I have a confession to make: I hoard my own ideas.
I keep running lists of things to make, projects to start, dreams to pursue, blog posts to write. (In fact, this was one of them.)
Rather than make a plan to execute these ideas, I collect and save them. I check in on them now and again to be sure they’re all still there and haven’t run off anywhere. Assured that my previous ideas are all still around, I add to the growing list without refining and executing any of them.
There are myriad reasons why I (and maybe you?) do this:
- Fear of beginning.
- Thinking I’ll have more time or resources to better execute the ideas in the future.
- Not wanting to “waste” the ideas on my inexperience — If I wait until I’ve gotten more experience, have more followers, etc, my projects will be more successful.
- Fear that my ideas are finite — if I execute them, I won’t have any more ideas.
Here’s the thing: Making begets making. Creation begets creation. Generosity begets generosity. Waiting is a Catch-22: If I wait to do things until I have more experience, I’ll never gain the experience I think I need. Fear is a lie: Ideas are not a limited resource, and frankly, they aren’t ours to claim. The only thing we can claim is the work we’ve done to make our ideas real.
Keeping shiny plans or ideas or knowledge or skills to myself does nothing except speed up the rate at which my ideas get stale. My idea-hoarding problem stunts my creativity, productivity, and contribution. Your idea-hoarding problem robs the world of your gifts and unique story.
What ideas are you hoarding? Why be so miserly?
Leave a Reply