440. The Creativity Choice with Zorana Ivcevic Pringle

Dec 31, 2025

Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior research scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and author of The Creativity Choice, dives into the expansive concept of creativity beyond traditional arts. She shares how everyday life is filled with creative opportunities and emphasizes the importance of embracing discomfort to fuel innovative thinking. Zorana discusses the role of emotions in creativity, highlighting that both positive and negative feelings serve as valuable data. Moreover, she offers insights on overcoming creative blocks and the significance of community in the creative process.

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ANECDOTE

Formative First-Grade Art Memory

Zorana remembered a first-grade art class where 23 kids drew the same town square while one friend created a talent-show scene.
That early contrast sparked her lifelong curiosity about creativity and difference.

INSIGHT

Creativity Beyond The Arts

Zorana defines creativity as producing something both original and effective, not limited to the arts.
Everyday creativity includes personally novel solutions that improve daily life or relationships.

ANECDOTE

Redesigning Workflow To Reduce Burnout

A hospital food-services supervisor noticed staff frustration and redesigned workflows to reduce strain and burnout.
The change improved worker retention and patient safety, showing practical creative impact.

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Creativity is not just for artists or makers, so how can we build creativity and move from having an idea to doing something with it?

Joining Jill for this conversation is Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, a senior research scientist and the author of The Creativity Choice. Zorana discusses her journey into the world of creativity, the broader definition of creative acts beyond the arts, and how our emotions play a crucial role in creative processes.

She emphasizes embracing discomfort, finding inspiration in frustration, and the necessity for community and collaboration in creative endeavors.

This episode is a must-listen if you're curious to explore your own creative potential and bust the myth that creativity is just for the naturally gifted artists.

Listen and Learn:

How a formative childhood experience with art and creative differences sparked Zorana’s lifelong passion for studying creativity
How creativity isn’t limited to the arts; it can appear in everyday life, work, and problem-solving, showing that everyone has the potential to be creative
Overcoming fear, uncertainty, and the ‘gap trap’ by embracing discomfort, practicing creative self-efficacy
Why creativity is less about sudden inspiration and more about exploring problems deeply, asking questions, experimenting, and allowing solutions to emerge
How both positive and negative emotions serve as valuable information that can inspire creativity
Why creative blocks are a normal part of the process, and why approaching them with self-compassion can help overcome them and restore creative flow
How creativity and community intersect, and how collaboration or social connections can support the creative process

Resources:

Zorana’s Website: https://www.zorana-ivcevic-pringle.com/
The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas Into Action: https://bookshop.org/a/30734/9781541704329
Zorana's Substack Newsletter: https://creativitydecision.substack.com/
Connect with Zorana on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zorana-ivcevic-pringle/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/z-i-pringle.bsky.social
Twitter: https://x.com/ZoranaPsych
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZoranaIvcevicPringle
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.z.i.pringle/

About Zorana Ivcevic Pringle

Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Zorana studies the role of emotion in creativity and well-being, examines the role of the arts and art-related institutions in building creativity, and wants to know how we move from having an idea to doing something with it. She edited the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Emotions, publishes research in creativity studies, and speaks to diverse audiences about creativity and how to make it happen. Zorana received the Award for Excellence in Research from the Mensa Education and Research Foundation and the Berlyne Award for Outstanding Early Career Achievement in psychology of aesthetics, creativity, and the arts from the American Psychological Association.

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