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How to Stop Your Brain From Killing Your Next Idea
A psychological hack to override the tendency to stall
My grandfather never hesitated to act on an idea. He seized every opportunity in front of him and ran with it, a strategy that served him well throughout his life: He was so successful that he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire, a prestigious honor given by the queen to everyday heroes in the U.K.
I, unfortunately, am nothing like my grandfather, at least not in that regard. I live inside my head, constantly second-guessing my decisions and putting up emotional defenses. I dwell on past mistakes long after I’ve made them. I let my brain kill my ideas before takeoff.
Maybe you do this, too. As a lightbulb begins to illuminate above your head, excitement bubbles inside you. You see the potential impact. You want to spring into action, to get things moving on your life-changing idea, but then… you keep thinking. You convince yourself that before you go any further, you should probably take one more marketing course, or do a few more weeks of competitor research, or survey 50 more friends on their opinions. Over time, the lightbulb dims. You get distracted by the demands of daily life. That brilliant idea winds up lost in a growing stack of plans labeled Maybe One Day.
