There is Always Another Idea Around The Corner

Ideas are everything and everywhere. Sometimes they are priceless, but they can also be worthless. The trick is to recognise which is which, for you.

Many of us treat ideas as possessions worth holding onto – closely guarded secrets we must protect from others. Just look at the craziness of intellectual property issues! It amazes me that people become wedded to their ideas and battle against letting them go.

It also intrigues me that so many people protect their ideas, keeping them secret in case someone steals them.There is something fundamentally wrong with thoughts being seen as private commodities. I believe this holds people back. We need to think about ideas in a different way.

Consequently, I adopt a different approach. I am now enjoying a period of deliberately avoiding the execution of new ideas and opportunities, because I want to keep things simple while I learn, meet and progress.

I am always coming up with ideas. I keep lists of my endless ideas. The difference, though, is that I don’t hold onto them. I give them away to whoever needs them or can make good use of them. (click to tweet) This really does work for me: the more I give away ideas, the more new ideas keep coming, creating discussion and debate which fuel more and more ideas. Not actually having to act upon ideas and develop them creates time and space for new growth, allowing me to progress much further and faster than ever before.

I’ve held onto ideas myself in the past, but I as I get older and wiser I can be more sanguine about this, especially since I now know that there’s a psychological basis for it. Your brain is wired against making a loss. Studies suggest that losses are psychologically twice as powerful as gains. It is called ‘loss aversion’: your brain strongly prefers avoiding loss, even more than making gains.

Be aware of this natural tendency, and challenge it. Practise losing in order to gain. The ideas you want to act on are only those that take you where you want to go. The rest of your ideas may as well be given away to someone else who can use them. You will receive much more than you lose by giving them away.

You see, an idea shared is worth far more than an idea held onto. An idea that is developed and delivered upon is worth something to everyone – but the developer doesn’t have to be you. You can be just the initiator, without all the time and hard work that brings it to reality.

You can derive the benefits from the results, receive the goodwill and gratitude of the activator, enjoy the intellectual stimulation, and leave your mind free for more ideas that you actually want to take forward to be the person you want to be.

Worrying about losing a good idea or missing an opportunity will hold you back in the long term. Ideas are like buses. Wait, and another one will come. One that’s taking you in the right direction – rather than on a magical mystery tour that distracts you from your true intention. There is usually a better idea around the corner, and always another opportunity. Release ideas into the world, let them run free, and make space in your head for new ideas to form. (click to tweet)

Your time on this earth is limited. Make sure that any idea you pursue takes you somewhere that you really want to go. Otherwise, why waste your time going in the wrong direction, or being distracted from your main purpose?

As for the rest of your bright ideas, give them away – and they will work for you in a different way.

I would love to hear what you think about this. What ideas have you given away or held on to? What has been the impact of this? Please ‘Speak Your Mind’ in the comments section below.

Marc

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