How to Find the most valuable ideas!!!
Finding the most important ideas from the long list of ideas you have
What’s the best part about being human? We think.
What’s the worst part about being human? We think.
It is quite surprising that the best and worst parts of being human are the same. We, humans, are never short of ideas. It is really wonderful to have the capability of coming up with an idea and solving the problem of our life. It is equally frustrating to have a long list of ideas that just keep popping up and aren’t great. Thus, having ideas is not bad, but not knowing which ones are better than others is.
Not knowing which idea is more valuable is bad because it pushes you toward random decision-making. In long run, you end up losing time & energy pursuing non-significant ideas.
But How do one identify the good ideas?
Today we are not talking about how to generate good ideas but about separating the good ideas from the bad ones. I am already assuming that we are not short of ideas.
The simple strategy of selecting valuable ideas is to predict the impact of an idea in your life. The value of an idea lies in the results that it can generate. The higher the impact of an idea, the higher would be its value. But there is an issue here “No one knows about the future and the predictations can go wrong.
Good ideas impact your life in a good way. Higher the impact, the better the idea. But to predict the impact is again a tedious task and not always accurate. Impacts are predicted in the future and the future is never certain. Thus, we need a system which can evaluate ideas in present and not in the future.
The system
I am introducing a system of evaluating ideas. It helps in identifying the impact of an idea based on present situations and thus helps us to compare the more realistic future.
There are basically five kinds of ideas any human has.
- Abstract ideas
- Improvement ideas
- Integration ideas
- Disruption ideas
- Sabotage ideas
The above are the prominent type of ideas that we all have. If you start segregating, you can segregate almost every idea under any one of the above categories. The good thing is that each category has a definitive and predictable future. Thus, you can identify and prioritize which idea to select and “What impact that idea can bring”?
Now let us understand what each category of an idea means:
Sabotage Ideas
Mentioned at the last but described at the very beginning are “sabotage” or “destructive” ideas. You might have heard them under the name “negative ideas”. These are the ideas that are potentially harmful to you and/or society.
Sometimes the harm is not direct but indirect. Sometimes it is targeted at someone else. But the common fact about the sabotage idea is “they are sabotaging in nature” and they always induce harm on someone/ something. The higher the harm, the more sabotaging is the idea.
Some examples of these types of ideas are: Throwing your phone, skipping your exercises, eating junk food, experimenting with cocaine, etc.
Each of the above-shared ideas can cause harm which can cost you money, minor health issues, land you in prison, etc. The extent of harm is directly proportional to the extent of action considered under the idea.
Since the future is not certain, you may or may not experience suffering for action but knowing that all these ideas are “sabotaging ones’’ and they all come with a high probability of destruction is a warning in itself. Every time you come up with an idea of this category, you need to think rationally and stop yourself from engaging in action. You should also practice awareness and stop thinking about such ideas. The more you practice, the better you will get at identifying and saving yourself from such ideas.
Abstract Ideas
The second category of ideas is “Abstract ideas”. These ideas are random and seldom create a major impact. They seem trivial most of the time and no certain future is predictable while acting on these ideas. The common identification parameter of an “Abstract idea” is the fact that they do not associate with the past or future but an Abstract idea solely lies in the present. Thus, it is very difficult to think of a certain future with any of these ideas.
Some examples of these ideas are: A corporate clerk comes up with an idea/ thought of making a drawing, A gardener suddenly thinks of going into the basement and playing Poker, etc.
Yes, these ideas are as strange as I have explained in the above examples. They generally do not associate with the past and are separate. They are hard to come by because a majority of the time, our mind is always processing the information it has gathered. It is perfectly normal to not have an “Abstract idea” for days and suddenly have a few of them in a moment. These ideas are random at the best.
Since the idea is not directly associated with the past and doesn’t necessarily point towards a future, it becomes hard to predict the result of pursuing action under this idea.
If you segregate your idea under this category, leave it there and it will vanish. These ideas are mystical, magical, and natural wonders. They should be left like that only. Your stressing about them won’t do any good. Work on them if you like, let go of them if you like but do not stress over them.
Improvement Ideas
The third type of ideas is “Improvement ideas”. You can also label them as “Advancement ideas”. They are always associated with your current and past events. These ideas are the response of your mind to your existing condition. Your mind always keeps working on improving your current life and it usually comes up with a lot of ideas. All these ideas are “improvement ideas”. The more you struggle, the more ideas your mind generates. It is no wonder having one such idea every hour of your day.
These ideas vary in their nature and keep on changing/ adapting as per the situation. Every task you do, your mind thinks of improving it to enhance the quality of your life. Thus, there is no limit to the quantity or quality of these ideas. Some examples are:
- When you are grating vegetables, your mind thinks about owning a device.
- When you are struggling in your painting career, your mind thinks about starting oil painting.
