Last year I hear my son say “I am not creative”. I think he is wrong. I think what he really meant was that he is not that interested in traditional art projects like drawing and painting. Since he doesn’t enjoy them, he doesn’t do them often, and therefore he is not particularly good at them. I am quite similar – I actually did really enjoy drawing when I was in elementary school, but once I got interested music, that became my creative outlet. For my son, his creativity comes out in many ways, that he maybe doesn’t think are creative. He is quite good at rhyming, and has come up with some pretty innovative songs playing around with Garage Band.
I think that creativity can be manifested in many different ways. I think that critical thinking also involves some creativity. Doing research about a topic and critically evaluating facts is not per se creative, but then synthesizing into a cohesive argument can definitely involve creativity. My son is definitely creative in his arguments. I frequently joke that he is going to become a lawyer.