An Irrational Fear of Unoriginal Ideas (Post 9)
By: Haisam Mubarik
Tags: Ideas, Entrepreneurship, Self Improvement, Content Creation, Innovation

Creating something from scratch is a widely respected deed. Conversely, being handed something and building on it isn’t seen as noble. To make sense of these views, we need to realize we cannot choose the cards life deals us. If you have obstacles from the beginning and yet you still find a way to reach the top, good for you! Also, if you receive help from the get-go and have less obstacles, good job! Society might overlook you but at the end of the day, you made it. The love we have for the underdog leads us to fall for these powerful stories. We get lost in them, to the point we burden ourselves with replicating the formula. A belief sets in that we need to be one-of-a-kind. That we need to forge our own path. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I do like this thinking because we are all a bit different. Don’t live someone else’s life. The reason I’m writing this is to express that there is a step that lies before jumping into this ideology. How do we know what path to create? How can we navigate the unknown? How can we take care of our day to day while carving this new trail? We need to start somewhere. That somewhere is nothing other than following the footsteps of people you’d like to model. At least for a while. This is where you learn about your field. It will lead you to self-discovery. Don’t try to rush the process. Have you ever tried taking a shortcut only to find out that it was really the longer, tougher route? That’s called learning the hard way.

I say all this to urge you to create a proven blueprint. If you’re into creating content, start blogging, creating videos and sharing stuff on social media. Don’t think too hard. This is where everyone starts. When I made the decision to blog, I had this irrational fear. Similar to “everything has already been thought of or invented.” We’ve all heard this before, right? It’s a kryptonite to the aforementioned thinking that we need to create something out of this world. We are anxious that we won’t meet these heavy expectations. The two attitudes conflict so we must switch our mindset to one that benefits us. My advice is to just get started. Like the title suggests, this fear is irrational. It’s a mechanism our mind maintains to protect us. But oftentimes it holds us back.

There’s a gigantic mindset shift that naturally happens when you start creating content. Not only are you researching and learning to produce material, you’re also realizing that your thoughts and interpretations are unique. Nobody thinks exactly like you. Nobody like you exists. You understand that you are valuable. You no longer care to force “original” ideas that are way different from anything mainstream. You become comfortable with putting yourself out there. At this point, nobody can stop you.

Let’s go back for a second and touch on forcing new ideas. Yes I’m using the word “forcing” because that’s what’s happening when you aren’t satisfied with any thoughts that occur naturally. The thoughts that pop in your head may just be the result of the information you’ve accessed and the people you’re with but those ideas are the most genuine for you. And when you find ones that relate to others, you hit the jackpot. You can bring value, even if the concepts are basic. It’s attractive to want to come up with the next “big thing” and become an overnight success. The problem is we lose sight of what it actually takes to succeed — doing boring but important stuff, again and again. Go for the low hanging fruit. If I want to write about the relationship between wealth and happiness, let me first learn about wealth. Let me blog about what I know. Then, let me do the same with happiness. Before I know it, I can pair the two.

This issue of neglecting your value has to do with low self esteem. If you’ve been discouraged by friends for your dreams, leave those friends. If your family has no faith in you, ignore them. In an article entitled Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Self-Esteem” from Verywellmind.com, the author states “Our self esteem is determined by how much acceptance or rejection we experience.” So let’s get away from the naysayers. Let’s talk to people who see our vision and support us. Self esteem does come from within but having the right people is essential for when your emotions are amok. Having low self worth and not working on it will guarantee you won’t start your project. Imagine another scenario — you have an idea you’re excited about. You don’t feel it’s quite ready yet. You don’t take action. Soon after, you find out that someone you know took action with the same project. Your blood would be boiling, right? Thankfully for me, I started before anything like that happened in my circle.

If you’re reading this for motivation to launch your venture, you’re already in a select pack. You’re thinning in terms of producing rather than consuming. Look around you and you’ll find that most are consumers. Pat yourself in the back.

Are original ideas even a good measure of success? Having similar ideas as someone else and building a similar business is why we don’t have monopolies! Nobody likes monopolies.

Examples:

Original — Remix

Indiegogo — Kickstarter

Facebook — Instagram

UPS — FedEx

Check out “7 Businesses That Cloned Others and Made Millions” by CNBC. So next time you feel you bring nothing to the table, think again. Act.