What If You Were Creative All Along?
A gentle reminder — and a little encouragement — for anyone who has ever said "I'm just not the creative type."
By Leah Wilkerson
Let’s talk about something.
Can I say something to you that I really mean?
You are creative. I know you may not believe that. Maybe you've said it out loud — or just quietly to yourself — "I'm not creative. That's just not me." Maybe you leave that word for the painters, the decorators, the people who seem to make everything look effortless.
But here's what I want you to sit with today: creativity isn't a personality trait that some people have and others don't. It is something you were given. Before you ever doubted yourself, before anyone told you that your idea was silly or your drawing wasn't good — it was already in you.
“Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.”
Who is Julia Cameron?
Julia Cameron is the author of The Artist's Way — one of the most beloved books ever written about creativity. First published in 1992, it has quietly changed millions of lives, not by teaching people how to make art, but by helping them remember that they already could. Cameron wrote it as a twelve-week spiritual journey, built on the belief that creativity is not a skill to be learned but a connection to be restored — a connection to yourself, to your purpose, and to God. Her readers aren't just painters and poets. They are teachers, mothers, accountants, and retirees. People who had buried their creative selves under years of doubt, criticism, or simply the busyness of life.
Her message is as simple as it is profound: we were made by a Creator, and that means we were made to create. Every single one of us — no exceptions.
Think about what that actually looks like in your life. The meal you pulled together from a half-empty refrigerator. The way you arranged the flowers from the market. The note you wrote to a friend when you knew exactly what she needed to hear. The solution you found when everyone else was stuck. That was creativity. That was you, being fully yourself.
The problem isn't that you're not creative. The problem is that somewhere along the way, you stopped trusting it. And the beautiful thing? That can change. Here are five gentle ways to begin.
Here are five small ways to begin:
1 - Start before you're ready
You don't need the perfect idea, the perfect supplies, or the perfect moment. You just need to begin. Make something imperfect today. Cook something new. Write something down. Rearrange one shelf. Action opens the door — waiting keeps it shut.
2 - Be kind to the voice in your head
Most of us have an inner critic that is not shy. It says things like "that's not very good" or "who do you think you are?" When that voice shows up, don't fight it — just notice it. Then keep going anyway. That voice isn't the truth. It's just fear, and fear means you're doing something that matters.
3 - Give yourself just ten minutes
You don't need a free afternoon or a dedicated studio. You need ten minutes. Write in a journal. Doodle while you have coffee. Hum something on your walk. Small, consistent moments of creative expression add up to something real — and they remind you who you are.
4 - Stop measuring yourself against others
Her Instagram looks polished. Her home looks curated. Her life looks like a magazine. But you are not seeing her doubts, her drafts, or her deleted posts. Your creative journey is yours alone — the pace, the style, the direction. Stay in your own lane and you'll go much further.
5 - Decide what "enough" means to you
Success doesn't have to look like a following or a product or a business. Maybe success looks like finishing something. Maybe it looks like joy. Maybe it looks like your daughter seeing you make something with your hands and deciding she can too. Only you can define what enough looks like — and that definition is worth writing down.
One of the most powerful things you can do for your creativity is surround yourself with people who believe in it — even before you do.
Julia Cameron understood this deeply, and it is something we have seen proved true again and again: creativity does not thrive in isolation. It grows in community. When someone who believes in you sees what you're making — before it's finished, before it's perfect, before you're even sure it's worth anything — something shifts. You start to believe it too. The right voices, the right room, the right encouragement can unlock something you've been sitting on for years. Don't underestimate what it means to simply be seen and cheered on.
That is exactly why Women for Women exists. W4W is a warm, welcoming community of women — makers, entrepreneurs, artists, and everyday women who are building something meaningful — who have chosen collaboration over competition. Here, no one is ahead of you and no one is behind you. Everyone is simply showing up, sharing what they're learning, and cheering each other on.
Whether you've never once called yourself creative, or you've been quietly making things for years without anyone to share them with — there is a place for you here.
W4W offers monthly in-person gatherings, a weekly newsletter full of encouragement and ideas, a directory of women you can actually call on, and a community group chat that keeps the conversation going in between.
It is the right room, with the right people, and it just might be what finally unlocks the creativity that has been waiting in you all along.
You don't have to have it figured out. You don't have to be talented, trained, or certain. You just have to be willing to show up — and trust that what you were given is more than enough to work with.
Because it is. It always has been.
