Why People Think They Aren't 'Creative'

Why People Think They Aren’t “Creative”

There have been too many times in my life where I have heard the phrase, “I am not creative.” It’s a phrase that perplexes me because the people who say it are by all means creative. Often, their perceived lack of creativity stems from a narrow definition of what it means to be creative.

I’ve come to the opinion that the definition of “creative” is different for each person.

Creative vs Technical Skills

When people think of creative skills, they typically refer to the arts. Things like painting, music, and writing. These skills are deeply creative, but that is a very limiting list of creativity. Similarly creativity is often seen as a spark of inspiration, an innate talent that allows people to create something beautiful or thought-provoking from nothing. Yet again, this view neglects the broader spectrum of creativity that exists in other domains.

On the opposite end, technical skills such as trade skills, programming, and technology are often seen as skills that come through a lot of learning, practice, and memorization. These skills are perceived as methodical, logical, and structured. Qualities that seem to stand in contrast to the spontaneity and originality associated with creativity. However, this dichotomy again is limiting.

My wife is a professional opera singer, performer, and actor. I am a data analyst. From a glance, you might think she’s the creative one and I’m the technical one, but it’s way more complicated than that. My free time is often spent painting, writing, and reading. Her free time is spent applying her learned skills through performing. The insane amount of hours she’s spent learning and perfecting her skills is staggering. It is a testament to the dedication and discipline that underpin creative pursuits, often overlooked when considering what it means to be creative.

Learned vs Natural Talent

People often believe skills like singing are either present at birth or non-existent. There are few who believe talent can be learned, but I strongly believe this is not the case. This misconception is pervasive and discourages many from pursuing activities they are passionate about, simply because they believe they lack innate talent.

Through the six years I’ve known my wife, her singing has drastically improved. She’s always been a good singer, starting voice lessons when she was young and attending university to study opera. However, she is constantly getting better. Her journey underscores an important truth: talent is often a product of sustained effort and relentless practice not a natural and unattainable gene.

This idea is not limited to the arts. In my own field of data analysis, creativity plays a crucial role. Developing a new dashboard, designing great-looking papers, or finding novel ways to explain complex data requires a creative mindset. The technical skills I have developed over years of study and practice serve as the foundation upon which I build creative solutions.

Creativity Has an Unspoken Process

Learning the intricate details of a skill is technical; applying those skills in new ways is creative. Creativity is not a mystical force that some possess and others do not. It is a process that involves combining existing knowledge in new ways, seeing patterns where others do not, and pushing the boundaries of what is known and possible.

This process is evident in both the arts and the sciences. An artist might experiment with new techniques or materials, pushing the limits of their medium to create something unique. Similarly, a scientist or data analyst might explore uncharted territory in their research, using their technical skills to uncover new knowledge and solve problems.

Embracing a Broader Definition of Creativity

By expanding our understanding of creativity and acknowledging the overlap between technical and creative skills, we can better appreciate the diverse ways in which people express their creativity. Whether it’s through coding or composing, building or performing, everyone has the capacity for creativity. It just manifests in different forms.

Here’s what I think it really comes down to. The people who say “I’m not creative” have a specific image in their head of what creative looks like. Usually it’s someone with paint on their hands or a guitar in their lap. They compare themselves to that image, fall short, and conclude they don’t have it.

But creativity isn’t about the medium. My wife creates something new every time she performs. I create something new every time I find a way to explain a pricing model to someone who doesn’t speak analytics. The engineer who figures out how to route plumbing around a structural beam that wasn’t on the blueprints? That’s creative. The teacher who rewrites a lesson plan on the fly because the class isn’t getting it? That’s creative.

The problem isn’t that people lack creativity. It’s that we’ve convinced ourselves it only counts if it hangs on a wall.