Two Ways to Turn Dreams into Action

The area of the brain that ignites creativity and imagination is called the Entorhinal Cortex and it contributes towards “spatial navigation and the planning and imagining of our future selves.”

However this incredible ability, that all humans possess, is deactivated when we allow our mind to listen to other parts of the brain. Two of these demons are doubt and procrastination, you may know them well.

The human mind has evolved to make quick decisions in order to survive. Similar to our stereotypes, of situations and people, doubt and procrastination are there to protect the body and mind from danger or effort. However, they’re usually based on false assumptions.

If we give ourselves time to think and make a conscious effort to balance risk against reward, doubt can be used as a means of recognising problems so as to deal with them.

We must make a conscious effort to manage these natural instincts to avoid risk and failure, if we are to give ourselves the best chance to succeed.

Evidence shows, if we tame these emotions we can elevate our achievements rather than hinder them.

Mastering Doubt and Procrastination

Patrick Carroll, Professor of Psychology at Ohio State, highlights

“If it’s doubt about an idea, it can actually encourage divergent thinking, non-linear thought, and may inspire you to extend existing ideas in new and exciting ways.”

However, if it’s self-doubt,

“you see yourself as not good enough, and it doesn’t have any adaptive purpose to it. In fact, it’s likely to be very harmful, because you might avoid trying certain things that your parents might have convinced you that you would fail at.”

Self-doubt is a vicious voice in your mind that says you can’t do something because of who you are. This is a perception though and not a reality, which normally reaches back to childhood.

“Failure & Innovation are Inseparable twins.” — Bezos : @mywondr Instagram

Work hard at doubting your idea and not yourself.

Remember, no one knows anything until they try (and fail), so don’t be so hard on yourself.

Give yourself permission to fail. Realise that pretty much all ideas start out sh*t, but that doesn’t mean you are.

The concept that first through the door wins, might actually be a fallacy too. Research reveals that those who improve on ideas rather than create new ones, are more likely to succeed.

Adam Grant studied 50 products, comparing the First Movers to the Improvers. Grant found that the failure rate dropped significantly for the Improvers.

Grant explains that, like doubt, procrastination has two sides. It can play either a healthy or an unhealthy role depending on whether it’s a conscious act (healthy) or just a way of excusing yourself from the action you need to take (unhealthy).

Similar to the theory of the Oblique strategy cards, designed by Brian Eno and used by musicians such as Bowie and Coldplay, proves that awkwardness and “mess” can improve the creative process.

So, as you go after your worldly ambitions and passions, remember:

Give yourself room to dream — think wildly, ridiculously and outrageously. Only then, reign it in for action and be careful not to lose the vision

Doubt, but doubt your ideas, not yourself!

Don’t jump straight in. Take time to deliberate and procrastinate on the idea. It’s awkward, but it will help improve your execution.

Take the action, however small. Success is always baby steps.

Go all in. Regardless of failure, believe wholeheartedly in what you’re trying to achieve and look for ways to pivot and grow.