3 TIPS FOR TURNING AN IDEA INTO A PLAN

Wondering if your genius idea ‘has legs’? Want to take it to the next level? Here’s how…

Write down your ideas
Your brain is working for you 24/7, whether you realise it or not. Everything you tell yourself, your brain absorbs. The moment you have the thought of making a change in your life, the idea is registered in your subconscious mind. Then it’s up to you to make that thought take flight. By allowing yourself the freedom to entertain ideas that come to mind and writing them down, you’re training your brain to become familiar with a new way of thinking. Every idea you have has the potential of becoming a new neural pathway.

Plant the seeds
If you continue to reflect on the thought and put action behind it – brainstorm ideas, cut pictures or articles out of magazines or newspapers, download podcasts that are relevant, speak about it with friends – you reinforce the idea and help build a more powerful neural pathway, meaning the thinking becomes easier for the brain to do. It’s like planting seeds in the ground, only in this case it’s in your mind. Your ideas will sprout roots with the attention you give them. The more you do this and the stronger the neural connection being built, the easier it will be for your brain to help you think of more ideas because it doesn’t have to work as hard. Your actions have made the unfamiliar familiar. The more you put into thinking, the more you get out of it. Simply put, you get what you focus on.

Ask the ‘what ifs’
If you want to pursue something different, give yourself time to ask the ‘what if’ questions. These are questions that open your mind to different possibilities. “What if I didn’t have to worry about taking care of my garden and house? What if I had more free time by working three days a week? What if I could make nearly the same amount of money by being my own boss?” When you’ve been thinking about what you want to do for a while, you’ll find your brain beginning to give you ideas. Write these down. This is how a plan forms.

Abridged and extracted from More To Give by Executive coach Cindy Galvin,cindygalvin.com.

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