Hanna:
Hey everyone, this is episode number 48 of let’t talk dirty, I’m so excited to be here with you today. It’s all gloomy and rainy where I’m at today and sometimes those are my favorite days because I dunno why I just feel like it’s the universe giving me permission to stay on the couch all day. Haha I know I can do that any day but of course my very human brain chimes in and says that when it’s sunny and nice out I SHOULD be at the lake or on a bike ride, which fyi is not true but you know what I mean. Like I just love to maybe it’s just that I love to follow my slow lead because my body just craves slowness and like ease on gloomy weather days and I just take advantage of rainy days and be quiet and just sit and read and watch tv and think. And play with ideas. And that’s what we are talking about on today’s episode, ideas. And this dirty little thought, “I have too many ideas.”
Have you thought this before? You have too many ideas.
Why is that a problem?
Because having too many ideas makes you feel overwhelmed or confused and from there you can’t take any action. You just get more and more ideas. Now here’s the funny thing about this. The idea that not taking action is in and of itself a problem, is not how I want us to look at this. Because the reality is that you can spend your entire human life having brilliant ideas and never donig anything but admiring them and fantisizing about them and daydreaming and adoring the imagination land that lives inside your head and literally nothing would be wrong with that. Nothing. You do not need to act on any ideas, ever. Ever. You have an idea to write a book and you fiddle around in your mind with what the title might be or the plotline or imagine the characters and even some of the chapters and maybe you even write some notes about it somewhere and you never write the book. What an amazing use of your time, using your imagination.
So as I talk through this today can we just keep that in mind, that having ideas and not doing anything with those ideas is not wrong. So if you’re listening and feeling ashamed I want you to come back to the knowing that action on everything is never the goal. It never has to be the goal for you. Action on one thing might be A goal at some point in your life and maybe this will be helpful then. But if youre like I like my ideas where they are in my head, undisturbed, and they don’t bother me staying there and not being acted upon, great. Ok?
So moving on to if you DO want to take action on something because you think it would be cool or fun for you to see what happens with your ideas turned into something in the world, then we need to talk about this thought potentially getting in the way of that and figure out what version of this thought it showing up for you.
Right so people have lot’s of ideas, and then from there they ruminate on this thought that there are too many of them. Ideas + inaction must mean I have too many ideas. But we know, if you’ve been listening to this show at all you know, inaction isn’t caused by too many ideas. Inaction is caused by thinking I have too many ideas and then feeling overwhelmed or confused.
So if you’re like look I want to start a business. Or I want to quit my job and do something else. Or I want to find a hobby. Or I want to start dating again in a new way. Or I want to create something. Or I want to start a side hustle. I hate that term but women come to me saying that all the time. That’s a whole nother podcast but ok so you want to do something and your first reason why you’re not doing the thing is because “I have so many ideas!” Of course you do, you have 60,000 thoughts per day and you are a highly functioning being inside of a meat suit capable of 60,000 things per day so why would you not have lots of ideas? Of course you have lots of ideas. Stop thinking that’s a problem. That’s not a problem nor is it THE problem. The problem is taking those ideas and making them into TOO MANY. With your thoughts. That’s how you make “too many” ideas. By thinking there are too many.
Sometimes on this show I feel like I sound like I’m speaking as if english is not your first language or something I’m like saying such simple things, and like saying them with that slow aggressive way I say things haha, but you see that it’s because it’s so simple that we miss it. It’s SO simple. Your thoughts create your results. If you are having more and more ideas but not taking action it's because you THINK you have too many ideas. That’s it.
Having ideas, for alot of us, is the fun part. It’s the part where we can go there without doing anything to actually get there, but it still feels like we are there. Haha you follow that? Like thinking about all the topics I could write about for the podcast. That’s so fun for me. I can do that while I run or shower or lay in bed and do morning starings. God I am fucking brillaint for thinking of this shit. It is so fun to have ideas because having ideas doesn't require you to do anything except imagine and play.
I started thinking about this topic firstly because I was just coaching someone the other day a brand new person and she was like my problem is I have all the ideas and I don’t know which one to do I have too many ideas. And I was like well what do you want to do. And she was like well I really want to write a book and start a coaching business but I can’t because I don’t think I have time and I can’t like spend time on these things when I have other stuff going on.
And I was like how much time do you spend thinking about these things? And she said alot of time. Right? Alot of time spent imagining and playing. Again, nothing wrong with that but see how her brain was like you don’t have time for this, but actually she does. But what feels really good to her brain is thinking about these ideas, taking time to bank more and more ideas, and ideas about the ideas, and then using this idea bank as evidence that there are just too many ideas and she don’t have time to not only take action on any but even than there’s no time to decide on one to go after.
