Too Many Ideas for One Lifetime
What is an idea worth? An idea executed well is technically priceless. They’re obvious and you sort of smack your head and say “I could have thought of that” and perhaps you even did. You just didn’t do anything about it. But an idea by itself is worth quite little.
In fact, I’ve gotten to the point in my life to recognize that the vast majority of my ideas are quite terrible. However, even terrible ideas have a redeeming quality that I’ll discuss later.
I have somewhat of a reputation at work of throwing out all sorts of ideas (usually terrible) just for fun. In fact, it’s almost become a game in the evenings when the team is winding down. One game is called Terrible Business Model (the game) and it involves coming up with the worst business. My last winner was a sandwich delivery service, where the sandwich was delivered from space in capsule and heated on reentry. Some back of the envelope math ($2,000 — 22,000 per kg + re-entry) means each sandwich would cost at least $30k, not to mention the legal headache that comes with firing a sandwich capsule from orbit into someone’s yard.
Back to what to do when you have too many ideas. These aren’t ideas that are bad. They’re great ideas, just bristling with potential. There is just so much you want to do and there’s always another idea. First of all, congratulations! Most people struggle to come up with an idea that they are confident about or even like. Now, there are a few other good articles here on Medium that list some things to do when you have too many ideas. I’d encourage you to check them out. This article is not a to-do list or a help guide, but rather some questions you can ask yourself and hopefully, some new perspective.
This article is focused on possible reasons why you have too many ideas. I don’t know if I really can offer a list of suggestions since I don’t think I’ve really “solved” my idea problem. Even now, I’m staring at my list of Medium drafts. There are 19 drafts (not including this one) all waiting to be tweaked, refined, fleshed out, or published. I just keep flitting back and forth between each one just long enough to get it a little closer. So I’ll be focusing on generalities. Try to study your behavior and think critically. What do you personally do and think? Ask yourself if you exhibit these behaviors.
First, where does the surplus of ideas come from?
It might seem strange, but it can come from a lack of or an excess of pride/hubris. We don’t believe in ourselves enough to commit to one singular idea, or we are too confident in our abilities to get it all done. Yes, I can work on four different side projects simultaneously. The reality of things are that there is always going to be another idea. We will never get it all done because one of the things we excel at is coming up with new things we want to do. Committing to an idea can be tricky as it leaves us unable to seriously take on new ideas. But would you rather have one large completed project or several half completed projects? You learn different things from smaller test projects than you do from large complete ones.
We often over-estimate the durability of our ideas. A friend of mine lives in a small apartment in a large city and must be rather spacious conscious. Whenever they are debating buying an item, they consider the size, weight, and utility of the item. But they also consider when they can see themselves throwing out or donating that item. Everything falls apart eventually, it is only a matter of when. Step back and empirically evaluate an idea. You often don’t know if an idea is good or bad until you try it, but think about the process of trying it. Are you going to give up if it doesn’t go well after a month? After a year? If it goes how you expect or better than you could imagine, when would you want it to stop?
Too many ideas can occur when we’re afraid. It ties back into a lack of self-confidence but it can also occur when you are worried someone is going to “steal your idea” and you’ll miss out. What are you missing out on? The work, not the idea.
Ideas are like seeds. They can grow into large trees or shrubs given the right conditions and care. Sometimes scraggly weeds. Some seeds just never sprout at all and you wonder if you’ve been scammed. Go to your local nursery or big box retailer. You can buy a packet of seeds for a few cents to a dollar. Contrast that with even small trees that have matured and grown to a several feet tall can normally cost over a hundred dollars.
Second, how many ideas is too many?
It takes about eight years or 10,000 hours to become an expert on something. That’s about three and a half hours each and every day for eight years. Given the average lifespan of around 85–95 years(assuming you make it to 65), you only have about 10–11 chances to be an expert at something. What are you going to do with your chances? Ten of something is not very much over the span of a lifetime. An idea is a chance to try something new. Perhaps you’re not going to become an expert in it, but you want try. But remember every new thing you try eats into one of your expert slots. While it may seem like I’m advocating for you to ignore all else besides your chosen field in a myopic quest for proficiency, that’s not what I’m suggesting. Consider your idea. Does it align with something you’re working towards? Does it align with something you’re already an expert at, but would allow you to grow in a new way? Or perhaps this is a few phase where you want to learn and grow in a new area? All are valid as long as they are thoughtfully considered.
There are many notable people who are famous for their multi-faceted approaches to life. Their endeavors are followed by the media and history books alike. While the majority of them get by with a singular but wide ranging obsession and sleep depravation, they are decidedly the exception and not the rule. Their life is their passions and there is often no room for anything else. Is this the path you wish to go down? If so, embrace it. If not, consider why are you are trying and failing to do both.
Lastly, how do you let go of an idea?
For me, there are ideas that I’m personally really excited about. Lay in bed at night wondering kind of ideas. The thing that get you out of bed in the morning. The sun, in all it’s illuminating light and energy, at some point has to set. Ideas also must sunset at some point. When an idea is put to rest sooner than I thought, I personally feel like I’ve failed. That it is not the idea that wasn’t working, but me. If only I had worked a little harder, not procrastinated, not spent so much time on that other project, it would have paid off. Rather than jumping to a new thing, I’m clinging to the ghost of an idea I have already laid to rest. Letting go and letting bygones be bygone is not something I’m an expert at apparently.
Ironically, just like a bad breakup, sometimes the best way to let go off an old idea is to find a new one. However, ask yourself, is this a pattern you want to encourage? You might, or you might not. Why are you holding yourself accountable to an idea that you created? This is your idea. You are accountable to yourself, not the idea.
I want to encourage the wild and crazy ideas out there. I love hearing wacky, crazy ideas being thrown out. In my personal and professional life, I’ve found some of the best ideas come as spin-offs of really terrible ones. Bad ideas are burned to refine the good ones. Don’t feel like you need to trim the fat and dump all your ideas in favor of your chosen. Hold onto ideas. Share them with the world. Let them fly free. It’s up to you what you do with them. Just remember that you own them, and they do not own you.
