Converting Ideas Into Actions

"The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret to outward success." – Henry Ward Beecher, prominent liberal American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and abolitionist (1813-1887)

Where do ideas come from, anyway? It may seem to us as though some people just have an endless source of creativity, springing forth with one idea after another with no seeming effort. While we’d like to be that way ourselves at times, most of us struggle to come up with ideas when pressed. It’s often a lot easier to just let them well up without our bidding than to try to force the issue.

But it is true that ideas, once we do conceive of them or hatch them or however we prefer to describe our process, need to go somewhere in order to have value. An idea by itself, no matter how unique and interesting, won’t do us any good – or anyone else, for that matter – if it sits idle, gathering dust in some notebook or scratched out on some forgotten piece of paper.

Yet, aren’t many discoveries found years later by just such a means? An inventor or a poet or an architect or scientist or engineer may labor for many years, coming up with numerous ideas that aren’t quite ready for prime time. There’s some vital piece missing, so the ideas and concepts are relegated to the back shelf until such a time when the needed piece of the puzzle becomes apparent, is discovered, created or combined so that the original idea now becomes workable.

So much for how the great inventors do it. How do we accomplish the task of converting ideas into action? Well, it isn’t by bemoaning our lack of creativity or genius or arsenal of skills. We simply have to do it. That’s right. We need to take action and do something with those ideas that we’ve come up with.

Granted, not every idea we have will see the light of day. Whether we’re trying to conjure up an effective strategy for dealing with cravings and urges or need to create a workable schedule so that we have time enough in our day to accommodate our recovery-oriented tasks as well as our work, school or home duties, sometimes we just need to allow the ideas to jell for a while until they’re more firmly set. That means that we have a running list of things that are basically works in progress.

Like goals, they can be separated into short-term, mid-range, and long-term projects. In essence, we compartmentalize them according to how much more work they require, what’s missing and needs to be discovered or found or implemented, which situations the ideas may be best suited for, and what resources will be required in order to bring them to fruition. Still, it’s always good to finally have our ideas come to life, so to speak. When we work hard to put our ideas into action, we want to see some demonstrable results. Even if we don’t succeed the first time out with a particular idea, we want to see that we’ve been able to make considerable progress, or at least some progress. This helps motivate us and make us want to continue trying to work out any kinks in the idea, smooth out the rough edges, convince enough people to help us refine the idea and help work on it – whatever it takes.

And that is really the crux of what it takes to bring ideas into reality. Once we start on the path of trying to see how our ideas can take shape and help change our lives and the lives of those around us whom we care for, it makes all the difference in the world. Not only do we get some real-time feedback, we also are able to see the cause and effect of what we have done. We came up with the idea, or we ran with the idea that someone else created and shared, and we put together a plan, took the necessary action and brought it to life.

The more we’re able to accomplish, the more self-confident and self-assured we become. In reality, some of us will have many good ideas that we haven’t given appropriate time to in order to see if they are indeed workable or right for us. That doesn’t mean they’re not still good ideas, so keep that in mind when we think about all the ideas we’ve never done anything with. They’re still there, waiting for the right time and place to take a prominent position at the forefront of our minds, demanding attention.

The secret to keeping this creative process going is to avoid self-censure. Don’t berate our ideas or think to ourselves that whatever we come up with isn’t very worthwhile. Maybe the idea is something that others have tried, but if it is new to us, then we can tailor it to our own circumstances and make it our own. Isn’t that what we do when we hear about some technique or tip others share in the rooms of recovery? That’s what recovery is all about, isn’t it, sharing our experiences so that we can all grow and find peace and happiness in recovery?

Let the ideas bubble up. Write them down, either on paper or commit them to a word processing program or jot them in a Blackberry or on the iPhone. Remember, too, that there are no dumb ideas. There are only ideas that aren’t fully fleshed out yet or need different timing or another audience or set of circumstances to be appropriate. Brainstorming is like that. You toss out all kinds of ideas without any judgment attached. In the process of coming up with ideas, other ideas form and then you begin to see parallels and combinations of ideas. Where one idea may not be workable on its own, by combining it with one or more ideas in different configurations, the idea may actually prove to be quite workable.

It is also good to discuss our ideas with those whom we trust, those individuals whose opinion we value and who can also serve not only as sounding-boards but also participate in the aforementioned brainstorming sessions. This is how ideas bloom and disseminate. They gain traction and enthusiasm and buy-in from others – often the ones we need to help us implement our ideas and make them a reality.