Everyone has experienced this before:
You come across someone else’s idea and it rattles you to your core. It seeps into your mind over time and utterly shifts your perspective.
You think, “Wow! What a fascinating idea. I never thought about that. How the hell did they come up with that idea?”
Followed by something like this, “Why can’t I come up with stuff like that? My ideas are so boring. I’ll never come up with any brilliant insights of my own. I suck!”
This same dance happens to me often after reading a great book, listening to a riveting podcast, watching a captivating documentary, or even just after a nourishing conversation.
Then without fail, when it’s my turn to sit down at my desk and come up with my own ideas, they all feel like common sense to me.
Still, I write my little essays, trash most of them, distill the 1% I would like to read, and share them with you my dear reader.
Every once in a while, I get a thoughtful comment, email, or text from someone saying, “Wow! What a fascinating idea. I never thought about that. How the hell did you come up with that idea?”
Implying, “Why can’t I come up with stuff like that? My ideas are so boring. I’ll never come up with any brilliant insights of my own. I suck!”
I shrug it off and tell myself they’re just being polite.
But recently, I had a profound realization — everyone’s ideas seem like common sense to them.
I bet even Plato or David Deutsch felt that they’re philosophical pontifications or scientific theories were common sense.
So consider this: what if what’s common sense to you is fascinating to others?
Famous creators often admit they had no inkling that one of their works would take the world by storm. They must have considered not creating it in the first place because it was nothing new or all that exciting.
My most popular essay so far: Remove the artist from the art, felt like common sense to me so I considered trashing it in the dumb ideas graveyard, yet it proved to resonate with others.
We’re clearly poor judges of our own ideas because they’ve been brewing within us for so long. They start to feel like common sense. So why not just put your ideas out there and let the world decide?
What idea are you hoarding that seems like common sense to you but could be fascinating to others?
Your thoughts? Please leave a comment below.
Brilliant post! And oh so true.
I find myself astounded that the essays I take for granted resonate so strongly with others.
Thanks Arman.
I really needed to hear this today Arman. Thank you.