How do we come up with and jumpstart new ideas?

We’ve all hit that familiar point in our work or studies before. Well, look, we’ve run out of ideas. It’s as if our brains had hit a road block and everything ahead seems fuzzy and empty. Without ideas, we cannot solve problems or create. Be it a good idea, (simple ones that solve everyday problems), or great ideas (ones that launch you into the sky), all ideas are valued.

The thing about ideas is that often, they come unexpectedly. This is due to your brain subconsciously wandering around. When you’re in a coffee shop, when you see an elderly couple strolling along the street, or when you step on dog poop. These random bursts of inspiration at short-term, however, transitioning them to long term is what helps keep businesses going and keeps your mind going as well.

However, forget about the small ideas, let’s talk about all the great ones. Having these great long-term ideas needs a bit of work. Here is how to kick start the cogs in your brain and generate some brilliant ideas.

1. Observe, Observe, Observe

Ideas are everywhere. But to truly capture them, your brain has to think of things creatively. As you look at something, will your mind into looking at the details, the choices people make. Notice, the lady with the marble coloured backpack, or the guy with longish arms, or the child with red shoes, it seems bulky. Use your eyes first, notice, notice, notice. A typical day out could easily generate a multitude of ideas, it depends if you are willing to absorb whatever is out there in the world. These stay in the short-term. Some interesting scenarios or situations might be playing out in your head, think of how to solve it.

2. Read, Watch, Listen

An easy way to activate thought stimulation is through media. Books, Movies, Music, Games. Every one of these forms of media have content, content that you can think about that is out of your daily headspace. Now, in the age of technology and fast access to the internet, everything becomes almost too easy. It’s a matter of your thirst to find out more. Clink on reference links, learn, read, stretch your brain 🧠, making it more flexible to overcome that block. These are your tools.

3. Write them down

Okay, once you have this seed of an idea. Write them down. this is usually where short-term ideas transition into those wonder long-term ones. You have your phone and writing notes is pretty much accessible in less than 5 seconds. They don’t have to be in full sentences; checkered, red, fall, noisy, fast. Once you have these starters down, when you have more time, think about how these words could branch out. Writing is the most direct form of putting your ideas into reality. Short term ideas linger in your brain and poof it’s gone, but by writing it down, physically, your brain carries on thinking about the idea. And if you do forget about the idea, it will always be there. It’s a reliable source of getting your thoughts out.

Also, you could always refer back to those words whenever you need a new idea. Kills two birds with one stone. It acts as a word bank while also enabling you to move forward.

4. Analyse

Now, inject your own meaning into it. What does this red mean, why did they do it this way? It’s sort of a study; this is more about questioning why they choose what they choose. Why is the angle like this? why a front facing shot? Why did they write this scene the way they did? Curiosity is your best friend. Take everything into account and try to look at it from different perspectives if you have to to ensure that the idea is a solid, unwavering one. Take the idea, think about how you can apply it for your own problem. After all, nothing is one hundred percent original. It all comes from somewhere else.

5. Love your idea

Once you have a solid idea, take it and love it. Once you love your idea, you’d be willing to pursue it till the end. If you have an idea for a sales pitch or a way to do something that requires being in a team, most likely you would have to persuade others to accept your proposed idea. But if you yourself are unable to love the idea enough to want to put it forth, others’ won’t be able to as well. If you have an idea, stand by it, be confident in it, love it, Even if it gets rejected or you have second guesses, at least you’ve gotten your idea generator running again. And you’d be able to come up with better ones.

Ideas can’t be created in vacuum. Once your brain is blanked out, ideas would be simply caught in the void. You can move forth from there. Stay moving, stay thinking and stay away from the block.