Bam.
An idea.
Sometimes I have a pen and paper. Or my notebook. Or I type it into my phone. Often I don’t. And you know what? That’s okay.
Look at it this way:
A scarcity mindset: This idea is so good that I just have to record it because it could change my life and maybe even the world. Where’s my pen?
An abundancy mindset: This idea is cool. I’ll try to remember it. If not, no biggie. I’ve got more.
Someone with a scarcity mindset is an idea hoarder. Don’t be one of them.
Remember, you have thousands of thoughts and ideas and observations every day. Trying to catch and record them all is pointless for two reasons. One, there’s too many. Two, you have an inexhaustible supply.
But if you do record and hoard? Well, here’s what I imagine is running through your mind:
“I don’t trust myself. I think this is a good idea and I’m scared that I won’t come up with anymore so I’m not going to let it go.”
Relax.
If an idea is that important, some variant of it will come back to you. In fact, if it’s that important, it’ll never leave your head. You’ll be reminded of it in the most absurd and unrelated situations. It’ll tyrannise you at three in the morning. It’ll make you forget you were actually in the middle of a conversation with someone. It’ll make your life hell until you do something with it.
Those are the ideas to pursue.
The rest? Allow them to come and go. Because once you stop trying to capture them, somehow, you end up with ten times as many.
Swell & Cut 