“The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”
–Thomas Edison
We can’t take an action without thinking about it or having the idea first. That’s a great thing when we are tempted to do something that will negatively impact others or ourselves. When I sobered up…the first time…all I could think was “Just don’t drink.” That idea was constantly on my mind. I constantly thought about what I couldn’t have. Those thoughts about drinking, even though I knew I shouldn’t, took root. and I was back out there drinking again. Like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Of all the lucscious fruit she could choose, she obsessed over the one fruit that she wasn’t supposed to have…and she ate it. I think it was Les Brown who said, “Where your focus goes, there your energy flows.”
My suggestion to those struggling with alcohol or drugs is to not even entertain the thought. Put it out of your mind. Get an idea and picture of the person that you want to become. Put that image in your mind and think about that instead. That idea , that image that you hold in your mind is the one you move toward and thoughts of alcohol evaporate. The less we use neuropathways, those habits we have formed in our mind, the weaker they become, until they become like the old Highway 1 on the Oregon Coast. You can still see portions of it, but it is covered with weeds, vegetation and cracks. It is unusable.
What about those clever ideas that come to our minds? My mom had this great idea for cloth diapers that had ties on them, thereby removing the need for pins. WOW! I look back to those days and all the pin pricks and stress about pricking my babies while changing a diaper. What a helpful invention that would have been. Mom never did anything with that fabulous idea. Some time later, a Westport housewife named Marion Donovan invented the “Boater,” a waterproof covering for cloth diapers. Marion was granted 4 patents, one included the use of plastic snaps that replaced those nasty old safety pins. What if Mom had taken action on her idea?
What great ideas have you had that you just dismissed with, “Oh, that’ll never happen,” or “that’s impossible?” Then you put that insightful idea out of your mind, rather than entertain the possibility. Maybe your idea might not work, or it might fail? In 1968, Dr. Spencer Silver, a chemist at 3M Company was trying to invent a super-strong adhesive that would stick multiple things together. His “epic fail” turned out to be Post-It notes!
What is the value of one idea?
My challenge to you this week is to take captive your brilliant thoughts and ideas that come to mind and write them down. Maybe, just maybe, one of those ideas could be life changing.
On the other hand, what thoughts or ideas have turned into negative super-highways. You would rather them look like old Highway 1. I have a great question for you to ask yourself when those defeating thoughts pop up. “Who would I like to be in this moment?” Think on that idea and image and you will move toward that, instead.
Make it a great week!
Jan
Jan McDonald
The John Maxwell Team
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