8 Stage Three: Illumination and Action

The Incubation stage of creativity can’t last forever, nor should it. Eventually, the creative process is ready to move on by making a connection that hasn’t occurred to us yet. Usually, if the incubation has been strong, it’s not a connection that we would have made without that time and space, or without the input of other minds if working in a collaborative creative endeavor.

However it happens, evenutally we get a new idea. A lot of time this feels like a bolt of lightning, an idea just popping into our heads, or like a lightbulb turning on. The idea just appears, seemingly out of nowhere.

Of course, it didn’t come from nowhere. The idea developed from our active and passive Preparation, and our Incubation gave our mind the ability to make connections that we’d not previously thought about. And when those connections get made, ZING! We are inspired! Thus, the name of the next phase of the creative process, Inspiration.

This is the famous moment of the creative process, when we get to shout “Eureka!” or “By George, I think we’ve got it!” or “That’s it!”

Here is how researchers Mathias Benedek and Emanuel Jauk, in “Creativity and Cognitive Control” from The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (2nd ed., 2019. Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology; Kaufman, J., & Sternberg, R.,Eds.), describe the transition from mind-wandering in Incubation to the moment of Inspiration:

Mind-wandering can also take the form of thoughts that spontaneously return to an unsolved problem and eventually reveal a new solution, while we have been engaged with something else (e.g., taking a bath, or riding a bus). Many famous “eureka” moments, such as those attributed to Archimedes, Kekulé, or Poincaré, originated from problem-related mind-wandering. But they also appear common in more mundane contexts in terms of good ideas off the job (Kounios & Beeman, 2014). Spontaneous ideas were found to arise about every other day in artists during a two- week project (Benedek, Jauk et al., 2017). Mind-wandering thus may be particularly relevant for time-extensive creative work, where problems have to be abandoned but can be spontaneously revisited.

Illumination: A Mysterious Burst of Insight

From the apple hitting Newton in the head to Einstein thinking of his theory of relativity while riding his bicycle, there are countless legendary stories of the moment of inspiration.

The Illumination phase is characterized by a sudden and unexpected insight—a eureka moment. This breakthrough is often experienced as a burst of clarity, where ideas align in a novel and unexpected manner. It is the unpredictable spark that propels the creator forward.

But how does that spark arrive? What happens to make that mental connection? And why can’t we just turn on this ability in our brain, to be more creative, faster? It is crucial to understand that Illumination is not a linear or predictable process. The psychological mechanisms underlying Illumination are complex and multifaceted.

You may remember how, in Preparation, we must be open to new experiences and practice cognitive flexibility. A similar process must take place in Illumination. The brain’s ability to form new connections, a phenomenon known as synaptic plasticity, plays a crucial role. During Illumination, neural networks that were previously dormant or loosely connected suddenly synchronize, hitting us with a lightning bolt of innovative thoughts and solutions.

Aaaaaand…Action!

Often, the moment of Illumination creates a rush of excitement. Finally you have an idea, and yes, it is brilliant, and Holy Moly you have to work on this right away! Some researchers believe that the moment of Illumination actually causes the brain to release dopamine, associated with reward and pleasure, which could add to the euphoric feeling that comes with creative breakthroughs.

When we get such a rush of energy with this new idea, we usually want to get to work right away. Illumination is usually followed by an intense and inspired session of work on the problem. This is where writers hunker down for hours on end, typing away on their breakthrough idea. Artists disappear into their studios, actors go fully into character. But it happens in other applications of creativity, too: teachers may plan out lessons or  design new curriculum, parents may talk in a new way with their kids about a family issue, mechanics try a different approach to fix a troublesome engine, gardeners reconfigure the arrangement of plants to enhance the curb appeal of their house.

This Action sequence after the moment of Illumination is usually feverish and intense. It’s often in a positive mindset, one of the first phases where creativity is in a “fun” phase of the process. It’s fun because you have direction. You have something you want to try. Like a kid, you get to play!

The Creative Mind in Flow

When it’s at its best, this Action phase reaches a flow state, where time passes unnoticed and the creative mind is fully enveloped into the act of creation. This concept of flow was most notably researched and explained by Mihaily Csikszentmihalyi, and explained in his book, Flow.

Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow sheds light on the mental state during Illumination. When immersed in the creative process, individuals often lose track of time and self-consciousness, entering a state of heightened focus and enjoyment. This flow state can bring about even more creative insights, because we’re in a distraction-free mode and our mind is open to all kinds of inspiration.