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Imagination: The Key to Dream Fulfillment and Creative Expression

Written by William G. Covington, Jr. PhD

Topic: CreativityPublished February 18, 2007
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Imagination is the foundation upon which breakthroughs that improve life's quality are made. Just one thought, if pursued and realized can have substantial positive outcomes. Writing in the early 1900s, French psychologist Theodule Ribot noted that the inventive process comes from desire, which arouses the images that the imagination arranges and combines. So it's a combination of having a well-prepared mind that is receptive to adapting what one knows to a new context.

Joseph Rossman studied the creative process in several hundred inventors and discovered a pattern, i.e., that their intuitions or hunches played a key role in the epiphany of ideas. This usually took place when they were most relaxed, not when they were in a formal setting.

Imagination doesn't see things as they appear. It sees with the "mind's eye" that which is not physically manifested. It sees beyond the status quo. Imagination asks "why not" questions.

Imagination is the seed of a dream being brought to fruitition. It is the origination point from which large enterprises expand. Intangible, but powerful, imagination has the potential to bring about tremendous rewards, enhancing the quality of life for self and others.

To be productive, the imagination needs to be fed. Interacting with other creative minds is a source of feeding one's imagination. Like attracks like. Seeds reproduce after their kind. Reading creative articles. Attending conferences where new ideas are taught. Having a stiumulation conversation with a colleague are all means of feeding one's imagination.

Cultivating realtionships with people who are open to new ways of achieving results is an indirect way of enhancing one's own creative projects. In such a context, you're not directly working on a project per se, but you're preparing your mind to receive ideas later.

The imagination is a key that unlocks mysterious. It taps the unconscious by showing how seemingly unrelated things link together to form something that didn't previously exist.

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About the Author

Dr. Covington holds seminars on goal-setting and motivation and has written on the topic.