'What do I want?' seems like a pretty simple question but people often seem to run into a couple of problems when they start to answer it for themselves.

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The first difficulty is in deciding specifically what it is that they do actually want. This is where the NLP process of defining a well formed goal is so useful.

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The second difficulty is found in the actual process of creating the results that have been defined in the goal. How to make this part of the process work is a secret of creativity that is known either rationally or intuitively by people who are actively involved in creating. Now we don't necessarily mean that they're painting pictures or writing novels when we say that. What we mean is that they're bringing something into the world that wasn't there before, whether it's a new lifestyle, a piece of software, or a better way of relating to their loved ones.

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Creative problem-solvers are able to use the three-stage creative cycle and to harness the structural tension between their current reality and their vision of success in order to build momentum, and this is what it looks like.

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The 3-stage Creative Cycle

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• Germination: new beginnings, the energy of innovation and fresh starts.

• Assimilation: implementation and manifestation.

• Completion: achieving the desired result, celebrating, reflecting on and learning from the process; moving forward to the next cycle.

 

Recognising, and working with, these three stages enables people to become much more effective creators.