Right so you have lot’s of ideas. And the ideas part feels like you're doing something and it feels good. So just know this now. Have awareness of that. This is your brain’s way of keeping you from change. Your brain’s like sure sure sure you wanna have tons of ideas, you go girl, but you know what, there’s no time for the reality of those, you don’t have energy or know how for that, that might not be a good one, so just stay safe and comfy right here swimming in an idea pool.
Ideas are easy.. because you’re a genius and you could have ideas all day. Without doing anything different.Making an idea into something tangible, there is magic and genius in that process to BUT there is also SO MUCH that doesn’t seem fun or necessary to your brain.
So it offers you this thought of overwhelm, this thought of confusion, this thought of stuckness. There are just too many.
So the antidote to this thought is obviously first the awareness part, now you know here is what I’m choosing to think, I have too many Ideas, and it’s not leading to any action, so if I want to get to the making of one or two of these ideas into something, I have to decide that there is one I want to act on, in spite of there being lots of others with the same amount of potential. So for me I might want to start thinking intentionally about having great ideas. I have great ideas. Or I have good ideas. Or I have ideas. That simple thought swap brings the overwhelm down and now you can get excited or proud or confident. Maybe you’re not jumping into action right away but at least to eliminate the overwhelm that has you putting on the breaks and talking yourself out of your power. I have too many ideas versus I have good ideas. That feels really different to me.
So I have noticed that one of the main reasons why thinking you have too many ideas is a problem is that when you have a lot of ideas your brain might be telling you that there’s too many to see which one is the right one. Like there is one or two that are right or better than others and you’re convinced you need to figure out which one that is before you can take action. And because there are so many, it’s hard to determine which is the right one. And what if you don’t pick the right one, you might waste time or change your mind later.
This is stalling you indefinitely.
Believing there’s a best or right idea to pursue, is stalling you from pursuing any, indefinitely.
You have to notice when you’re believing the lie that there is a best one. And that if you pick the wrong one you’re like neglecting the right one or missing out on the others. That’s a lie. It’s a thought error. If you don’t like me calling your brain a liar I’ll say it’s just a thought error. To think that you can choose the wrong idea.
I like to think of ideas as if I not only choose them, but they choose me. We think that we have ideas, and yes you do have ideas, but an idea also has you, that’s why it comes forward, because there is something really amazing and unique about YOU that allows that idea to even live.
What I believe is that every idea that whispers in my ear and excites me is there to play with, unconditionally. Unconditionally. That word means without any expectations or strings attached. Your ideas were born of unconditional love for you. If you don’t ever act on an idea, there’s no love lost for you. And I think about that every time I am feeling like I have a bunch of great ideas but not enough time for all of them right now. Or maybe even that thought about like I might change my mind one day about this.Or one has gotta be the right one and I don’t want ot waste time on the wrong ones. My ideas will always come back around if and when I want them to, and there will always be plenty. So you only miss out on them when you decide there are too many. There’s not too many. There’s plenty. There’s a huge difference. There’s nothing about the ideas I have that tells me they need to be acted upon right now. So when I choose where to put my energy, it’s because I have decided that every idea is “right” and every idea is there to play with without conditions. I just get to pick which one I want to dance around with right now.
This is where we get stuck in the thought that one idea is better, or more appropriate for right now, or easier to bring to life, or right. This might sound overwhelming when I say this but I will explain why I want you to hear it: all of your ideas are right. ALL of your ideas are right. So that means You get to decide which ones you want to explore right now. And I think taking away the possibility that any of your ideas could be “the wrong one” to pursue actually makes it alot easier to get out of stuckness and go for something. If none of them are the wrong idea, then you get the fun and thrilling job of deciding what you WANT to do. It breaks people’s brains sometimes when I ask well what do you want to do. They say immediately I don't know. But I really think that most of the time, the “i dont know” comes from the idea that we don’t want to choose wrong. So noticing that no idea can be wrong, it’s just now a matter of where you want to go, it’s liberating. I think.
The ideas that come to you all want to be led into the world, by you. They won’t be mad if you don’t take them somewhere, but they all want you to lead them and I think of it that way when I find myself filtering my ideas through this lens of right or wrong or good or bad. A bad idea just means I don’t want to lead you anywhere right now, it’s not bad…it’s just an idea that gives you an opportunity to trust your own brilliance and and your own magic and say wow that could be great another time but not now. Like ideas that come that feel really quote right and exciting and like pure gold, those are also ideas that give you an opportunity to trust your own brilliance and your own magic.