- When you are writing, your mind thinks about embedded images that are created by you to enhance the content creation.
These ideas should be pursued and relied upon. They usually help you achieve more and do good in your future situations. The expected returns of these ideas are generally better than your current returns. You can select any idea belonging to this type and improve your life.
The way I select these ideas is by comparing the frequency of these ideas. The more frequent an idea is, the higher the possibility of impact and thus I select it. A lower frequency of an idea indicates you don’t usually need that improvement and that improvement is good to have improvement and not a needed one. Since your lifetimes is very limited and you can only engage in the most important things, I select the ones that are really important.
If I have gone to a water park and I come across the idea of learning to swim, I would pause and let it occur. But if I am going to the waterpark a lot, the frequency of this idea would be higher because I am struggling every day. The increased frequency indicates that the impact of action would be higher. I will go ahead and start my swimming lessons.
Integration Ideas
Just like “Improvement ideas”, there is another type of idea that your mind generates to help you elevate your life. This type of idea involves a combination of various learnings that you have based on your life experiences. Let us call them “Integration ideas”.
Unlike improvement ideas which are simple improvements in the existing processes, Integration ideas involve how you can use learnings from a different situation in today’s situation. Your mind is good at drawing parallels and using past experiences to decide for the current time. Things that don’t look similar to you are evaluated in the subconscious mind and then it provides you indications. You are not aware but integration is happening every moment.
Your likes, dislikes, love, hatred, and most of the decision-making are affected by integration ideas. Your mind remembers your past, evaluates the present, and provides you an indication of what should be done?
Some examples of integration ideas are:
- Fuel produces heat while burning. Heat can be used to create pressure/ thrust. Thrusts can be used to transform a linear motion into a rotary motion. Someone integrated all of them and you are driving cars with engines now.
- People died due to snake bites but horses somehow survived. Someone integrated them and came up with antidotes.
- There was a need for communication. There were electronic devices that could capture images. Someone integrated them and made a communication device with a camera (Your smartphone)
As you can see, Integration ideas are scattered throughout history. There are millions of integration ideas spread all around the world and all of them are powerful. All you need to do is “be aware & be curious”.
Integration ideas are magical because you don’t control them. They arise from the subconscious mind and have great potential. They are your life experiences, your personal learnings, and your unique footprint in this world. Everyone is capable of generating a different integration idea and each idea is equally good.
Since Integration ideas are unique to you, the chances of their duplicity are smaller than other forms of ideas. They can unlock the secret of success to you because they can solve mysteries that cannot be solved by regular improvement ideas. The brainstorming sessions of your corporate world are nothing but a podium to identify such integration ideas.
You can rely on Improvement ideas for survival. But if you wish to create a unique footprint, focus on the Integration ideas. They have the potential of solving problems that seem impossible to solve.
Lastly, you cannot control the generation of Integration ideas. The only thing that you can do is to increase the variety of life experiences and then suddenly your brain will make a cocktail of experiences unique to you and wonderful to the world. You can also start increasing your circle of interaction to gain more integration ideas from other people. They may not realise the importance of these ideas but you can use them and improve your life.
Disruption Ideas
This is the final category of ideas and perhaps the most important one. While the previously discussed ideas are aimed at improving the life quality by solving the problems, these ideas have the potential to change the problem statement itself.
These are called disruptive ideas because no one tried them yet. In fact, no one thought about them. They cater to a certain problem and approach it in a unique way that can eradicate the problem. Since there is no past data to rely upon, there cannot be any guarantee of success. Success depends on the motivation of the doer, and the randomness of nature. But if successful, the results are magical.
You don’t usually come up with these ideas and they are hard to find. Seldom do you come across these ideas! Your mind randomly gives you a solution to eradicate the problem by inventing something totally new.
Some examples of disruption ideas:
- In the heated environments, when people were using fans, someone came up with an air-conditioner.
- In the hopeless environment of losing a limb in an accident, someone came up with a prosthetic limb to address the problem
Disruptive ideas are the superior form of all ideas and they are most valuable. The entire history is full of people who disrupted society with their unique ideas. Then people integrated these learnings, improved them, and used them in their lives. You don’t know about the ones that integrated or improved but you always remember the ones that disrupted the domain.
If you wish to live your life in a grand way, never discard your disruptive ideas and focus on them with all your awareness. Who knows one of your disruptive ideas can cater to the need of entire humanity.
Lastly, you are going to make choices in your life. Always focus on your disruptive ideas and don’t reject them out of fear of society. No one knows the future, no one knows the outcome. Always keep a notepad to put down any improvement, integration, and disruptive idea that your mind generates. Read them after a week, a month, and a year to see which ones you can adopt in your life and improve.
Never engage in sabotage ideas.
Don’t stress about Abstract Ideas
Don’t wait much for using Improvement ideas
Use as many Integration ideas as you can
Invest in Disruption ideas.
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