You might think your ideas are original, but are you sure about that?
I thought mine were, but it wasn’t until I started writing 10 years ago that I realized how wrong I was.
I’ve wanted to be a content creator for a long time, I was consuming tutorials on how to use camera equipment, edit YouTube videos, and make graphics, but there was one problem: anytime I sat down to write I either stared at a blank page for hours with no idea what to say, or I filled the page with words that were not my own.
Everything I did felt forced, it felt like someone else was speaking for me, I didn’t know how to solve this problem.
Then it hit me. My opinions and beliefs weren’t my own. Once I understood that I knew very little, I was able to truly learn and create an unlimited number of original ideas. You can do this too.
I’m speaking on originality from a writer’s perspective, but it doesn’t stop there. Once you unlock the full power of your subconscious and learn to break away from the mental cage in which you were raised, it will bleed into every area of your life.
Where Do Our Opinions Come From?
From the dawn of time, humans have gathered in tribes for the sake of survival. Adopting the same way of life, diets, routines, and religious beliefs, all echoing the same opinions. In a more primitive time, rejection from the tribe meant certain death, and the fear of such forced everyone to follow the herd.
Who is your tribe? Your parents, your teachers, your friends, your coworkers, or even your boss. From the time you’re born, you begin to take their values and opinions as your own. Failing to do so means being labeled as an outcast, which risks losing the approval of your parents and social circle.
To be an original thinker, you have to go to the deepest parts of your mind and realize that those opinions are a mental cage, and once you unlock the door you can start to find your true self. You must let go of your desire for acceptance and chase the desire for your individuality.
Step 1: Dig Deeper
90% of people are looking in the same place for their advice, opinions, and brain food. They read the same 10 self-help books as everyone else, listen to the most popular podcasts, only follow the biggest names on social media, and only watch what YouTube tells us they will like. All of this reinforces your cognitive bias and fear of being labeled as an outcast, but if you’re consuming the same information as everyone else, how can you expect to think differently than the rest of the tribe?
Thinking originally doesn’t mean waiting for some new idea to come to you, it means finding the sources that the average person overlooks. Understand that every great idea was inspired by another. Think about the top 10 self-help books. You read them, and you pondered the author’s thoughts and ideas, but their ideas came from somewhere.
In order to dig deeper you can’t stop at the surface. When something inspires you, ask yourself “Where did that come from?” Go find their sources, find their source’s sources, never take anything at face value, and keep diving deeper into ideas that inspired the most famous thinkers of our time.
Even the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important pieces of writing in the history of man wasn’t created out of thin air. It was inspired by ancient philosophy and the work of those who came before them. Some of their sources include Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights, the writings of John Locke, and the history of Greece under Cleisthenes, the father of democracy.
A quick Google search revealed these sources, why not do the same next time you find something impactful in a book or a video?
Step 2: Question Everything
In the primitive days of man, being an outcast came with deadly consequences, but I have good news for you, there most likely isn’t a bear outside of your modern-day apartment, you’ll be ok on your own for a while.
I want you to take a moment and think about a piece of advice you wish you had ignored. In hindsight, it was the wrong decision, but did you question it in the moment? I wouldn’t bet on it.
We’re discouraged from questioning anything. We don’t question the teacher in school, we don’t question our parent’s motives, and we don’t question the validity of a life coach’s advice because questioning popular opinions leads to disagreements, and that goes against human nature. Disagreements trigger our fight or flight response, but in order to learn, we can’t be scared to face them, in fact, I think it should be encouraged.
The most important place to start is disagreeing with yourself. Be skeptical of your own opinions. Look for books that contradict your own beliefs and have conversations with people on the other side of society to understand their perspectives. Don’t run from it, subject yourself to it, you’ll soon learn that the echo chamber you’ve lived in for your entire life isn’t the only safe place to go.
The greatest minds in history all had one thing in common, they were contrarians and skeptics.
The founding fathers questioned what life would look like without the British monarchy despite the rest of the world believing that was just normal life.
Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, believed that the world would one day be connected digitally, rather than having to wait for a book to be published, the phone to ring, or a letter to arrive in the mail.
Justin Hall, the original blogger, believed that writing could take the form of a digital diary and was not limited to physical books and essays.
They were probably labeled as crazy, but to be an original thinker or accomplish anything meaningful in life, you have to be willing to be disliked and ask, “Is this right, or is there something missing?”
Step 3: Breathe In Inspiration, Breathe Out Ideas
This might seem like a flip, but your ideas aren’t original, they’re the product of questioning someone else’s opinion and forming your own perspective.
We’ve talked about consuming new information with the intention of understanding different perspectives, but what do you do with them?
Well, everyone knows that if you eat too much without exercising, you will gain weight, what’s less known is if you spend all of your time consuming information without creating your own, you’ll potentially develop mental obesity.
I believe truly creative people are like a tree going through a constant process of photosynthesis, but instead of light, carbon, and oxygen, creatives breathe in inspiration and breathe out ideas. But, they make sure to hold their breath.
If you’re familiar with meditation, you’ll understand that holding your breath for a few seconds helps clear your mind and live in the moment, creative work is the same. When you’re constantly consuming information your mind is moving at light speed trying to stay organized, but if you’re always consuming, you’re breathing too fast.
To form your own thoughts, you need to find time to do nothing. Take a walk, meditate, lie awake, and stare at the ceiling, not actively thinking, just letting your subconscious process everything you’ve absorbed throughout the day, then, out of nowhere, an independent thought will pop into your head.
When that happens, don’t try to hold it in, put it somewhere for later. As David Allen says, “Your mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” Write them down, open up a notebook, and let your subconscious do the work, it doesn’t have to make sense at first, you just need to give your idea a place to live.
When the words stop coming, you’ve got your original idea. Not original in the way of “never seen before”, but because it’s your perspective built on your experiences, the collision of dozens of ideas you’ve absorbed, disagreements you’ve had with yourself and others, and all of it will merge to create something that isn’t born from a one-sided argument or your cognitive bias.
Key Points
- Understand why you hold certain beliefs, and where they come from.
- Dig deeper to find less famous information.
- Ask questions that disagree with your preexisting beliefs.
- Consume less, create more.
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