I don’t know what possessed my wife Carol to sign up for the local roller derby team, but, to tell you the truth, I really don’t care. All I know is that she comes home from practice excited, chomping at the bit to tell me about her latest accomplishment (stopping, turning around, getting back up after falling down).
The Wheels Start Turning
Until a few months ago, she’d never seen a roller derby match. Until a few weeks ago, she’d never skated in a full circle without holding onto something. Until a few days ago, she’d never been so invested in something she was doing purely for herself.
When the idea popped into her head, I bet she thought it was crazy or dumb. But then, maybe that’s what made it appealing. Why not do something crazy? Who says she can’t do anything dumb? So what if nobody she knows has ever done it? If she thinks it looks like fun, sounds like fun, and feels like fun, there’s a good chance it is fun. So why not put on her skates and roll with it?
I’m glad she did.
No Ideas? No Way!
I think we spend too much time waiting for great ideas to come along. I think we should learn to roll with the crazy ones and run with the dumb ones.
While we’re waiting for a great idea, we tell ourselves we have no ideas, but that’s not true, and we know it. We just think the ones we have are either stupid, doomed, or insane.
Maybe they’re all three. So what?
Let’s Get Stupid and Have Some Fun With It
Wouldn’t it be better to actually do something with the first, dumb idea that comes to mind than to wait around for days, weeks, months, or even years for a better one?
Do ideas even work that way? Do better ideas show up while we’re waiting, or do they show up while we’re tinkering and toiling with our lesser ones?
Let’s Take a Spin
Let’s try something and see what happens. Let’s take the first, dumb idea we can think of, try to make something of it, and see how far we can take it.
I think this will be the outcome. Either a better idea will come along, or we’ll find out the first one wasn’t as dumb as we thought.
Let’s call this the Method of the First, Dumb Thing. That itself may sound really dumb, but it’s the first thing that came to mind.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
You know, sometimes I would be talking to my friends and we would be saying, “Dude, wouldn’t it be awesome if… ?” We would laugh at it: “That’s such a dumb idea!”
But then sometimes I would suddenly become quiet thinking “Wait, wouldn’t that ACTUALLY be awesome?” You never know. Sometimes ideas that initially sound goofy are so crazy that they just might work!
.-= Kelvin Kao´s last blog ..I am Famous! Well, Not Really… =-.
I like the way you’ve framed this Ken, and it’s so true that once we get going with one idea, it sparks off other ones anyway.
I like to see ideas as people, kind of hanging around, looking for a place to go, somewhere they feel wanted, accepted, respected, somewhere that’s a stimulating and fun place to be.
If you make a habit of developing all sorts of ideas that come to you (including the “dumb” ones), it’s like word gets out to the wider ideas community that your creative mind is one of the “in” places to be, so more ideas want to come and join the party. So the diversity and quality AND quantity of your ideas goes up.
That’s my theory anyway!
Thanks for another insightful post.
.-= Dan Goodwin´s last blog ..The Never Never Path To Happiness And Creative Freedom =-.
I so know what you mean! Thanks for this post!
I’ve just recently put into motion some of the ideas I’ve been sitting on for years. You always seem to find an excuse not to go with it. Thanks again!
.-= Sedick Sasman´s last blog ..Selling the Drama. =-.
I think I love you. Don’t be frightened. I am madly in love with my husband of 22 years. It’s posts like this that make my heart sigh & be glad. I am beginning to step into this free, lovely, wild world after striving for publication with shoulds, have tos, and can’ts. Thanks. And major congrats to your wife for rolling out of her comfort zone.
As far as first silly thought, I am sure that’s what the people said sitting around slinging sangria (or whatever libation) when someone said, “Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone put everything on a computer and we could all look at it whenever we wanted to?”
.-= Kathleen, @LiveStartled´s last blog ..Wonder Woman Janet Pratt Part Two: In Which She Moves Her Molecules =-.
WONDERFUL idea, Ken! I am just beginning to do this. Right now, I have an idea to make last-minute Father’s Day cards to sell at a sidewalk sale the Saturday before. But my resources are already limited and maybe I should make a card that’ll sell all year ’round. We’ll see where this idea goes. . .