Day 153: Undoing the Myth of “Not Creative”
A reflection on how creativity gets buried beneath comparison and perfectionism.
“A creative life is an amplified life. It’s a bigger life, a happier life, an expanded life, and a hell of a lot more interesting life.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic
There is a quiet ache that lives inside many of us; especially those who once wrote stories in the margins of our notebooks or lost track of time while sketching shapes in the condensation on a window. That ache comes from the belief we adopted somewhere along the way: I am not creative.
It doesn’t announce itself loudly. It whispers in practical decisions. It hides behind self-deprecation and phrases like “I can’t draw to save my life” or “I’m just not one of those people.” But the ache remains because the desire never left.
In Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert speaks to this very wound. She describes creativity not as a rare talent but as a natural birthright, a spark that belongs to everyone simply by virtue of being alive. She reminds us that the creative life isn’t something only artists or musicians get to claim; it is an open invitation extended to anyone curious enough to follow their inner tug. The invitation doesn't ask for brilliance. It doesn't even ask for skill. It simply asks for willingness.
This is what today is about. Undoing the myth that some people are creative and others are not. Because that story is false. Because that story has kept too many people silent for too long.
Perhaps you remember when the story first attached itself to you. Maybe it was a red mark on a paper. A sideways glance during a group project. A comparison that left you shrinking instead of shining. Or maybe no one said anything at all but no one ever encouraged you to continue, either.
These moments accumulate. And before we realize it, the label becomes part of our identity. “I’m not creative” becomes easier to say than “I wish I could.” “I’m not good at that” feels safer than “I haven’t tried in years.” But what if those beliefs were never yours to begin with?
What if they were inherited from teachers who were overworked, from peers who were insecure, from systems that prioritized results over joy? What if creativity isn’t something to earn but something to remember?
The truth is, creativity never asked for your credentials. It only asked for your presence. It is less about what you produce and more about how you engage with the moment. It lives in how you stir your coffee, how you arrange your thoughts, how you tell stories at dinner, how you pause to notice light dancing on the floor.
Creativity isn’t lost. It isn’t gone. It’s only waiting for your attention.
Where the Myth Takes Root
The idea that creativity is only for the “gifted” is one of the most pervasive and damaging cultural myths. It thrives in environments where performance is rewarded more than presence, where technique is valued above curiosity, and where creative expression becomes a competition rather than a form of connection.
Over time, we begin to equate creativity with mastery. And because we haven’t painted in years, or our singing voice is out of tune, or our writing feels clumsy—we assume it means we don’t have it.
But creativity isn’t a trophy. It’s a current. It doesn’t disappear. It just gets buried.
And what buries it?
Perfectionism: The fear of making something flawed
Comparison: The illusion that creativity has a single, superior form
Productivity culture: The pressure to turn everything into output or monetization
Lack of space or support: Environments that silence exploration
The result? A generation of people who stopped making things not because they didn’t want to but because they no longer believed they were allowed.
What Creativity Actually Is
At Lucivara, we define creativity not as a skill, but as a way of being in relationship with life. It’s presence in motion. It’s curiosity embodied. It’s the act of shaping something from your inner landscape without needing it to be good, useful, or admired.
When you rearrange a room to feel more like home…
When you hum a melody no one hears…
When you experiment with spices in your soup…
When you write something you’ll never publish…
That is creativity.
It’s yours, and it never stopped being yours. You just learned not to trust it.
Undoing the Myth
Today, we begin the slow and sacred process of undoing. Not with declarations or grand projects, but with gentle rebellion.
Try this:
Name a moment when you believed you weren’t creative. Whose voice was that?
Name something creative you do that no one sees; not even you.
Do one small thing today that serves no purpose except to delight you.
You don’t need to reclaim creativity all at once. You just need to stop believing that it’s not for you.
What labeled you as “not creative”? What would change if you never accepted that label again?
Take five minutes today to make something with no goal:
Sketch without lifting your pen
Rearrange your space
Invent a new breakfast
Write a sentence that has never existed before
Don’t worry about how it looks. Just notice how you feel while doing it.
Creativity isn’t lost; it’s just waiting for your permission. You don’t need credentials. You don’t need talent. You need only presence, curiosity, and the courage to try again.
You are creative. Because you are alive.
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