AI Is Making You Less Creative—Unless You Use It Like This

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to come up with great ideas while others struggle? We all know someone who can link ideas in a way that makes sense, while we just feel stuck, thinking in straight lines. But what if creativity isn’t just a special gift? What if you could get better at it?

I’ve felt both sides. I used to think creativity was something you either had or didn’t. Then, I changed my mind. I moved from just watching creativity happen to using it myself. It happened accidentally, but I decided not to rely on chance anymore and explored how creativity works and how to grow it.

Surprise, surprise: AI is heavily involved but not in the role of creativity suppressor as some people depict it. When used the right way, AI seriously boosts creativity, releasing our extra cognitive resources previously tied by routine. It helps clarify ideas and reveals new possibilities we might not have seen. Like any tool, its value depends on how we use it.

This journey is about breaking down myths, understanding how creativity works, and learning how to tap into your creative side. Together, we’ll explore changes, methods, and mindsets that can turn regular thinkers into creative thinkers.

We’ve all experienced the frustration of staring at a blank page, willing a great idea to appear. And yet, some of our most creative breakthroughs seem to emerge effortlessly, often when we least expect them. Why? Because our brains are always at work, following a pattern that has been studied for decades.

Graham Wallas, in The Art of Thought (1926), outlined the classic four stages of creativity. But as we dive deeper, we’ll see that true creative mastery goes beyond these traditional steps, incorporating additional techniques that allow us to unlock our full potential.

The four classic stages of creativity

Preparation

Every creative breakthrough begins with gathering raw material. Whether we realize it or not, creativity thrives on input: new ideas, unfamiliar concepts, and fresh perspectives. This stage is about immersing ourselves in knowledge, exposing ourselves to different ways of thinking, and building a mental library of possibilities.

A writer researching ancient myths before crafting a modern fantasy novel. A marketer studying psychology to create a campaign that doesn’t just sell but also resonates. The more diverse the input, the richer the creative potential.

But preparation isn’t for consumption only. Driven by curiosity, the best creators explore, ask questions, and challenge assumptions. They actively seek connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, setting the stage for the next phase.

Incubation

Then comes the moment when we step away from the problem, only to have the solution emerge when we least expect it. This is where creativity moves beyond conscious effort and into the realm of the subconscious.

It’s why taking a break, going for a walk, or even sleeping on a problem often leads to unexpected insights. The mind continues working in the background, organizing, filtering, and making connections we might not see when we’re actively trying.

Ever struggled with a problem, only to have the answer come to you in the shower? That’s incubation at work. It’s why some of the best ideas arrive when we’re not looking for them.

Illumination

Suddenly, the fog lifts. The missing piece clicks into place. This is the moment of insight, when ideas seem to appear fully formed, as if from nowhere. But of course, they don’t come from nowhere. The ideas come from the groundwork we’ve laid and the time we’ve given our minds to process them.

Archimedes realized the principle of displacement while sitting in a bathtub. Entrepreneurs stumble upon billion-dollar ideas while driving or exercising. These moments of illumination feel magical, but they are simply the natural result of the previous stages working together.

Verification

An idea, no matter how brilliant, is useless if it stays in our heads. Creativity means refining, testing, and making your ideas real. This is the stage where inspiration meets execution, where we separate what works from what doesn’t.

A musician refines a melody, shapes lyrics, and perfects the arrangement before recording. A scientist is running experiments to test a hypothesis, adjusting it based on the results. In other words, creativity combines both dreaming and doing.

The most creative minds go beyond these four stages, using additional techniques to push their ideas even further.

Enhancing creative thinking beyond the basic level

The power of divergent thinking

The best creative minds don’t settle for the first idea that comes to them and explore multiple possibilities. Instead of looking for a single right answer, they generate dozens of potential solutions, considering angles that others might overlook.

This is where brainstorming, free association, and lateral thinking come into play. It’s about pushing past the obvious and asking, What else? A marketer who moves beyond product features and taps into emotions, culture, and storytelling. A designer who envisions not just a functional interface but an experience that captivates.

Analogical thinking and making unexpected connections

Some of the most groundbreaking ideas in history came from connecting seemingly unrelated fields. When we compare one domain to another, we unlock unexpected insights. A corporate restructuring strategy inspired by biological evolution. A new approach to employee engagement borrowed from video game reward systems.

The ability to draw connections across disciplines is a hallmark of creative genius. The more we expose ourselves to different fields, the more patterns we recognize, and the more we can apply those patterns in innovative ways.

