"Good ideas are not invented, they're discovered."
I believe that this is one of the most crucial insights that has helped me accomplish numerous tasks. It may seem like a simple tip, but most of us tend to default to thinking from a blank slate.
As human beings, we are not adept at thinking from scratch. It is a significant weakness ingrained in our minds, our brains. We require resources to get started. Yet, we often frame creative tasks as a matter of "thinking deep" or "thinking hard," only to end up with mere thoughts.
It can be incredibly uncomfortable when we lack the necessary resources, especially when we are expected to conjure ideas out of thin air. In reality, many solutions to difficult tasks are not invented through deep thinking; instead, they are mostly discovered.
Drawing from my years of experience as an entrepreneur, I have found that most challenging tasks are creative problems. And the majority of creative solutions are not invented from scratch; they are discovered.
So, how can we address the issue of "thinking from a blank slate"?
The first step is simple: shift your mindset from "thinking from scratch" to "actively exploring." Then, embark on the necessary initial stage of collecting information and resources. Before diving into the process of generating solutions, warm up your mind. This can be done by gathering relevant information and allowing it to percolate within your thoughts. The more information you collect, the higher the chances of arriving at a good solution.
If you find it difficult to warm up your mind or collect enough information, take a break and refrain from rushing toward a premature solution. Instead, focus on gathering more information until you have a better grasp of the problem at hand.
Furthermore, in today's age of advanced AI tools, such as ChatGPT, you can leverage their capabilities to aid in the warming-up phase. Using AI tools for initial information collection can be an effective approach. If you are unsure of where to begin, you can visit my AI-focused blog post on the topic: Overcoming the Blank Slate: Harnessing AI to Jumpstart Innovation. I hope this resource will be helpful to you.
