Mindset Shifts to Take Action on your Ideas

If you happen to be human, this might be familiar to you...

You have an idea, an inkling, a little sparkle of your eye.

And it stays that way.

We love thinking about the idea of starting something. Daydreaming about it, imagining it.

Opening our own coffee/book shop, building a ranch on a plot of land, developing an app, purchasing a laundromat, starting a fashion line, building out a new product for our org, yes?

But the shift from thinking → to starting?

That can feel as easy as a hop, or as wide as a canyon only to be traveled via a seemingly old and barely-held-together bridge.

It’s a shitty jump from idea to action.

Because usually the idea is pristine, it’s perfect, it’s safe. It’s in a little box.

But once we think about opening it - suddenly Pandora owns the box, and there’s no jewelry inside: just fear, discomfort and procrastination.

This makes sense. Ira Glass notes that the danger in starting a creative pursuit is knowing that your first attempts won’t meet your level of taste!

Oliver Burkeman in Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals says:

“Dispiriting as this might sound at first, it contains a liberating message: if you're procrastinating on something because you're worried you won't do a good enough job, you can relax – because judged by the flawless standards of your imagination, you definitely won't do a good enough job. So you might as well make a start.”

So how do we start when we’re fearful of doing a good enough job that meets our insanely high standards?

We shift our brain!

🪩 3 Mindset Shifts to try out:

Mindset Shift #1: I'm Preparing to Pop... Tomorrow → Delaying the Pop is Actively Choosing NOT to Pop!

Right now, your idea/topic/inkling is a bubble. It’s perfect.

So we must continue to prepare and daydream. Keep thinking about how good it would be. Once you do it - later.

It's a protective measure. We want to keep that pop safe and pristine. So we delay it. But the pop will happen - whether that’s because you take action, or, because of inaction.

Indecision is a decision. We forget this.

By not taking action - we’re specifically choosing inaction.

The bubble gets popped because time goes by and you "missed out." Or, you can pop it yourself.

Your choice.

Mindset Shift #2: Wanting the Perfect Pop→ Assume Mess is Part of the Process

We want things to go perfectly - the joke about “I’m astonished once again to discover the process of trial and error includes error?”

Yeah, this is it. Rather than avoiding and trying to protect yourself from ridicule and discomfort - recognize that part of getting up requires falling down.

Nobody wants to hear the story of how you just easily made it through each step of the process.

We love the underdog, the trials and tribulations - just not when we’re in them ourselves.

At Pixar, they talk about how even if you’ve made hundreds of movies, there’s still always a part where things get messy. The more established creative teams just know that the mess is part of the process.

Invite it in. Assume it wants to be part of the party.

Mindset Shift #3: But What if the Pop is a Fizzle? Or an Explosion?! → Let’s Get Some Earplugs!

Often, we avoid popping the bubble and facing reality because we’re scared. That’s okay - that’s normal. The idea is protected in its cocoon.

We're fearful of it not going well, or, what people might think of our clumsy attempts, or, what if it goes so well that you're overwhelmed?!

So, let's build up supports. Instead of freaking out about a fizzle, we can support ourself, and honor the discomfort.

What are some ways we can feel safe as we emerge from safety?

What I’d first offer here is just knowing it’s scary! That helps! Usually we avoid the discomfort. Here the idea is to tell ourselves, OF COURSE this is going to be a little frightening.

What can we do to make it easier or softer?

Do we need more resources? Do we need a little bit of time to research? Do we need to phone a friend who always has our back? Let’s give ourselves some support knowing we’re about to head out on a tricky journey.

What would you add? Which mindset shift feels the most rude?

💪 A simple challenge: perform A Tiny Experiment

If you want to start popping bubbles, an option is to take a page out of Anne-Laure Le Cunff's book and try an experiment. The framework is simple:

I will [action] for [duration]

What will you try? For what period of time?! Read more here

🫧 Ready to pop bubbles?

You might want to check out the Popping the Bubble Intensive.