Where to Find New Ideas
Where do ideas come from?
Everywhere, they swirl all around you. The challenge is seeing them, catching them, and knowing which ones to let go of.
We’re often so excited that we have an idea, that we start to put all of our energy into our first idea. First ideas are usually okay, but not great. Some of them need to be let go, and some need to be paired with other ideas.
Once you have an idea, you need to be willing to sit with it, listen to it, ask it questions, have a real conversation, and get to know the idea, before you fully commit.
You’re going to need to be willing to revise, and, revise, and revise, as that first idea is rarely great, it’s a first idea, not often a finished solution. Because ideas are easier to catch than full, intentional, solutions, we often grab the first idea that we see, and claim our work as complete.
Since ideas are swirling around us, if you want new ideas, you need to do NEW things. You can’t follow the same schedule, watch the same shows, eat the same food and expect new ideas to find you.
If you’re looking for new ideas, here are some things to try:
- Read a book in a different genre
- Watch a movie that you would never watch
- Listen to a different type of music
- Go to a new restaurant
- Follow people that are different than you on social media
- Look at artists in a style that you’ve never explored
- Read children’s books
- Pick up a magazine
- Go for a walk on a new path, or the same path, but walk in a different direction
- Eat breakfast sitting in a different chair than your usual
- Create a new outfit by combining the clothes in your closet in a way that you’ve never done before
- Sleep on the other side of the bed
- Sleep upside down
- Sit in a different seat in the car