Breaking the stereotypes

One of the greatest barriers to creativity is the assumption that things have to be done a certain way. True innovation happens when we question those assumptions and flip them upside down.

What if making a car faster isn’t the goal? What if we made a slow car desirable? What if, instead of making a complex app, we made it ridiculously simple? The moment we start asking, What if the opposite were true?, we open the door to unconventional, revolutionary ideas.

Developing intuitive pattern recognition

Experience plays a crucial role in creativity. Over time, the brain learns to recognize patterns instinctively, allowing us to sense the right solution before we can fully articulate why. A seasoned designer knows when a color scheme feels right. A programmer senses the simplest, most effective way to solve a problem before testing it.

Barriers to creativity and how to overcome them

Creativity isn’t about ideas only but also about overcoming the mental, emotional, and external barriers that block creative thinking. Many people assume they aren’t creative when, in reality, they’re just facing obstacles that can be identified and removed. Below are the most common barriers to creativity and strategies to overcome them.

Fear of failure that kills your creativity

Many people hesitate to take creative risks because they fear criticism, rejection, or making mistakes.

Society often rewards “safe” thinking over unconventional ideas, making failure seem like something to avoid at all costs.

Solution: Reframe failure as experimentation

Think of every creative attempt as data gathering rather than success or failure. For that purpose, adopt a “test and iterate” mindset, i.e. take into account that imperfect ideas can be improved over time.

Study highly successful creators: many of them faced rejection before their breakthroughs. For example, Thomas Edison’s response to failed experiments, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won’t work."

That damned perfectionism

Many people never finish projects because they obsess over making everything perfect. Perfectionism creates self-doubt, slows down progress, and can even lead to creative burnout.

Solution: Encourage rapid prototyping and iteration

Instead of trying to create something perfect from the start, try to focus on quick drafts or rough versions. Follow the "80% rule": once an idea is 80% there, put it out in the world and refine it based on feedback. Also, separate the creative and editing phases. First, generate ideas freely, then refine them later.

Here is an example: Writers use “morning pages” or “freewriting” to generate ideas without judgment before editing.

Overexposure to predictable inputs

Creativity thrives on novelty. If you’re only consuming the same type of content, you’ll struggle to generate fresh ideas. Algorithms often reinforce this by feeding you similar content repeatedly, limiting your exposure to new perspectives.

Solution: Seek out new, diverse perspectives

Read books, watch films, and explore topics outside your usual areas of interest. Strive to change your environment — travel, visit new places, or engage in unfamiliar activities. And, of course, talk to people from different industries, cultures, or backgrounds to gain fresh insights.

Steve Jobs, for example, credited a calligraphy class with inspiring the design of Apple’s fonts and interfaces.

The mental burnout creativity blocker

When the brain is overloaded, it struggles to make creative connections. Stress, lack of sleep, and continuous mental strain drain the cognitive resources needed for creativity.

Solution: Prioritize rest and non-work activities

To address this issue, schedule breaks, walks, or meditation to give your brain time to recharge. Switch between different types of work — after deep focus, engage in something relaxing. Also, engage in activities like exercise, music, or hobbies to stimulate the brain in different ways.

Many great thinkers, including Einstein and Darwin, took long walks daily to clear their minds and generate ideas.

The danger of consensus thinking

Creativity is often stifled when people conform to the majority opinion. Fear of challenging authority or standing out can limit unconventional ideas.

Solution: Encourage dissent and independent thinking

In group discussions, ask: “What’s the opposite of this idea?” to provoke alternative viewpoints. Assign a "devil’s advocate" role to ensure that different angles are considered. Encourage psychological safety — make it clear that new ideas won’t be ridiculed or dismissed.

Some of the most innovative companies (e.g., Google, Pixar) create “idea incubators” where unconventional ideas are explored without judgment.

Cultural norms that suppress creativity

Some cultures emphasize conformity, discouraging risk-taking or questioning the status quo. Traditional education systems often focus on memorization rather than creative problem-solving.

Solution: Redefine success as experimentation, not just correct answers

If you were raised in a risk-averse environment, deliberately push yourself to take small creative risks. Surround yourself with people and communities that celebrate unconventional ideas. Actively challenge inherited beliefs about what is “possible” or “realistic.”

Example: A student from a rigid academic system started designing projects for fun outside of school, developing their creative confidence.

