Are You the Idea Box?

I love passing along ideas that make me say “damn, that is a really good idea” so in the category of that, I wanted to share this with you.

Like me I am sure you have a million ideas swirling around in your head at any given time. You see something on the street and it makes you think of a great idea. You go for a run and the ideas for your next program come flowing out. You go the bathroom and out comes another, right?

This is how many of my ideas get played out. I sit down with my hubby at night and while he is happily watching Nova or something like it I say “hey, listen to this”, which usually results in a very playful look of “here we go again”. Sound familiar? So, last night, after I had shared my latest theories on some spiritual revelation I had, he said “You must be exhausted. This is what you come up with on a daily basis. Does your brain ever shut down?”

So, I got to thinking about what happens to all of the ideas I get. Some I write down on notepads, some are on napkins and some are still left swirling in my head. When I do get them all organized what usually happens is I have one of two thoughts. 1) I have to put this into action, even though I have a hundred other things I’m working on. 2) If I don’t do this, I’ve somehow let myself down or let an opportunity go or not honored that it’s a great idea, even though it’s not the right time.

Then today, naturally the solution came to me. Totally unsolicited and out of the blue. Somebody shared with me that somebody had given her an “Idea Box” as a gift. It was a beautiful wooden box and it was designed with one purpose in mind – to hold her ideas. Brilliant I thought. This box accomplishes 4 things: 1) It dedicates a specific place that will hold all of the ideas safe so they do not get lost or forgotten. 2) It honors what can come from an open mind even if it might just be the right idea at the wrong time. 3) It preserves the idea without giving it a job. Sometimes an idea is just an idea and that’s all it will ever be and that is okay. 4) It creates a dedicated space for you to put all of the ideas that are swirling around in your head and it makes room for more to find their way in.

I love this. I had never thought to actually create a sacred space, a box to put all of my ideas inl. Now I am looking at a beautiful box filled with the ideas I’ve had in just this week alone for my book, my new programs, my upcoming retreat, and my vacation next month. I feel good knowing they are in there, that I don’t have to do anything with them if I don’t want and that I don’t have to waste any more energy dragging them around with me.

Tagged as: ideas