Discover the three essential pillars of creativity—imagination, focus, and action—and how to reconnect with our natural creative potential through daily practices.
Many believe few, such as painters, inventors, or musical prodigies, are born with creativity. But the truth is creativity is a natural ability we all have. It’s not just about making art or coming up with brilliant ideas. Creativity is about how we live with awareness, intention, and heart.
Whether we’re preparing a meal, decorating our home, solving a challenge at work, or simply deciding how to spend our day, we are already creative. Even the simplest moments of our lives can become distinctly our expression, for we all have different talents, preferences, and personalities.
Yet, we can hone and use our creativity with greater intention and purpose. To keep creativity alive, we can consciously discover and express our true selves and focus on realizing our potential. Creativity is not just about doing things differently but about doing them with more heart and awareness.
From my experience guiding people toward inner growth, I’ve found that creativity flows most naturally when we awaken three essential qualities: imagination, focus, and action. These three qualities are the pillars on which creativity stands.
Imagination is the starting point. It opens new possibilities and fresh perspectives. It’s the spark that ignites creativity, allowing us to picture what doesn’t yet exist. Focus takes this spark and shapes it, giving the clarity and direction of our ideas. Action turns those ideas into meaningful outcomes. Without imagination, creativity has no fuel. Without focus and action, it cannot grow into something tangible.
Imagination: The Spark of Creation
Imagination is the first pillar of creativity. It allows us to see beyond the ordinary and envision what hasn’t yet come to be. As children, we used our imagination freely, often turning ordinary things into magical worlds. A box became a spaceship. A stone became a treasure. Imagination helped us explore, dream, and play.
But somewhere along the way, we lost our tendency to imagine. Instead of letting our ideas flow freely, we’re stopped by doubt and fear. Consciously and unconsciously, we’ve started asking ourselves, “What if I fail?” or “What will others think?” As a result, our thinking has become more automatic, sticking to the familiar.
But the spark of imagination is still there, waiting to be reignited. Imagination returns when we reconnect with our inner world. One way to access it is by using our BrainPhone—our inner channel of connection to intuition and wisdom. When we activate our BrainPhone, we can visualize what we want, ask questions of our deeper selves, and receive creative insights we might otherwise miss. This connection helps us make links between information and ideas in innovative ways.
Tuned into the inner voice that lies beyond our doubt and fear, we’re free to imagine anything our hearts desire. It’s important to imagine it with all our senses–to feel what we want to create completely. With practice, using our imagination can go from a dormant ability to a refined skill.
Try This Thought Experiment: Let’s imagine calling a wise version of ourselves or a mentor figure through our BrainPhone. Ask for guidance. What would they say about a challenge we’re facing? What would they encourage us to create? Feel the clarity and support we receive when we listen to our inner wisdom.
Focus: Giving Form to Our Ideas
Inspiration is powerful, but it can be fleeting. Creativity needs steady attention and care like a seed needs water and light. Focus, as the second pillar, gives shape to what we imagine.
However, sustained attention is a rare and precious skill in a world filled with distractions. Yet without it, even the brightest ideas fade before they grow.
Focus doesn’t mean straining or pushing hard. Creativity flourishes best in a state of relaxed concentration. This state is when we focus deeply while our bodies remain at ease and our minds remain calm and clear. We’re alert but not stressed, grounded yet flexible.
Simple practices like breathing meditation or energy awareness (Jigam) help clear unnecessary clutter from our minds while relaxing our bodies. They turn our attention inward–away from distractions and toward our inner values. Such meditations are simple yet powerful ways of improving our focus.
Let’s Practice: Next time we feel scattered, let’s pause and imagine swiping away distractions from our BrainPhone. We return our focus to our breath, our senses, or the task at hand and notice how creativity begins to flow more easily.
Action: Bringing Our Vision to Life
No idea becomes real without action. The third pillar of creativity is about moving forward—even when the path is uncertain.
We don’t need to know every step. We only need to trust ourselves enough to begin.
Maybe it’s picking up a paintbrush, reading a book on a new topic, or taking a small risk we’ve avoided. Action doesn’t require perfection. It asks only for sincerity. Every action we take builds creative momentum.
Think of a baby learning to walk. They try and fall, try and fall countless times. And yet, they don’t stop. That same persistence lives in us. What we call “grit” is the natural drive we were born with, waiting to be reawakened.
Every step we take, no matter how small, builds confidence. Even failure brings us closer to clarity. The key is to keep moving, adjusting, and trusting the process. With each attempt, we grow stronger, clearer, and more capable.
Wisdom to Remember: As one Native American elder said, “We dance until it rains.” That’s the essence of creativity: staying in motion with trust and intention until what we imagine comes to us.
Aligning Our Inner World
Creativity flows best when our thoughts, feelings, and actions are harmonious. When we think one thing, feel another, and act against both, our energy becomes scattered. But when we align our inner world, our creativity becomes a steady, powerful force.
By activating our BrainPhone, we can listen inward and discover what truly excites and fulfills us. We don’t need to meet anyone else’s expectations. We only need to move in the direction that feels real and right.
As we align our inner selves, we bring clarity, joy, and purpose into everything we do—even the most ordinary moments become meaningful expressions of who we are.
Editor’s Note: Learn more about how to enhance your creativity and live more mindfully in Ilchi Lee’s book, Take Back Your Brain: Reclaim Your Power with Brain-Centered Living.
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