A thief of good ideas

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Over the years I have found there is a strange calm between Christmas and New Years — compared to the previous 51 weeks, it is disturbingly quiet. Why this is I can only hazard to guess but it probably has something to do with figuratively catching your breath and emotionally preparing to do it all over again but with a new calendar.

I am probably just transferring.

I also find myself reflecting on the events of the past year, as well as actively looking for commentary and ideas that may be useful in the coming year. Today I was listening to Ryan Holiday who is a modern champion of stoicism and someone I would recommend you free up some time for — his perspectives truly have stood the test of time. He introduced me to a new phrase I hadn’t heard before, and although it’s something not uttered by Marcus Aurelius, I still found it impactful.

“Don’t Yuck on someone else’s Yum”

It is a reminder to not be critical of someone else’s idea or opinion — you don’t have to like it or agree with it but it is their opinion so let them have it without any egotistical comment. Sure, there are ideas and opinions “that are ‘draw a line in the sand’ wrong” for moral, ethical, and legal reasons but that’s not what I am referring to in this context. I liked this phrase — it was because it was something new to me, aligned with my goals and is something actionable that would offer beneficial results to me.

It was a good idea in my mind. For one, it prevented needless friction but more importantly, it prevents “blind spots” that come with an ego and the belief your opinion or view is more important than someone else’s.

Although I don’t just look for ideas in the last week of the year, there is a concentrated effort in this last week to feed my thinking as I head into a new year. New ideas come about all the time, but in my view, most ideas are taken from someone else, and as a working model, it’s probably better to apply the view that there are few new ideas and it’s much easier to search for existing ones than create new ones.

There is a hierarchy to ideas you know, something akin to features, benefits, and value:

  • A bad idea is better than no idea

  • A good idea is better than a bad idea

  • The best idea is one that aligns with your goals

I am always looking for ideas to steal, and although I like the romantic idea of coming up with a new and unique idea myself, I am very comfortable with “borrowing” someone else’s idea and using it with abandon. It really is fun searching for ideas that someone else has.

“Don’t Yuck on someone else’s Yum” is a great reminder not to let your preconceptions get in the way of the next idea you can take and that you should critically think about whether someone’s Yum is your next bad, good, or best idea before you cast judgement.

And why does it matter? It’s because idea statuses change and yesterday’s bad ideas can become today’s best idea so fill your idea funnel.

iamgpe

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