Often, we notice that the words imagination & creativity used interchangeably. What is imagination? Is there a difference between imagination & creativity? Usually, the word imagination is used as a capacity to form mental images, an ability to visualise our dreams & goals. When we imagine we aren’t considering the concrete possibilities to realise our aspirations. While imagining, we aren’t working out strategies, weighing the risks, garnering resources or accomplishing results.
In contrast, creativity is ideas quite fully realised with an application of effort & energy using some types of materials, tools, plans or techniques. Create is a verb, an action like writing a novel, painting or dancing. To create we need a connected series of focused actions that are innovative & hopefully purposeful. When we see a kid mimicking the gestures of driving a car, he’s being imaginative. But, when he tells us a story, he’s unmistakably being creative! Imagination though is a quintessential ingredient to create.