The “friends-foes” of your creativity

Sometimes, things you think are helping your creative flow are actually holding you back, and other times, what you see as problems can actually boost your creativity.

Two of the biggest things that can go either way are AI and, well, substances.

So, what's AI to you?

AI can really crank up your creativity – or it can totally kill your originality. It all boils down to how you use it. The way you ask it stuff, what you do with the results, and how you think about those results will decide if it helps you or not.

AI as a creativity killer

AI can mess up your creativity if you just sit back and let it do everything. Here's how you can easily fall into it:

• Copy-paste what AI spits out without adding your own spin. Your work feels generic and shallow.
• Always go with the first idea AI gives you. AI usually plays it safe unless you push it to be more creative.
• Lean on AI instead of your gut feelings. You'll slowly lose the ability to think for yourself.
• Let AI just repeat what's already out there. AI learns from what's already known, so it'll often just copy existing stuff.

Do you see? These activities closely represent how casual people prefer to use LLMs. And this is alarming. I strongly encourage you not to use such patterns within your journey.

AI as a creative friend

AI can make your creativity way better if you use it right. It can free up your brain from boring stuff, check if your ideas are good, and even help you play out different situations to make your thinking sharper. The trick is to treat AI like a partner, not a replacement, so it boosts your ideas instead of ruining them.

• AI expands your access to information. It can provide research, suggest ideas, and offer perspectives you might not have considered.
• AI can help break creative blocks. If you’re stuck, AI can generate variations, alternatives, and unexpected directions to spark new ideas.
• AI accelerates experimentation. Instead of waiting for inspiration, you can test multiple concepts quickly and refine the best ones.
• AI frees up brainpower for big ideas. It automates routine tasks like data collection, formatting, and organization, letting you focus on high-level creativity.
• AI handles the “dirty work” of creativity. It can generate multiple versions of content, fill in missing gaps, and uncover insights to strengthen ideas.
• AI serves as a rapid idea validator. It can analyze feasibility, highlight risks, and suggest refinements before you invest too much time.
• AI challenges your thinking. You can train it to question your ideas with thought-provoking prompts and alternative viewpoints.
• AI models different scenarios. It can simulate outcomes, predict responses, and refine strategic decisions in a risk-free environment.
• Use AI for input, not output. Let it spark ideas, but reshape them with your unique voice and perspective.
• Challenge AI’s responses. Ask it for “unexpected” answers, refine its suggestions, and explore opposite viewpoints.
• Think of AI as a collaborator, not a creator. You are the creative force; AI is just an amplifier of your thought process.

An illustrative example is Tipster, a tool I built to make B2B tech articles using data and a bit of creative structure. Here's how AI can boost creativity when making content:

• Gets info ready. AI looks closely at who you're trying to reach, what companies offer, and problems.
• Brainstorms better. It finds advantages, risks, and viewpoints writers might miss. By the way, you can propose your own ideas at any stage and blend them with the existing ones if they’re overly generic.
• Makes plans you can use. It creates stories that offer solutions, steps to follow, and examples of how it works in the real world.
• Cleans up and organizes. It makes things clear with expert info, turning ideas into content.

Examples of specific multi-step solutions that Tipster helped me to create:

Managing communications across different time zones and team culture

A Valletta’s 15-step guide on how to break the cultural and communication barriers

About substances

Many creatives have experimented with substances in pursuit of inspiration. While substances can momentarily shift perception, their long-term effects make them unreliable and unsustainable for serious creative mastery.

The myth of substance-induced creativity

Some argue that substances help unlock unfiltered creativity, and there are famous cases of artists, musicians, and writers who produced groundbreaking work while using them. However, the reality is far less romantic:

+ Substances can alter perception. They may disrupt habitual thought patterns, leading to novel insights.

+ They can lower inhibitions. Some people feel more comfortable expressing raw, unfiltered ideas.

- Creativity under substances is unpredictable. Effects evolve over time, often becoming less useful or even counterproductive.

- You cannot build a sustainable creative strategy on drugs. Their influence is inconsistent, making structured creativity impossible.

- Most people become idle rather than productive. Only highly disciplined creatives can extract useful insights while under the influence; most drift into distraction.

- Long-term use harms cognitive function. The more substances are relied on, the harder it becomes to generate creativity naturally.

Key difference between drugs and antidepressants

Antidepressants stabilize cognition, moving someone from bad to normal, supporting focus and clarity. Illegal substances create artificial highs, pushing from normal to high — but often leading to a crash (normal-high-bad), disrupting creative consistency.

