away from my always lengthy to-do list to give time to creative thought. To overcome these, I am working to quiet my inner critic and instead fuel my inner creative.

Of course, gaining differing perspectives is another way to enhance creativity, so I invite you to share with me your thinking around this topic.