Where do you get your best ideas?
And do you write them down?
Once in a while I see this meme on Facebook: “The biggest lie I tell myself is: I don’t have to write that down, I’ll remember it later.” :)
I can SO relate!
But thanks to my colleague and friend, Ric Durrant, I have realized that it’s more than just the act of remembering my ideas, it’s about the act of placing value on them.
I recently asked for Ric’s help on a big project and in our conversation he posed these questions:
- What’s the best idea you’ve had in the last 30 days and did you write it down?
- Do you see yourself as having valuable ideas?
- Or do you edit your ideas out of existence? Dismiss them on a personal level before they’ve even had a chance?
If I’m honest, my answers go something like this: No… I guess so… Yes and yes.
Letting my ideas come and go without any concern or reflection is nothing new for me, but this new perspective that I may be pre-editing or disregarding my ideas has given me pause.
So I’ve started to write my ideas down. Mostly because I’m scared I’ll forget them, but more and more I’m recognizing that my ideas could hold some value.
What I’ve observed lately is now that I’m committed to taking my work on The Changemaker’s Project further, I’m getting a lot of ideas (usually while I’m doing mundane things like sorting laundry or walking on the treadmill), and I do want to keep track of my thoughts. And with the tracking I am noticing repetition and patterns, which for me points to the ideas’ increased value.
My process for writing my ideas is nothing fancy or grand, it’s just a simple notebook with lined pages. But I like it and it’s working for me. I find it interesting to see what comes out of my pen, and I’m curious to discover where it will lead.
What about you? What are your best ideas? And how are you valuing them?