The reality of substance use in creative history

Many legendary creatives experimented with substances, but their careers often collapsed as a result.

• Hunter S. Thompson built his writing style around substance-fueled journalism but struggled with personal decline.

• Jack Kerouac used Benzedrine to write On the Road but faced addiction and creative burnout.

• The Beatles were influenced by LSD in Sgt. Pepper’s, but it also contributed to creative and personal conflicts.

• Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison fueled their artistic exploration with substances, but it led to erratic behavior and early deaths. Many others followed the same sad way.

• Steve Jobs credited LSD with shaping his vision but later emphasized discipline and structured thinking as the real drivers of innovation.

  
  

The pattern is clear: while substances may lead to temporary bursts of insight, they rarely support long-term creative success.

My take on substance usage

While many of the famous people listed above created groundbreaking work, substance use often came at a steep cost — leading to addiction, burnout, or early death. The most sustainable creativity doesn’t rely on external substances but on mental discipline, structured processes, and a deep understanding of one’s craft.

My personal creativity shifts

I never thought of myself as particularly creative. I could handle the creative aspects of my job, but I often doubted my originality. When I got stuck, I assumed that truly groundbreaking ideas were reserved for a select few — people with some natural talent I just didn’t have.

That belief started to change dramatically when I began experimenting with AI. I didn’t use it to cheat or take shortcuts. Instead, I treated it as a creative partner — a tool to help me think differently.

The turning point

One specific moment shifted my entire perspective on creativity. I was working on a complex marketing strategy that needed a fresh, unconventional approach, but I kept running into the same repetitive ideas.

Out of frustration, I decided to push AI in a different way, treating it as a conceptual mixing board. I gave the AI a prompt that combined three unrelated influences:

Generate a sales strategy inspired by video game mechanics, ancient war tactics, and modern behavioral psychology.

The response was unexpectedly brilliant — it suggested a leveling-up system for customers (borrowed from games), scarcity-driven urgency tactics (from ancient military strategies), and psychological triggers used in habit formation. None of these ideas were completely new, but the way they were fused sparked a solution in a way I never considered on my own before.

This was the exact moment I realized AI is a thought expander.

Before vs. After AI

Before AI:

• I often settled on the first decent idea that came to mind.

• I approached problems linearly, moving from A to B without much deviation.

• I felt limited to my existing knowledge — researching new angles was time-consuming.

• Creative roadblocks left me frustrated and unsure of how to break out of them.

  
  

After AI:

• I now explore multiple perspectives before deciding on a direction.

• I’ve embraced looser, more experimental thinking, making connections between unrelated fields.

• AI helps me quickly validate and refine ideas, allowing for more efficient iteration.

• I feel more confident generating unique solutions because I’ve trained my mind to think in broader patterns.

  
  

AI as an experimentation tool

One of my favorite AI experiments was when I tried to merge the writing styles of several famous authors. I wanted to see if I could get AI to create a hybrid style that balanced Hemingway’s brevity, Lovecraft’s eerie detail, and Shakespeare’s rhythm.

The results were unexpected — the AI leaned heavily into “Not just A, but B” sentence structures, which triggered a completely separate realization: writing styles could be mapped like a multidimensional space, with specific features acting as “vectors.” This led me to an entirely new way of analyzing and constructing creative writing, treating it as something almost mathematical.

How to achieve full creative mastery

Okay, so you want to be a creative master? It's not some magic thing. It's a skill you can train, kind of like learning to play guitar or bake a cake. Some are naturally good at it, but anyone can get good if they get the basics down, try new stuff, and find ways to come up with ideas when they need to.

Turning creativity into a skill you can control, rather than a lucky accident, is the ultimate goal.

A skill you can develop

Creativity isn’t magic; it’s a combination of specific thinking patterns, strategies, and mental habits that you can learn and strengthen. When you master creativity, you don’t wait for inspiration to strike — you know how to spark it yourself. Like a muscle, creativity grows stronger the more you exercise it.

Innovators like Leonardo da Vinci, Einstein, and Steve Jobs weren’t just born creative. They pushed their thinking, explored diverse influences, and constantly experimented. To build creative mastery, you must progress through key milestones.

1. The first breakthrough: Surprising yourself with a fresh idea

The moment you solve a problem in an unexpected way marks the start of your creative journey. You realize your thinking can go beyond the obvious and produce something truly original.

