Do you sometimes think of a brilliant, crazy idea?
Perhaps a place you want to go.
A thing you’d like to do.
Someone you’d like to connect with.
Or a change you’d like to make in your life.
Something sparks your brain.
You feel tiny seeds of excitement.
A possibility you slowly explore in your mind.
You feel pleased.
You smile to yourself inside as you let your idea grow.
Like softly blowing air into a colourful balloon, you gently give it life.
Puff puff puff
Then . . .
You grab an imaginary pin and burst it.
You kill it.
Your idea’s dead.
You put it in the bin.
You mutter to yourself . . .
'I’d like to, but I can’t.
It’s too crazy, too bonkers!'
:(
You know, I once heard someone say this about an idea they had . . .
'People like me don’t do things like that'
Now that is bonkers!
Why limit yourself?
And what stops you instead, giving it space in your brain to evolve, grow and then do it?
It’s likely one of two things:
When it comes to moving life in the direction you want; growing, adventuring, creating . . .
you need ideas.
Ideas are good.
The world’s built on them.
Millions of ideas.
That at the time they were conceived, were probably labelled ‘Bonkers’.
Humans on the moon.
Mobile phones.
Even Thomas Crapper’s idea of designing a toilet!
I bet some people thought he was bonkers when he stood up and said . . .
'Ladies and gentlemen.
I’ve something to announce.
I have an idea.
I’ve decided to invent a curvy shaped porcelain thing where people will sit and poo into a small puddle of water.
They’ll then pull a metal chain.
This will activate a small waterfall to purge the bowl of waste.'
Round of applause or strange looks?
😳
Here’s what I want to share with you . . .
You have an idea.
It’s great.
You get excited about it.
Then why not explore the opportunity in it?
It’s only when
I have to be honest.
I used to do this.
I have adventurous and creative blood.
I LOVE bonkers.
But when it came to some things in my life, I shied away.
Then everything changed once I realised this . . .
If it’s an idea that YOU decide to make happen in your life, something YOU chose to do,
IT’S NOT BONKERS.
If you do it because YOU choose to do it.
It’s YOU being YOU.
There’s nothing bonkers about that.
Once you learn to ignore others negative opinions or your own limited thinking,
you step into an uncluttered space,
WHERE IDEAS RUN WILD
ANYTHING BECOMES POSSIBLE!
More and more, society is responsible for restricting and distorting how people think and live.
Are you going to let what other people think stop you?
If you answer 'yes', you start to let others control and direct your life.
DON’T DO IT!
BE YOU.
(I understand we have to abide by government laws or rules at work. I’m referring to choices in your life that you are free to make)
Here’s an example.
Bonkers is only relative to the person judging.
Imagine you and I are in the same room.
I ask you to do something bonkers.
You’d pick something that YOU think I’d find totally unexpected.
Say you were a professional acrobat from Cirque du Soleil.
You might flip upside down and walk on your hands.
If I didn’t know this was your profession, I’d likely be surprised.
I’d be impressed and be satisfied you’d done something ‘bonkers’.
You’d be appealing to what you think my version of bonkers is.
To you, walking on your hands is part of your job.
You’re an acrobat.
You do it all the time.
It’s not bonkers to you.
Do you see what I’m getting at?
However, imagine if I weren’t there.
Instead you’re with your fellow acrobat colleague from Cirque.
If they asked you the same thing, walking on your hands probably wouldn’t impress them.
To them it wouldn’t be bonkers.
They’re familiar with it.
See how bonkers is only relative?
Here’s another example.
Some people call Lady Gaga bonkers.
But to her, she’s just doing what Lady Gaga does.
In the world of Lady Gaga, Bonkers isn’t wearing a meat dress.
It might be something very different.
It’s only when outsiders look at her world through their eyes, that they judge it.
It becomes labelled 'bonkers'.
She knows wearing a 'meat dress' will stir people’s bonkers radar.
It’s great for publicity.
SO IF YOU DESTROY YOUR IDEAS BASED ON SOMEONE ELSES IDEA OF BONKERS,
THEN YOU COULD BE DESTROYING A VERY VALUABLE THING.
Now what about the other idea-killer?
If you want to grow.
To make changes in your life.
You need to explore doing things differently.
This means opening your mind to all possibilities.
Exploring things you’ve never done or even considered before.
Allow space for 'crazy' ideas!
Things that seem crazy at first, are actually the step you need to take to:
Be who you want to be
Do what you want to do
Create what you want your life to look like
When you tell yourself,
'I don’t do things like that!'
or
'It’s a crazy idea'
You’re sabotaging any chance of moving forward.
You’ve sunk before you’ve got off the starting blocks.
These two things limit what you do and the choices you make.
Without these limitations, imagine the possibilities!
So I’m going to leave you with a mini challenge.
Jot them in a journal or note them on your phone.
Create a safe place for your ideas to live and start to grow.
Ideas of things that you’ve perhaps never done before.
That if you did, would . . .
Turn 'bonkers' into something worth doing.
And as a result, transform your life.
Oh, and one last thing . . .
Stay inspired, take action and keep adventuring!
Thanks for reading.
Matt Ainsley
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