How I Dive Deep
I get new ideas from two activities in my life. One is through conversation, and the other is by reading non-fiction. I’m not talking about the “Oh, that’s a good idea” ideas. I’m talking about ideas that reshape my thinking about how I see the world and behave. These ideas need to be explored and validated. Here is my three-step process to do this.
Conversation ? Idea Ignition
The first place I go with a new idea is to find someone I respect and start a conversation. The difficulty here is choosing the right person for the idea. I pre-qualify them based on whether or not they are interested in the general topic the idea addresses. And it must be a person who enjoys exploring ideas. In short, a person who likes to think by conversing. These are challenging people to find.
But when I do find this person, the conversation is rich. I always bring my notebook. New ideas and insights on the original idea are always spinning up. These must be captured, or some of these “pearls” will be lost by the end of the conversation.
I start the conversation by introducing how this idea came to me. What stimulated the new idea. Then, once the person is engaged, I share the idea. With the idea introduced, I explain why it captured my interest, why I cared enough to talk about it with them.
This is usually enough to get the other person started. Sometimes they lean in, but in some cases, they don't. If they lean in, I know it will be an interesting conversation. If they become captured by the idea, the conversation is rich. They will validate the idea and add their context as we flesh it out together.
But sometimes the person dismisses the idea out of hand as being unimportant or obvious. I get this a lot. If this happens, I will stop pursuing it. Not all my ideas are good ideas. But if the idea is a good one, I’ll move to the next stage of idea exploration—writing.
Writing ? Thought Refinement
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The second method I use to explore a new idea is to write about it. Writing forces me to describe the idea clearly. This gets it out of my head where it usually appears to me to be crystal clear. But when I begin writing, I soon discover the idea needs a lot more thought and clarification to be actionable.
Writing also forces me to think of anecdotes that describe the idea and prove its relevance in my life. The anecdotes moves the idea from an academic thought needing to be intellectualized to a real-world application. If I can’t come up with an application, my idea is a philosophy, i.e. interesting but not useful.
Once the idea is landed in my real world, I find it much easier to unpack it and apply it to areas of my life. Getting to this stage in exploring the idea allows me to think of connections that make the idea sticky. Make it real. It isn't just interesting, like a fleeting thought.
A sticky idea becomes a part of me. It makes sense to me that after this more profound thought, it begins to change how I think and behave. It changes how I see the world and my place in it. It contributes to shaping my choices.
Wings ? Ideas in Flight
The idea now has wings. There is nothing more exciting to me than a new idea. It is like a pearl that seemingly surfaced out of nowhere. It begs to be unearthed and explored. It adds excitement to my life through interesting conversations and topics to write about. It changes my life. It is fulfilling.
The most significant value of new ideas is they make me think. I live in a world where everything is fed to me, from TV, YouTube, and Instagram to How-to books and articles. When I get an idea, it is mine. It came from my mind and the connections I made in my life. It is compelling in its clarity and promise. It is unformed at first, but somehow I know it is essential. It must be explored. It demands deep thinking.
Thinking in today’s world is a struggle for me. It is hard. But thinking deeply is something only humans can do. It is a key element in God’s design of man and woman. Deep thinking moves me forward, and this allows me to do my part in moving the world forward in my own small way. And this brings me fulfillment.
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1 年I believe many of us can relate to feeling inundated with content Charlie Paparelli
I work with highly visible executives that want to make a great impression based on their appearance.
1 年Charlie Paparelli Very thought provoking post. I honestly cannot think of the last time I’ve had an actual idea - inspiration or revelation - but not an idea. My mind recalled the “think tanks” back in the day - do they still have them? You’re absolutely right - I am fed so much content that it has hampered original thought. I would love to know some of your ideas that have received their wings and taken flight. Thank you for causing me to think on this.
President at Dedicated Connections, Inc.
1 年I really like this article, and would like to buy you a cup of coffee (in person) and talk about this. As a side note, this article made me think of that old movie Night Shift with Michael Keaton & Henry Winkler where Keaton carried a portable voice recorder for all his ideas (call Starkist). If you've not seen it, it's a funny oldie to look for and now that I'm talking about it, think I'll do the same!