The Secret Life of Ideas

Ideas are like living beings. They are born, and they develop, and they either bear fruit or die. At each stage of their existence, they need different conditions to grow and thrive, and those conditions are provided in the changing environment of our minds.

In the beginning, ideas are most easily conceived when our minds are open and playful. Most ideas are a little shy at first. They need time to warm up and reveal themselves. They can’t be rushed, or they pull away and disappear.

Once an idea is born, it needs our undivided attention for a while. A newborn idea shouldn’t be passed around from stranger to stranger like a sack of flour. We need to hold it close, get to know it, let it grow and prosper under our curious, uncritical, adoring gaze. 

Eventually, we’re ready to bring our idea out into the world. This can be scary, but we know it’s for the best. We open the idea up to the consideration, the input, and the judgment of others. And in that crucible, it gets stronger, and more resilient--more capable of standing on its own.

Finally, there comes a day when our idea can be fully realized. It can exist in the world on its own, on the strength of its own merits. What was once just a faint glimmer in our eyes has fulfilled its potential.

Whenever you’re working with the world of ideas, ask yourself what developmental stage you’re at. Do you need a block of open, uninterrupted time when you can let ideas come to you, instead of trying to chase them? Or do you have a new idea that needs some focused nurturing before you share it with anyone else? Maybe your idea is ready to enter society, and you have to figure out how to share it, and with whom. Or maybe it’s time for that idea to come to fruition and to take it’s place in the world.

Sometimes the hard part isn’t getting an idea--it’s knowing how to grow it.