Is creativity innate or learned?

Are people born creative or is creativity an acquired skill? Join today’s dialogue, then check out today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.

Jun 15, 2026

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SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO SEE TODAY’S WRITING PROMPT

I will always marvel at the propensity of some humans in our modern-day world to laud artists and creatives of all kinds (painters, novelists, poets, filmmakers, musicians, graphic designers, etc.), as they simultaneously marginalize them and don’t take them very seriously… or care if they eat.

The world seems to be saying: If you aren’t starving, can you really call yourself an artist? But at the same time, if you are starving, how talented and creative are you anyway? And if you are an artist, you must create things because creativity is practically part of your DNA, regardless of whether you can eat, right? Even if you never make a dime, you’d keep creating, right? Because you were just born to create no matter what? And if you don’t, are you really all that creative or an artist at all?

It’s true that society tends to marginalize creative thinkers and artists, especially in the modern age of data and information and AI, where algorithms and machines reign supreme and are infiltrating everything. Even the once coveted title of one of the most revered types of creatives in the modern world, the ‘innovator’, has lost the magic it once held in the early aughts.

But why? Why aren’t creatives and artists revered more and paid more, in general? Is it because we tend to think anyone (or any machine) can learn how to be creative, and that being creative is easy and nothing special? Or is it because we think there are only a select few who are born creative, so why bother trying to be creative, as trying to be creative is a part of one’s destiny and not intended to be a paid vocation?

I think the answer may lie in redefining or reimagining who we generally perceive as being creative, or who we define as being a creator, in the first place. And begin to consider whether they are one and the same.

Why are all artists perceived as creative, for example, but all people who are perceived as being creative aren’t necessarily seen as artists?

Do all creative people create things?

Or are all people who create things creative?

For instance, a creator could create a replica of an existing painting, but should they be considered as being creative when they paint the replica, or as an artist?

And someone could have a creative idea for solving world hunger without necessarily creating anything in the physical world, right?

Truly, what does it mean to be creative? To be ‘a creative’ or an ‘artist’? What does it mean to be a creator? And where do our answers to these questions overlap and differ?

Pinpointing the answers to these questions may first offer insight into answering the question in the title of this post: Is creativity innate or learned?

I am inclined to believe that creativity is learned. But what or who teaches us how to be creative, and in what areas of life, are uniquely different for each of us. And because of that, we’re all creative in our own unique ways.

Often a person will sharpen their sense of creativity in a certain area out of some type of necessity or longing, as well. For example, some people learn to draw or paint to express themselves because they were silenced in some way, or because they were bored and or awestruck by the world and people around them. Some people learn how to be creative with money because they never had any, or because they’re greedy. And others learn how to create various strategies and plans because they remember (even if only subconsciously) the anxiety or repercussions they endured when there weren’t any strategies or plans. Etc.

In short, I don’t think creativity is anything preordained to a select few individuals. We all have the ability to be creative. However, I do think each of us is extraordinarily creative in our own unique way and that we each learn how to be creative in certain areas based on our unique life experiences, tendencies, and backgrounds.

But I want to discuss this further, as there’s a lot to unpack here.

Today’s Dialogue

Do you think creativity is innate, learned, or both? And why?

P.S. If you’re a psychologist, sociologist, neurologist, or someone with expertise in a related field, I would love to hear more about what you know about creativity.