2. Seeing from multiple perspectives

Creativity thrives when you can shift viewpoints and see problems from different angles. This means balancing logic and emotion, creator and consumer, artist and scientist.

Strategies: Challenge your first instinct — explore alternative perspectives. Borrow insights from unrelated fields to improve problem-solving.

A marketer who studies psychology, design, and storytelling to craft more compelling campaigns.

3. Making unexpected connections

Breakthrough ideas emerge when unrelated concepts collide. Instead of looking for obvious solutions, blend insights from different areas.

Strategies: Find inspiration in unexpected places — use biology to improve engineering or music theory to refine algorithms. Experiment with "forced connections" — deliberately combine unrelated ideas to spark innovation.

Steve Jobs merged technology with calligraphy, leading to Apple’s signature typography.

4. Creative confidence: Trusting your ability to generate ideas

Creativity stops feeling random — you trust your ability to solve problems in new ways. Even under pressure, you know you can generate fresh ideas.

Strategies: Develop a reliable creative process so you never fear a blank page. Share ideas confidently, knowing you can refine them over time.

A musician who once struggled with writer’s block now improvises effortlessly.

5. Creativity as identity: "I am a creative person."

At this stage, creativity is a part of who you are. You instinctively question norms, challenge assumptions, and generate ideas across disciplines.

Innovators like Elon Musk, da Vinci, and Picasso lived creatively in everything they did instead of just having separate creative moments.

Check yourself if you’re truly creative

Ask yourself about the following aspects:

• Do you generate solutions instinctively?
• When faced with a challenge, do ideas come to you quickly and naturally?
• Do you think in metaphors and analogies?
• Do you find yourself drawing connections between unrelated things to make sense of complex ideas?
• Do you enjoy ambiguity rather than fear it?
• Are you comfortable with uncertainty, open-ended problems, and exploring multiple possibilities?
• Can you shift between logical and imaginative thinking?
• Do you balance structured problem-solving with free-flowing idea generation?
• Are you constantly experimenting?
• Do you regularly explore new concepts, perspectives, or creative techniques?

Exercises to increase your creativity

The more you challenge your brain to think differently, the more naturally creative ideas will come to you. Below are some effective exercises to sharpen creative thinking:

Divergent thinking challenges (brainstorming without judgment)

Instead of looking for one "right" answer, force yourself to generate as many ideas as possible. Set a timer for 5 minutes and try to list 10+ possible solutions to a problem, even if some are absurd. The goal is quantity over quality; refinement comes later.

If you had to market a product with zero budget, what unconventional strategies could you try?

Metaphorical thinking drills (forcing unexpected comparisons)

Take a random object or concept and compare it to your current problem. Ask, “How is this like my challenge?” and extract insights from the comparison.

If launching a startup is like planting a tree, what lessons from nature (growth, patience, adaptation) apply to business?

Creativity journaling (documenting ideas over time)

Keep a daily idea journal where you jot down observations, insights, and creative thoughts. Over time, you’ll start noticing patterns, refining your thought process, and combining ideas in new ways. Reviewing past entries can reignite forgotten ideas or spark new ones.

A writer logs random story ideas daily, eventually merging two unrelated concepts into a novel.

AI-assisted creative expansion (leveraging AI for deeper insights)

Use AI to challenge your assumptions, provide alternative angles, or spark fresh ideas. Instead of asking AI for direct answers, prompt it with unusual constraints (e.g., “How would a medieval knight solve this problem?”).

Engage in back-and-forth refinement, treating AI as a creativity partner rather than a shortcut. A marketer asks AI, “Give me 5 sales tactics based on game theory principles” to explore unexpected strategies.

Wrapping up

Through deliberate practice, mindset shifts, and the right tools, anyone can reach a level where creativity is natural, repeatable, and limitless.

• Creativity is not a mystery. It follows a clear developmental path from generating first ideas to mastering innovation across disciplines.

• When used properly, AI amplifies creativity instead of killing it. AI frees up mental space, challenges assumptions, and accelerates idea generation.

• True creativity mastery means control. Instead of waiting for inspiration, you can trigger creativity on demand and apply it effectively in any field.

• Creativity becomes a personal superpower. Once mastered, creative thinking unlocks limitless opportunities in business, art, problem-solving, and innovation.

  
  

The ultimate goal is to make creativity your second nature — where original ideas, unconventional solutions, and breakthrough innovations become effortless.