Do you know that you are a creative person?
Not in the polished, curated, social media version of creativity.
Not in the sense of being an artist, photographer, or musician.
But in the deeper sense.
The kind of creativity that lives inside of you. The part of you that wants to express something real.
Most people do not think of themselves as creative. They assume creativity belongs to someone else. Someone more talented. Someone more gifted.
But creativity is not something you earn.
It is something you remember.
Creativity is the act of taking something internal and making it real. It is an expression. It is a vulnerability. It is a truth.
And for many of us, it has been buried.
Somewhere along the way, we were told to be practical. To be efficient. To focus on what makes sense. Creativity became optional. Something we would get back to later.
Later never came.
So how do we reconnect with that part of ourselves?
First, we have to recognize that it is there.
There is a part of you that comes alive when you talk about certain things. When you think about certain ideas. When you imagine what could be.
That is your inner artist.
It does not always show up as painting or writing or music. It might show up in how you solve problems. How you lead. How you build something from nothing.
It is the part of you that feels most alive.
The second step is allowing yourself to follow it.
This is where it becomes uncomfortable.
Because creativity requires exposure. It asks you to create something and let it exist outside of you. It asks you to be seen.
And most of us are not used to that kind of vulnerability.
I remember when my creativity first showed up through music. It felt raw. Exposed. Like I was standing in front of people with nothing to hide behind.
Every note. Every word. Every moment felt like it mattered.
But it also felt like freedom.
Creativity is not about perfection. It is about expression.
It is about taking risks. Making mistakes. Trying again. Letting something come through you that did not exist before.
There is a quote by Mary Lou Cook that says creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun.
That sounds a lot like being human.
So I will ask you a simple question.
What is the thing inside of you that wants to be expressed?
And what would it look like to give it space?
Not perfectly. Not publicly. Just honestly.
Your creativity is not gone.
It is waiting.
-Marcie Rey Landreth, LCSW | Heart Development Strategies, LLC