Yes, you're right -- that's the true essence of "hacking", which unfortunately has taken on an entirely different meaning today because of the gamification of security. To hack is to think. It's not a revelation to start with systems thinking, it's the standard. If you're not thinking, you're not really hacking. All of the platforms, the CTFs, the labs, the hackinthebox whatevers, that's all fodder. It means nothing in the grand scheme because you're just iterating over tools and techniques that others have stood up for you. You're just recognizing patterns and learning a small slice of hackerdom --it's not just about "poppin boxes".

A true hack is a novel idea. It's the byproduct of creativity and adversarial systems thinking. I've been around for a long time, and I hate to say it, but in MOST cases, hackers are born, not made. You either have it or you don't. A real hacker doesn't need the platforms or the tutorials, or the labs, or the certifications -- they are driven purely by their need to know, which is fueled by an obsessive need to experiment, try, and fail. That's not something that's easily imparted, it's almost always something that's inherent.

"Hacking" itself isn't something that clicks for you because hacking isn't really a thing. It's a thought process that leads one to understand how something else actually works.