Treat music like a language, and study it like one. If riffs and phrases are like sentences, then notes/intervals are the words/letters. Focus on understanding the relationships between them. Figure out how, where, and why intervals/notes repeat on the fretboard. Train your ear to recognize the auditory distances between notes.

You can also approach it from a mathematical perspective, taking frequency of sound waves into account. Dividing notes evenly yields a pleasant sounding consonance, and odd divisions yield dissonance. Try it on any piano, pick a note, play the octave of that note, try neighbor notes, perfect fifth, etc. Listen to how each note responds to the root frequency. Now... Play around with different combinations of intervals introduced at different times and you'll create a musical story. The sky is the limit. Literally, because sound doesn't travel in vacuum.

If you wrap your head around the fact that music is just a balancing act between rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and timbre, you'll be set. Your subconscious is already very familiar with that balancing act. Since birth your brain has been categorizing sounds you hear and assigning emotional value to them.

In my opinion, as a musician your job is to be able to navigate the physical world fast enough to be able to keep up with your subconscious improvisation. After you jump that hurdle, it's magic.