Creativity isn't what we think it is. We think that some sudden burst of inspiration happens, and everything is there and just flows out of us. But here's the truth from our research. The most creative and productive artists are not manic-depressives who pump it out in moments of quasi-madness. Artists work hard over a period of time. It is this working through the process that real creativity emerges. You never really know what the final end product will emerge to be. In a DownSpiral, characterized by a feeling of "being flat" and "out of your skin," your creative powers just get more and more narrow, and it feels like your options decrease. Essential to creativity is an UpSpiral-feeling good- where access to your abilities and strengths is much, much greater than they ever cold be in a depressive, flat DownSpiral. You get to choose.