Have you ever thought of....
Nada Ahmed
Climate Tech | Top 50 Women in Tech Award | Board Member | Author & Keynote Speaker
There are ideas in my head that I simply discard and refuse to give them brain capacity, thinking 'I can't, not now'. Then there are people, like my husband Fredrik Lied Larsen, who dangle those ideas in front of me and have the magic ability to make the most daunting endeavors seem plausible and achievable.
It starts with a simple question ' Have you ever thought of running a marathon?' and the truth is often ‘Yes I have’. But up until that point, I hadn't allowed myself to truly explore the idea because I don't have faith that I can do it. The fear of having to accept my inability, deprives me of truly assessing the possibility. It's not just the fear of failure, it's the fear of actually considering it and thereafter failing to try because I don't believe I can.
Yet with a simple, non-committal, ‘have.-you-ever-thought-of’ question, my husband puts the idea on the table and allows me to give it serious consideration. The conversation that ensues is often uncomfortable as I try to resist, try not to indulge in the hypothetical exercise. Sometimes I give way and let the idea manifest. The conversation takes a life of its own and we become mere observers. It's out of our control. Our pulse starts to rise and by the time we know it ‘the thought’ is a full blown idea. We both can see it so clearly, a vision that didn't exist a conversation ago, is now alive and kicking.
Let's do it, we say, let's give it a try.
How many ideas have you rejected before allowing them to fully manifest in your mind?
Stay tuned as I reveal to you our latest idea in the days to come!
Climate Communications | Simple, Impactful, and Visually Appealing
4 年All the best and looking forward to learning more about it!
Everybody wants to change the world. My clients actually do... | Trusted Advisor to Women Leaders| Executive Coach| Founder & CEO Shestainability | Co- Founder Lean in Equity & Sustainability| Next Level Mastermind
4 年Yes! That’s how I became an entrepreneur. I knew I wanted change from what I was doing in corporate. Then a friend asked me “have you ever thought about going out on your own”... yes I had thought of that, but me? No not me. ... then by one year I simply had to do it! Best leap ever! Now, Im toying with another thought....??
Director, Manufacturing, Capgemini Invent
4 年Nada - go for it! When an idea has this much resilience against your efforts of rationalizing it away, the answer is "yes you can, and now is actually the best time". Wishing you all the best of luck ??
Chief Marketing Officer I Brand I Market I Product Development
4 年I might step into something here, but is this a female thing..? I can see it too often when coaching people, even with high level profiles..