The ideas won’t run out

So don’t worry if you have the idea fear

“This is the best idea I’m ever going to have, I’d better make the most of it”.

You’ve had that thought, as have I. I’ve sat there late at night worrying that I’ve had all of the good ideas I’m ever going to have and it’s downhill from here. But it’s just not true.

Idea-having is not a limited resource. The huge possibilities all around us at all times reveal areas of opportunity and nuance that can be hugely valuable and interesting when you’re in the right frame of mind. Tiny ideas can become big businesses, interesting observations about human nature can become fascinating works of art, and we adapt and observe as the situation around us changes.

I’ve had the “idea fear” several times in my life, and if anything I’ve learnt to recognise that it means that I am in a liminal state.

Liminality is a beautiful concept—it’s all about being at just the point between one thing and another. As you walk into a room, just at the moment you pass between the door-frame you are liminal. You’re neither in one room nor the other, and you’re certainly not in both.

If you’re feeling like you’re running out of ideas, well, perhaps it’s more of an observation that your current situation isn’t affording you the opportunities that you might need to develop your ideas.

Because every time I’ve felt that way, I’ve moved onto something new and had an explosion of ideas about what’s suddenly possible.

If you’re feeling that feeling, go for a coffee with friends, go to a networking event or two, try to accelerate a little serendipity, because the ideas don’t run out, you haven’t run out of ideas and you’re not going to.

You’re liminal. Be open to what’s coming next?