Do You Have an Idea Addiction?
Do You Have an Idea Addiction?
A few thoughts on living with an over-active mind, and one or two about how it gets in the way.
"Many great ideas go unexecuted, and many great executioners are without ideas. One without the other is worthless."
- Tim Blixseth
My wife and I often joke about my over-active mind. Perhaps you can relate or know someone who would.
It doesn’t stop. Ever.
The never-ending quest for new ideas. The voracious demand for information to devour. The rapid-fire generation of possible pathways. The continuous processing of the pros and cons of even the smallest decisions.
And the constant overcomplication of everything.
From: DepositPhotos.com
Frankly, it is exhausting (for me and everyone around me).
Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for what it allows me to do and how it enables me to help others. But sometimes it would be nice to just stop for a few days, settle on an idea, and go deep without distraction.
Then again, it might not be horrible. I’d very likely feel bored and probably experience withdrawal symptoms.
Reality check: Who am I trying to fool?
I love my addiction to ideas and what it brings to my life.
But I hate it for the ways it gets in the way — Nothing is ever as good as it could be, and it takes me forever to settle on the path for now.
It’s always easier to explore more potential ways to do something than it is to take action.
While the delays and reprocessing frequently lead to better outcomes, they come with a high cost — the awakening of the doubting voices.
That part sucks.
For example, I’m currently doing some work on the habits of great leaders. I’ve generated thousands of words through the keyboard into various documents, and I’ve created more list of ideas about how to teach the habits than I can begin to count.
In the process, my idea-addicted mind has done its thing: overthought each step and overcomplicated every decision.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the solution I came up with that’s helping me navigate all of this. One I recommend to anyone who suffers from an addiction to ideas — I bought this sign
and put it where I see it first thing in the morning every day.
After I remove the teabag from my Cherryberry Tea, I commit to making it a great day, look at the sign, and remind myself to simplify everything I do today.
While I can’t claim it’s completely cured my addiction or removed the distractions fueled by my always over-active mind, it has helped — if only by keeping the idea of SIMPLICITY front and center (most of the time).
Today’s Action Advice
If you can relate, you may be wondering what you can do to quiet your mind a reduce the distractions. Here’s my best idea — When you’re pondering a path, make a decision at the moment, commit to it, take action, and see if it works. If it is the right decision, stand by it and keep moving. If not, debrief the process by asking: What worked? What didn’t? What should be changed next time? Then make a different decision and repeat the process.
The Bottom Line — progress always beats procrastination because it helps us learn what works and what doesn’t. Every single time.
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P.S. If you’re finding value in these posts, please take a moment to share them with someone you know who needs to be inspired to think differently and become the person they are capable of becoming. You might be able to help them take the most critical step — the first one.