Why You’re Not As Creative As You Think and How to Actually Change That with Zorana Pringle

Smart People Podcast

Smart People Industries

Education, Society & Culture, Business

4.5 • 731 Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Think you’re a creative person? Think again. In this episode, psychologist and author Dr. Zorana Pringle explains why most of us are far less creative than we believe—and what to do about it. We explore why great ideas often die before they ever get started, how fear disguises itself as perfectionism, and why creativity has more to do with action than inspiration. If you’ve ever felt stuck, distracted, or frustrated that your ideas never quite become reality, this conversation will hit home. You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how creativity really works—and how to finally unlock it. Zorana's book, The Creativity Choice: The Science of Making Decisions to Turn Ideas into Action, is available now wherever books are sold! Learn more about Zorana Pringle at zorana-ivcevic-pringle.com. Support the Show - Become a Patron! Help us grow and become a Patron today: https://www.patreon.com/smartpeoplepodcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Smart People Podcast, a podcast for Smart People, where we talk to smart people, but not
0:09.0	necessarily done by smart people.
0:14.8	What if your biggest creative block is thinking you're already creative enough?
0:23.2	Hello and welcome to Smart People podcast, conversations that satisfy your curious mind. I'm Chris Stemp. Thanks for tuning in. In today's
0:30.2	episode, I'm joined by Dr. Zerana Pringle, a psychologist, researcher, and author of the new book,
0:37.1	The Creativity Choice.
0:39.3	And let me tell you, this conversation hit different.
0:43.0	Because while we love to think of ourselves as creative types or idea people,
0:48.7	Zerana reveals something most of us don't want to admit.
0:52.5	Having ideas is easy.
0:56.9	Following through is where the real creative work begins. We talk about why creativity isn't just for artists or entrepreneurs,
1:03.9	why some people seem to thrive in uncertainty while others avoid it at all costs, and why our
1:10.1	fast-paced, productivity-obsessed culture
1:13.1	may be quietly killing our most valuable ideas before they ever see the light of day.
1:20.0	If you've ever said, I have a million ideas, I just never do anything with them.
1:25.1	This episode is for you.
1:27.3	If you've ever wondered why your best
1:28.9	thinking happens in the shower or why blank pages feel so terrifying, you're not alone. This
1:35.2	conversation will challenge how you think about creativity. And it just might unlock something
1:40.3	you didn't even know was stuck. Here it is my conversation with Zerana Pringle on her new
1:46.4	book, The Creativity Choice, the science of making decisions to turn ideas into action. Enjoy.
1:59.1	You know, we were kind of just riffing a little bit and talking about creativity.
	...

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