Do we have a limited number of ideas?

in #life8 years ago

I write almost every day now. I do this because I can. I also do it because I'm curious to see how much I can keep it up.It wasn't always like this...

M

Me, these days...

I read a lot.

I read too much, it's almost escapism at this point.
The problem with reading so much is that ingest a lot of good information. But I don't digest it properly. Sometimes I feel like all I read left no mark, other times I feel I've learned so much.

I want to ask a bizarre questions: What is "learning"?

from Wikipedia:

Learning is the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing, existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences

Who else looked up the definition of learning? Why would we do that?
We know what learning is, we do it all the time! Yet I look at this and realize that learning must involve an active part: CHANGE.
IF you learn, for real, something new, you change in a quantifiable, objective way!
Oh, it's easy to say "I learned so much" but then do the same thing you did. I got sad news for you: you did not learn anything. You might know more but that's not learning.

"I learned how to get fit, I could do it but I chose not to". Did you really?

I like to think of learning as something I act on, not something I know of because i can easily call out my own bullshit. Yes, I say: "I learned this or that" A LOT. Yet, my day to day behavior is the same. BZZZ!!

Back to my story, one of my favorite authors is James Altucher.
I just love the dude and his easy, cool, no non-sense style. I also get annoyed when his answer to literally everything is " Write down 10 ideas daily".


Guru, weirdo, genius, annoying-person: James Altucher!

What can I do to improve my life today?
"Write down 10 ideas daily"
How do i get a new job?
"Write down 10 ideas daily for a company and send them to the ceo"
How do I fight loneliness?
I think you get the idea [ if not, write down 10 ideas daily ].

Yes, I was annoyed but I was also interested. I was reading EVERY blog he wrote. I did that for about one years, that's about 300 blogs. I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH. You know how many days did I write down 10 ideas?

[Take your time]

ZERO DAYS! (doh)

Yeap, above when I said "I'VE LEARNED SO MUCH. "?
That was bullshit. I was bullshiting you and me and everyone else. My life was the same, caught in the same pit of unhappiness and inaction and I knew what I had to do. I did not learn a thing.

WHY?

I was petrified I couldn't come up with 10 ideas even for A DAY. I just couldn't even start.
I sometimes let my mind wander and come up with an idea and I'd shut it off. I really didn't want to know if there was something more in there, in me. Why be sure that I was an one-idea only person? Better to not know: then I could pretend I'm a creative, cool person, right?

I clearly learned NOTHING.

And then, Steemit happened and a switch was turned on(or off maybe?). I started to write daily with the intensity of a dervish ahead of a storm. I just didn't stop.

Right now, for me it's a marathon to the end of my ideas for two reasons:

  1. I wonder if there's an end. I flirt with the ridiculous idea that there might be a bag with no bottom but one way to test

  2. I am curious what I'll do once I reach the end of ideas. I can not accept this position: no ideas ever again. But I can accept the challenge.

You, the reader, are my witness to this race, to my stumbles ( so many bad ideas, bad posts..) to my flow ( sometimes things just click..) and to eventually, to the finish, whatever it might be.

I hope you cheer for me but I thank you either way!

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I really enjoyed reading your post! I am glad you found a way to express your ideas and that you share them with us.

I'm looking for new ways everyday but thanks a lot!

I'm new to steemit but I definitely agree with you on the idea and definition of learning. We can acquire so much knowledge but if we don't have any application of the wisdom we so-called "learned" then it is more so accurate to say we have observed and listened/read of new information which we chose not to employ to our own lifestyles.
But yes, our brains can consume a lot but also produce even more, so it is good to force ourselves to write out our ideas.
First they flow freely, then soon they become artworks and planned strategic maps/roadways to success.
Wish you the best of luck.

I like this! thank you!
PS: welcome :)

Thanks for the reminding me to write much more on Steemit. This should be a daily routine.

Another fear of mine: writing bad stuff. Then I look at how much I wrote in the last 2 years:NOT ENOUGH! My fear is actually not baseless, in fact it's almost guaranteed I'll put out a lot of bad writing because I did not pay my dues.
The solution: accept it and write even more.
Every sentence bring me closer to writing better, at a level I'll be comfortable saying: I'm a decent writer.

Good luck!

That would make a great series - a daily post with your 10 ideas for that day. Or, 10 ideas for various problems you could pose.

"9 out of 10 ideas of mine SUCK" <--- that would be the title :D

Perfect! I also have a list of topics. Some are titles.... some half formed ideas. It's an awesome way to handle stuff :)

I sometimes try to give myself a topic and start writing...sometimes I'm amazed how you can start writing from nothing and build letter to letter.

Taking photos, cooking or drawing seem easier than writing something good every day. It seems there's content that will seemingly never run out but text-based content is really a challenge - as you noticed.

if you don't have a certain expertise, 100%. But I'm interested in seeing how all this ends....:)

I am too when I stared steemit, I don't know what to write I have no idea. I keep on thinking but then I have not accomplished anything until I started writing out of nothing. I just take my android and start writing evrything that comes into my mind.

Since then, I was able to write and finish a piece to post. Later, I did it again and found that I've so many things because before I just ignore what I have in mind and just slip it away but now I've learned to treasure every bit of it for steemit.

But I still consider newbie and so has so much to learn with writing but even so, I continue to write whatever is it that comes to mind.

It's hard to know what you even think of something until you put it down on paper :)

OK, I'll buy that, 10 ideas a day, no problem.
Er ...

easier said than done...

Indeed, but two days in, OK so far .... In fact more than OK, in terms of creating useful ideas, in terms of sticking with it: "We'll see."

Man its the same here!! I would have struggled previously to come up with multiple ideas a day but since steemit all of the things I used to put off I now get up and do so that I can blog about it!! Perfect article!

You wont run out though, I knows it!

:)) thanks!! IF i do, it will be an interesting thing to explore as well.

Really great post! -upvoted & followed

and it takes so little to do it: a notes app on your smartphone, or the unsophisticated pen and paper. yet, so very few people do it...

pen and paper are magic, no matter how many great apps keep appearing!

What an inspiring post. Thanks for sharing. Yes, Steemit has inspired me to write more, I try to do it every day. I have a blog filled with lottsa good stuff so I am going back over stuff I wrote, cleaning it up, or revising it for better content, and adding more of my photos.

I can see how writing down 10 ideas would instill the fears that you don't have even one. I might just try that and see what happens. Steem ON!

scary but...worth a try :) or 10..

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