From a recent survey paper about associative thinking, the authors found that more creative people generate a broader set of associations compared to less creative people and tend to perceive distant associations as closer together. Researchers tested this using word associations games and measuring the vectorized distance which approximates the semantic distance between words.
This offers an interesting clue about where creativity comes from and ways to use this to your advantage. For example, having a wide range of experiences and knowledge in order to have a more “richly connected semantic memory network” to draw from. Similarly different tools and exercises that support goal-directed and free associations can help with generating new ideas and finding solutions to problems.