As awesome as ideas are I can’t help but to feel how overrated they are. It’s to the point where everytime I hear a new idea I get disappointed. Not because the idea is bad, but because the person will never carry that idea out. What if we explored every idea we had?

Notice how I didn’t say act upon. Not every idea deserves to be acted upon, but for the majority of them, they deserve a fair shot. Some ideas really only sound good on paper. Some ideas are awesome but aren’t doable either because there aren’t enough people, money or time. That’s okay. Getting to that point is better than only having an idea. Unexplored ideas tend to fester and hangout with their own kind. They become “what ifs”. With an explored idea there are only two paths to take. Commit or discard. This avoids the unexplored idea territory. I recently heard a podcast that resonates with the message I’m communicating. They put it into simpler terms “Do it or Don’t it”. This term places an emphasis on choice. Indecision is not possible here. They say, whenever there is an new idea, either decide to do it or don’t it.

Doing it involves following through with the steps required to turn that idea into action. Don’ting it means that this idea will not be pursued and therefore should not come up in conversation or in thoughts. It should be tossed away, never to be seen forever. Why? Because there is a limited amount of resources that our brain has in any given day. Why waste those resources on just an idea, when they can be used putting things into action. It’s hard, but writing helps. Writing helps me get my ideas onto a platform that will remember it long after I’ve moved on. Sometimes I’ll have an idea and write something quick down and not look at it for several days. Then I’ll come back and determine where this idea was ever worth pursuing. If it’s not then it gets scrapped. Nobody wants to hear about an idea that won’t be pursued, unless they are looking to steal some ideas. Be the person who pursues the idea, not the one that talks about it. You’re in the minority.