Abundance of Ideas
How often do ideas pop into your head? I know for myself that I have ideas and waves of inspiration that come at the oddest times. My brain is constantly on the go and I definitely have an abundance of ideas. The tricky part becomes which ideas do you choose to act on?
When looking at how we approach ideas it is almost like when people talk about goals and aspirations, they are really just a wish unless you are taking actionable steps towards your goals. It is the same with ideas, they are often just a quick blip of your consciousness then the idea drifts off into the distance unless you start taking action to make your idea a reality.
I listened to a podcast with Elon Musk, a while ago (so I cannot remember exactly which one is was because I am constantly listening to podcasts) where he talked about how he has a wealth of ideas for innovation the problem is choosing which of his ideas he will choose to act on.
This really hit me because having so many ideas all of the time I sometimes get overwhelmed by what I should focus on then tend to not do any of them because I feel stuck. Or I have my brain on too many things at once and I do not do the best job because I am not as focused on the one task as I should be.
Now, one of my goals with regards to the mass amount of ideas that flow into my head on a regular basis is to focus on one or two and see it through to completion. Then pick the next one and see it through to completion. It helps with my lack of focus and keeps me motivated to see my ideas for projects through to the end. Yes, I still have some half finished projects that are on the back burner. My focus now with my ideas is to have a list of what I want to pursue so that when I complete one I can move on to the next on the list.
How do you approach your ideas? Are you like me? Do you have a wealth of ideas that flow through your mind? Are there ever times when you have no ideas at all? I know for myself if someone says in a meeting, “we need ideas for this and we need to brainstorm them in the next ten minutes.” I will literally have nothing. Zero will come to my mind except useless things that really have no meaning as I just trying to get out of the meeting as fast as possible.
If however, someone tells me in passing they are thinking about one particular topic for the school, I say let me think on it ideas will come to me while I am on a walk or at the gym or something. Literally, every time I get ideas about the seed the person planted a day or two later and I help them create something really amazing for the students. Ideas are weird like that. You cannot pressure them and have to let them flow naturally. Which I do not think businesses or schools often realize or give time for.
This week I challenge you to start jotting down the ideas that pass through your head. Keep a pencil and paper with you or just put them in the notes section of your phone. After a week or two look at the list you have created and pick one to truly focus on to completion, notice how your energy and focus shifts.