And I think beyond that, knowing that no idea is the wrong one let’s us release this grip on fear. Fear of going after an idea that chose you, because you think maybe it’s not good enough. Maybe it’s not the ONE. It’s painful to think about how many ideas are just brushed off because of fear of it being not beneficial enough or cool enough or financially rewarding enough, or widely accepted enough or the result won't be good enough by some internal or external standards. Like holy shit probably millions. Millions. Of ideas are neglected or brushed off.
But if instead we could be like ok if this is here in my head this must be right, and by right I kinda mean ripe. R-i-p-e ripe. You don’t have to pick it but it’s ripe and ready to ooze some serious juice. If you want it. You might not want to pick it right now cuz maybe you’re not into the mood for that one, but it’s ripe and it’s right and if you do pick it, it’s not because you are sure it’s better than all the other ideas…but it’s like this is the idea that I choose right now because it’s for me to work on loving the process and build some really outrageous self trust to partner with my innate magic and we’ll get to see what magic comes out the other side.
Right, so this might be what’s underneath having so many ideas for you, the fear of it being the wrong one to go for. Or the fear that it’s not the idea that is going to bring the right amount of enoughness.
I think we can see though how those thoughts will always block us from every idea, from any amount of enoughness.
Thinking that this one might be wrong, it’s like that fear that you’ll waste your time on what was wrong. Or that you will go only so far on this idea and realize it’s not the one. It doesn’t mean it was the wrong idea, it just speaks to your fluidity as a human and your capacity to grow and evolve. Like one of the girls I was coaching the other day was like I don’t want to waste my time on doing something with this idea and then not actually using it.
But what’s wrong with doing something and then not using it? It’s only a waste of time if you think as much. My friend Josh is working on starting a podcast and he told me recently that he has 47 episodes already written. He said he’s loving writing and just like rapping on all these col thoughts and opinions he’s got and exploring where his creative energy goes and putting into written form has been how he’s using alot of his time after work. And he said, And there’s a possibility that hes not going to ever record them. Or if he does he might not even release them. And I thought, how fun, to do this thing to have these ideas and bring them to life for the joy of doing it. Not for anything else except because that’s how he wants to spend his time right now. And one day if he doesn’t want to spend his time that way, he will spend it in a new way that he enjoys even more.
Sometimes I write emails that you guys never see. I write long ass emails and then I delete them. Becuase I think you know that’s not super valuable for my audience. Or I decide I just don’t want to put that out as an email. I could be like well that was a waste of time, that was a stupid idea. But was it? I probably learned something. There was joy there for me. In the challenge and fun of writing. I like to do that, I like to lean into an idea and grow from it even if in the end no one sees it but me. I wanted to do that while I was doing it otherwise I would have been doing something else.
So you decide what idea sounds exciting, you decide to think it’s a great one. You decide it chose you. You decide it wouldn’t be here if it wasn't worth your time to really explore and go for. You decide I know what to do to take the first step now. And you do it. You do one thing toward this one idea. And then one more thing. It’s more than you’re doing now which is taking action on none because you think there’s too many. Right and you don’t get scared about changing your mind or not following through because right now you’ve made up your mind and you are following through.
Right this thought of I’m afraid I’ll change my mind. So I do nothing. I thought that about this podcast, Let’s Talk Dirsty, before I started it, I thought what if I change my mind. I actually got a bunch of peer coaching on this while I was still in my certification program because I had this idea and I was like I can’t start bc I might not like it. That would be awful. I would have made all this and put in all this work and then changed my mind.
But why did I think that would be a problem? I think it’s because I believe changing your mind means something about how worthy or smart I am. Or it means I CHOSE WRONG. But you know what? I would be so brave to not make the completion of a podcast about how worthy I am. And if I change my mind one day and don’t want ot do this anymore or want to talk about something totally new and don’t want to talk about thought work, I’ll figure out what I want to think that means about me when I get there. Because right now, this idea feels fierce and aligned and I can do this right now, and I’m worrying about some future that isn’t real. It’s only going to be made real with fear and doubt.
Right. You have all these ideas and you think ok I can’t do any of these because there’s just too many and I’ve never been one to follow through, I’ll probably change my mind half way. That’s the other one, you have tons of ideas about what you want to do or create and then you’re like well this is a pattern for me, I have all these great ideas and I start in on one or two and then I never finish anything and it’s because I have too many ideas, like the ideas are blocking me from following through on ideas because there’s so many ideas. I’ve not been able to find the thing I want to complete or keep doing forever so why would I now?
And there’s fear and doubt.
And that fear and that doubt are where you’re coming from, even when you begin to bring your idea to life. You harbor this thought of well pretty soon I’m not going to love this anymore. It’s almost time to change my mind. What you think happens? You do! Right? It’s like I want you to change your mind a million times from joy for the next iteration of your creativity an desire, and make it mean nothing about you. I want you to stop changing your mind from fear and doubt. And great news, you have control over that.
