You're more creative than you think. Here's proof.
Play 101: Finding fun, flow, and aliveness in our adult lives
Welcome to Play 101, where I break down the basics of play - give you permission to prioritize it, back up why it matters with science, and bust the myths that keep you from accessing your most creative, joyful self.
Your friend texts: “It’s so hot I’m becoming liquid.”
You respond: “RIP. What shall I tell your family?”
Friend: “Tell them I melted walking to the bodega. I died doing what I loved: complaining.”
You: “A hero’s death. I’ll make sure it’s inscribed on your tombstone.”
Most of us don’t count moments like these as creative. We’re looking for creativity to show up as something bigger, more official, more... legitimized somehow. And meanwhile, we’re practicing it constantly—improvising responses, bantering playfully, solving micro-problems, and making ordinary moments more interesting.
When I interviewed a hundred people as research for NoomaLooma, I kept hearing people discount their daily creative acts with the same things: “I wish I was more creative, but I don’t have time,” “I want to be more creative but I need to learn skills first,” or “I need the right materials, the right space, the right conditions, etc etc etc.”
Here’s the thing though: there are actually multiple types of creativity, and the one we’ve been dismissing as “not real” or “important” is the one that matters most in daily life.
Big C vs. little c
For the past few decades, psychologists have been teasing apart the mythical monolith of creativity and revealing a lesser-known but just-as-powerful type.
Big C Creativity is the kind that gets recognized — the published book, the launched company, the finished painting that hangs on a wall. The work that has a name and an audience.
Little c creativity is the everyday problem-solving, adaptive thinking, playful improvising that actually runs our lives. Improvising dinner from random fridge contents. Finding a new route when the subway’s down. Turning a weather complaint into a bit that makes your friend laugh.
Little c creativity is, at its core, playful. It's exploratory, low-stakes, and driven by curiosity rather than outcome. You're not trying to make a masterpiece — you're just seeing what happens. That's play. And just like physical play builds coordination and strength in kids, little c creative play builds the mental flexibility and confidence you need for the bigger creative challenges.
Big C gets the spotlight. But little c is the soundtrack powering our day to day.
We tap into little c dozens of times a day and it’s the gym where you build your creative muscles. You might start small — turning a receipt into a bookmark — but keep practicing and your creative confidence gradually bulks up. So when you run into the next big life problem, you can trust your creativity to tackle it.
Plus, UCL research with nearly 50,000 participants found that even the briefest creative activity boosts wellbeing and mood. So even if you're just doodling on a Post-It (or on the NoomaLooma app), your nervous system sighs with relief.
These little c creative moments are often the moments we enjoy most, where we feel a burst of satisfaction for cracking the tiny puzzle of nailing the perfect text back. A burst of aliveness, connection, and joy. So don’t forget to count them!
Next time you're waiting for your coffee and you notice the pattern on the floor, or you rephrase a work email three times to get the tone right, or you hum a made-up melody while you wash dishes — that's little c. That's your creativity lighting up.
How to cultivate little c creativity
Stay curious. Ask questions even when you think you already know the answer. Curiosity is the door little c creativity walks through.
Know that boredom is a goldmine. Stop waiting for the right time, the right materials, the right conditions. The best place to practice little c creativity is in the moments we're trying to escape. The commute. The queue. The five minutes before a meeting. Instead of reaching for your phone to scroll, fill the time with a playful prompt.
Give yourself kudos. Start recognizing little c moments in your life and naming them. You are creative, I pinky promise you. Start collecting evidence of it.
Do flash expressions. Give yourself 3-5 minutes and permission to express yourself without judgement. Draw how you’re feeling on a notecard. Write two sentences on a Post-It. Or swap out a doomscroll with a Noodle on NoomaLooma — a tiny creative prompt designed to do in a flash!
Remember: pressure tightens, play lightens! Fear shrinks your brain and makes it less creative. Lower the stakes, make it bite-size, and watch how much more expansive your thinking becomes.
Want to practice?
My co-founder Lakshmi and I built NoomaLooma app for this very reason!! Tiny 3-5 minute creative acts that fit inside real life. Every day you get a Noodle: a short, playful creative challenge designed to fit inside a coffee break, a commute, or the five minutes before your next meeting. No experience needed. No right answers. Just you and something genuinely fun to make.
What people are saying:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The new treadmill for my brain!”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I instantly feel alive and joyful.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Finally, a phone app that doesn’t drain you.”
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“NoomaLooma is such a gift!”
It’s free to download our daily Noodle. We’d love for you to join us, add creative play to your day, and let us know what you think!
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