“Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.” This quote by Victor Hugo describes the finish line. However, the path to get there is not easy. Right from the start, there are inhibitors and manipulators waiting to destroy every good thought in its infancy. Through their influence, the most promising and creative ideas can simply disappear in the blink of an eye.
Stand up against it — don’t give ideas killers a chance.
Ideas killer: Anxiety
The term ‘anxiety’ is related to the Latin word ‘angustus,’ which means: narrow, limited, tight. Anxiety diminishes, reduces, and prevents. It promotes evaders and yes-men, followers and brown-nosers. Howard Phillips Lovecraft once said, “The oldest and strongest emotion is fear, and the oldest and strongest form of fear is fear of the unknown.” For one of the world’s most influential authors of horror stories and sophisticated horror literature, fear was probably a fertile breeding ground. However, creativity and creative power cannot grow on that.
If you want to tackle new things and develop extraordinary ideas, you must fearlessly venture into unknown territory — free yourself from all the constraints that make the potential loss seem greater than the possible gain. In an idea-finding process, there’s no room for fear. Make room for boundary-crossing fantasies and find the joy in occasionally failing.
Ideas killer: Complacency
“We’ve always done it this way. Why change anything? It has worked so far.” These statements are a highly effective poison — the best way to stifle new approaches and the chance for further development immediately and successfully. Complacency and the unwillingness to expand existing knowledge and reconsider what’s already known gradually and insidiously narrow your scope of action. What remains in the end only promotes tunnel vision and bureaucracy — the result is stale and replaceable.
Don’t just follow the easiest path. Make yourself really uncomfortable. Get moving and gain new perspectives through detours. This keeps you sharp and allows you to escape unscathed from the quietly lurking stagnation. Make room for new ideas that can work and be profitable.
Ideas killer: Chaos Avoidance
Do you know the old office wisdom, “He who keeps order is just too lazy to search”? There’s some truth to it. System and order initially create security and trust but can become an almost insurmountable obstacle in the idea-finding process. Differentiating ideas require openness and courage. Chaos can arise in the development phase. Some disorder can be the best development aid for groundbreaking ideas.
Free from all rules and obligations, without guidance and safety nets, the best approaches can thrive. Protect yourself from bean counters and from wasting your thoughts on system and order. Because creative power grows with freedom in the mind.
Ideas killer: Pressure
In physics, pressure is a measure of the resistance that a substance opposes to a reduction in the available space. Pressure has many facets: time, boss, perfection, hierarchy… Resisting pressure costs a tremendous amount of energy. What a waste. In a creative process, this energy should be unleashed as boundless imagination. But that can’t work under pressure.
Let go and create opportunities where madness can unfold. It invites thoughts of superlatives, is fun, and offers a variety of unexpected opportunities.
never stop evolving.
stay human.
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gil com | creative identity and beyond
For connecting communication + promoting personal growth, brand authenticity, a motivating corporate culture, and opening up new spaces for creative thinking.
Claudia Gilhofer:
Creative Planner, Communication Psychologist in Training, Systemic Business Coach, Facilitator, Mentor, Sparring Partner, VR Expert (XR-C)
