Why you’re much more creative than you think

Why do so many people believe they aren’t creative, wonders Univers editor Judith Zijdenbos. And is that assumption even true—or have we simply lost the courage to fail? Alwin de Rooij: ‘By giving people the freedom to fail, you actually help them train their creativity.’

Steaming tea and a hundred cut-up magazines. It’s Sunday again. Time for the craft club. I skillfully arrange my clippings in an apparently random order on a large sheet of paper until they form an aesthetic whole.

A friend glances jealously at my collage. ‘I’m just not that creative,’ she insists. Meanwhile, she struggles to stand up because her fingers are glued together, balancing with her pinky so as not to smear the table. A comical sight.

What she doesn’t know yet is that once she’s freed herself with dish soap, a stern lecture awaits. ‘I’m not creative’ doesn’t fly in this house. Trouble with glue does not mean you lack creativity.

I hear ‘I’m not creative’ everywhere, and it bothers me. Why do people—ironically—think in such rigid boxes about what creativity is and how it should look? And why do we barely learn the skills needed to express creativity?

What is creativity?

‘Originally, creativity was defined as producing something new,’ says Alwin de Rooij, assistant professor specializing in creativity. ‘But that creates a problem—you could just spout endless ideas, and eventually one would be new. So it’s not just about being new, it also has to be meaningful.’

That’s why the definition was refined. Since 2012, creativity is described as something original and applicable, resulting from a variety of creative, cognitive processes.

And those processes differ from person to person. What feels like a new idea to you may not be new to someone else. You essentially surprise yourself—by making a connection you hadn’t made before with knowledge you already had. It could be a fresh association or a solution you hadn’t considered previously.

The journey, not the destination

‘Although the processes behind creative ideas matter, in practice the focus is often placed elsewhere,’ explains Neil Cohn, associate professor of drawing and visual narratives. You can focus on the process or on the (end)product. And in a capitalist world, Cohn notes, the emphasis usually falls on the product, because it’s measurable.

‘A shame,’ says De Rooij. ‘By giving people the space to fail, you actually train their creativity. It makes them more willing to enter into the creative process.’

In practice

The product you make doesn’t necessarily reflect how creative you are. Say you have the idea to paint all the flowers and plants from your elementary school days in oil paint.

You return in spring, take photos, gather leaves, and set to work at home. But on canvas, the flowers don’t match the photos, and the paint soaks into the fabric too quickly. The idea doesn’t come across.

You could conclude you’re not creative at all—or recognize that you haven’t worked with oil paint since sixth grade and maybe should’ve started with a practice canvas.

Skills are necessary to let creative expression shine. Just like you need skills to design a marketing strategy or plaster a wall.

Learning by copying

And to learn skills, you don’t have to be creative at all. Most of the time, you simply need to copy—a lot—until the skill becomes second nature. Once you’ve got the skills, your creativity can run free, leading to, say, a stunning oil painting.

‘People can actually become more creative after copying other works,’ Cohn explains. ‘Not in the moment of copying, but afterward. By imitating drawings, people internalize patterns they can later use in their own creative work.’

Creativity in the kitchen

I recognized this phenomenon in my own kitchen. I love to cook. When I whip up a pasta out of a wilted scallion and a bruised zucchini, my boyfriend looks on, baffled. ‘I’m not a good cook,’ he says. That doesn’t fly with me either.

I’ve spent years cooking from recipe books, magazines, and TikTok videos, faithfully following nearly every step. Too lazy to sift the flour or do the fussy steps that added dishes, but otherwise sticking to the recipe. That taught me which spices belong to which cuisines, and the basics of making sauces. Now, with that knowledge, I can turn leftovers into delicious (and creative) meals.

Now it’s your turn

So think twice before declaring you’re not creative—because creativity is about much more than painting or making music. It’s about generating new ideas and connecting the dots.

And if you do want to paint on canvas, maybe start by practicing with Bob Ross before diving into your own concepts. Because sometimes, copying is the best way to learn.