Be Closed Minded And Set Limits. The Secret of Unlimited Ideas.
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Staten Island, NY Posted: 6/24/2015 1:00:00 AM
Having trouble finding new ideas? Try setting limits.
As strange as it sounds, one of the best ways to come up with breakthroughs is to limit your options as much as possible, because some of the best ideas come from closed minded thinking, not from thinking out of the box.
Your brain can only process so many things at one time, so by setting limits, you actually make it easier to make decisions, which not only leads to more ideas, but better ideas.
If I asked you to invent something, how long would it take you to come up with an idea? That's a pretty open ended question, so there's no way to know exactly how long it would take, or how good your invention would be.
However, let's say I asked you to invent something by 3pm, would that make it easier? Believe it or not, by 3pm, you'd have a better chance than if I set no limit at all.
Taken one step further, let's say I asked you to invent a new or improved way to clean your car. Once again, the task is easier, because you have narrowed your invention to just ways to clean your car.
I can go even further, by asking you to just focus on cleaning your wheels. With all these restrictions, your mind can focus entirely on one thing, and that makes it easier to come up with a great idea.
You can use the same method to unleash just about any idea.
Want to write a novel, but don't know where to start? What if I told you had has to start on a dairy farm, and the farmer's 12 year old boy is the central character. Would that make it harder... or easier to get started?
Now, you have a starting point. You can eliminate all the other story ideas and get to work. What's the boy's name? Where is the farm? Does the boy like being a farmer? Will he eventually meet somebody from the city that will need to adapt to farm life... or will he leave the farm behind and try city life? Perhaps he'll try both.
The point is when you set some limits from the start, you are actually making it easier to uncover the rest of your ideas. Some writers like to use some form of randomness to establish their boundaries. If you open a map, close your eyes and point to a city, then pick an occupation at random and even a name, you may be able to uncover the next big novel.
Joe Crescenzi, Founder
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* Note: The ideas on "Idea of the Day" were posted without any formal research into existing inventions.
In some cases, patents may already exist for these ideas, in other cases, there may not be any existing patents and you are free to develop and explore the viability of developing and patenting the ideas.
The authors make no claim that any of the ideas are safe, practical, or suitable for any particular purpose. You are responsible for the results of trying, developing, patenting or using any of the ideas on this site.
For some people, our ideas are just an interesting read, but our goal is to encourage you to take action. If you see an idea that you like, do something with it... Take action.
- Joe
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