ABSTRACT
An open mind is a creative mind. Creativity involves both the ability to recognize patterns in problems and the ability to retrieve and adapt solutions which we think might apply. Traits are relatively stable components of our personality that shape our behaviours. The challenge is to explore ways of developing skills associated with being open, even if our predispositions are not on the side of openness. Sometimes, being open is about not sticking to rules and structures but about exploring in new directions, choosing different routes, or just about meandering. The important message is that openness seems to matter and is distributed at different levels across populations of people. Cognitive ability around divergent thinking is affected by physical factors and mood states. Flow is the high point of creative work when a person becomes fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the activity process.