You have control over your thoughts about what is possible for you, about whether you’re going to give up or burn out or change your mind or get bored.
Because we’re talking about using the past and what has happened up til now to predict the future.
What silly logic to use to predict the future. Think about THAT. We love to do this where we use our past to predict the future when if you just take a second to think about how ridiculously inaccurate that is…if you could only ever do something you’ve done before…you would have never ever done anything differently. If you could only use your past to predict your future, You’d never go on a date or get married or have kids. You’d never get a new job or quit a job. You’d never drive down a new street or go on a vacation or have a different haircut. You’d literally not be here now because you would have never learned to speak or walk or feed yourself or use the telephone or the podcast app you’re listening to.
So if you’re like stoping yourself from going ahead because you’re thinking:
I haven’t found the thing I totally love and want to see through til the end, I’ve never had an idea that has stuck with me forever, and you’re creating fear that this next idea won’t be it either. Well…
Think about how truly silly that sounds.
You’re like:
“I can’t do something because It might not be as exciting to me in ten years.”
It might not be.
Or you might be dead in ten years.
But just in case, just in case I don’t want to do this 10 years from now or just in case I’m dead ten years from now, I won't do it now, when I actually do want to do it, just in case.
How does that make sense?
It doesn’t but it’s a cool ass trick our brains play. Sometime in the future you might change your mind about this and that’s not good to change your mind.
Let’s be aware of this and break that stigma of changing your mind or changing direction or not completing something being bad so that if it does happen, maybe it won't, let’s hold space for that not happening, but if it does, it’s literally not a problem. And the fear of that won’t stop us from starting things.
Ok, so I just want to say here also that There are times when you want to have quantum leap breakthroughs and get into action, and I think that if you’re getting stuck with this thought of having too many ideas and that feels like a problem and you WANT to get into the work of something, then you can work on changing this thought to something stimulating instead of overwhelming or fear inducing and just put your space suit on and be able and ready to blast off into active creation mode. Grab the idea you want, decide why its cool to you now, and go. Don’t worry about the end just the first step now.
But then there’s a lot of time, and I mean ALOT OF TIME, where you might want to just have these ideas and bask in the vulnerability of having them inside of your own head to play with and gaze at and flip through at leisure like you would a beautiful collection of everlasting poetry.
IF you have lots of ideas and never act on any of them, that is perfect. Because having the brain capacity to have ideas, to imagine, to postulate, to get greedy with how much there is to think about and roll around in, lovingly, that is something special.
If you have an agenda for your ideas that is causing you to bypass the pleasure and the pain of being a human with a very complex mind and emotional bandwidth, then I encourage you to slow the need and cultivate the want. What I mean is, you don’t need to “do” any of your ideas, you don’t. But wanting them, that’s the magic that’s going to have you meeting your ideas with energetic desire and ultimately action no matter what. No matter how long it takes. No matter if one day half way through you say nevermind. No matter if your process isn't linear. No matter if that idea seems silly to everyone else in the world but you literally get warm and fuzzy inside when you work on it. Right.
That takes letting go of these paradigms built for us in a society of fast is better, done is best, competition and action and motivation are the gold stars of excellence. Your pace is perfection. And half “done” can be done. Because I want to, is a legitimate reason.
Imagine the possibility in listening to the spirit of your life and letting whatever is coming through you now, whether the whole world sees it or only you do, be enough.
That sounds incredible to me.
So I hope you got something from this episode. Maybe it’s not exactly what you were expecting, like you want to know the process for how to get things done and how to make something out of your ideas right now..but the truth is that most of my Coaching isn’t about how to get shit done. It’s more about letting go of the parameters and the need to know the “right” way to get to your way and through that practice of letting go, more actually DOES get done. But we have to work on really noticing what’s in the way. Alot of prescriptions about the how. Alot of ideas about what’s right or wrong or when the right time for partnering with your ideas is. No. You get to work on fostering trust and inner knowing and using your thoughts about your ideas to get out of confusion and back into the genius of your own brain.
If you have alot of ideas, congrats, your brain is working. If you’re overwhelmed or confused and want some help getting unstuck and into action, schedule a consultation and I can help you. If you have an idea that you are like chomping at the bit to to partner with, but are having trouble getting going, bring it to Life Coaching and we can grow it together. Alright that’s what I have for you today. Don’t forget to get signed up for Coaching, we’re almost halfway through 2022 and I know you all have been sitting on some big ideas since january and guess what is the coolest thing? You still have the rest of the year to make good on those goals and those desires and it’s plenty of time. Come to coaching. Go to my website and get signed up for a consult. I will see you there.