Often the only difference between creative and uncreative people is self-perception. Creative people tend to have a growth mindset, see themselves as creative, and give themselves the freedom to create. People that believe they are uncreative tend to have a fixed mindset, do not think about creativity, and do not give themselves the opportunity to create anything new.
Being creative may just be a matter of setting aside the time needed to take a step back and allow oneself to ask if there is a better way of doing something. Edward de Bono calls this a 'Creative Pause'. He suggests that this should be a short break of maybe only 30 seconds, but that this should be a habitual part of thinking. This needs self-discipline, as it is easy to forget.
Creativity characteristics vary within and among people and across disciplines. No one person possesses all the characteristics, nor does anyone display them all the time.
In their monograph, The National Research Center On The Gifted And Talented (NRC/GT) cluster creativity characteristics into four categories: Generating Ideas, Digging Deeper Into Ideas, Openness, and Courage to Explore Ideas, and Listening to One's "Inner Voice,".
Here are a few points to recognize and remember about creativity characteristics:
Characteristics include cognitive abilities, personality traits, and past experiences.
Characteristics vary among people and across disciplines.
No one person possesses all the characteristics or displays them all the time.
Characteristics are derived mostly from research about creative adults and may still be developing in K-12 students.
Characteristics can sometimes be manifested in negative ways.
Characteristics sometimes involve the integration of opposites.