Is This a Good Idea? It Might Be for Me, But Not for You
Not every good idea is good for everyone.
I have lots of ideas.
You likely have lots of ideas.
Some are ginormous, veritably insurmountable, and lofty as all get-out. Others are more approachable, have paths you can take that people have taken before, and/or roadmaps can be found and employed
Most ideas are just ideas. Neither good nor bad. They simply are. And you have them all the time.
I’ve been known to spew ideas just because they are fun to share. I’ve been known, when many are ludicrous, sarcastic, or clearly not good to remark, “I said I had an idea. I didn’t say it was a good idea.”
How do you define a good idea from a bad idea? Like reality is different for each of us (within the context of the shared collective consciousness), a good idea for me might not be a good idea for you. And there are numerous reasons why this might be.
But maybe we should begin by exploring how ideas differ.
Idea vs good idea vs bad idea
Most ideas tend to just be. They are neither good nor bad – they just are.
Sometimes this comes down to intent. Other times it’s aim and focus. Of course, at times, it’s utterly circumstantial and not under anyone’s control.
To be fair, certain ideas are always bad.
- Murder not in self-defense
- Stealing to amass wealth
- Intentionally harming or hurting someone else
- Wanton, senseless destruction
You get the idea. And note – I am VERY specific about these bad ideas, because there’s a difference between, for example, killing someone in self-defense and stealing bread to feed a starving child. Still not good, but not necessarily outright bad.
Likewise, certain ideas are always good.
- Saying thank you and giving gratitude
- Offering truly unconditional love and support
- Rescuing shelter animals
- Looking both ways before you cross the street
Again, being specific because most ideas, at their root, just are.
All my examples above are small ideas. They won’t necessarily be earth-shattering or otherwise deeply impactful. Except that they could be.
You never know the impact giving gratitude to someone could have. The Domino Effect is a thing.
Defining idea vs good idea vs bad idea helps us to understand a key component of any and all ideas.
No two people are alike
What I desire for my life experience is not what you desire for your life experience. My relationships are not like yours. They might be similar, there could be common threads between them. But who, what, where, how, and why I am is not who, what, where, how, and why you are. That’s the way it is.
Everyone has ideas. It’s part of human nature. Ideas are how we grow, evolve, develop, and create. Without them, we’d still be nomadic hunter-gatherers, merely existing and subsisting rather than what the human race has become.
Have you ever stopped to wonder who got the idea to gather leaves, berries, fruits, and the like – dry them out, then steep them in hot water? Most of us only consider which bag or infuser to use when it comes to tea, now. But once upon a time – someone had the idea to create the first tea.
This applies to everything that makes up our world. Someone had the idea to create a device for global communications and mobile computing. You might be using such right now to read this.
Sometimes an idea can lead to something bad. The science that unlocked nuclear fission was not intent on turning it into the most destructive bomb we could employ. Yet that’s one place the idea led us.
Some ideas scare people. All you have to do is look at American politics and much of the conservative agenda, and you see the fear that new ideas (many of which are, frankly, not so new) cause.
This is why a good idea for me might not be a good idea for you.
A good idea for me might not work for you
Over the past couple of years, I’ve been working on creating my brand and developing my writing to better earn my living. This has not been without its challenges.
This has been a good idea for me because I am overall content with my life, while excited for the potential and possibility that I am working on building up. It’s also been good for me because my wife has been fully and completely supportive in multiple ways.
For someone else, this might be a bad idea. They might need to be in an office, or working with their hands, or doing something more conventional. The lifestyle I love might be deeply unpleasant to and for them.
Just because I think it’s a good idea for me doesn’t mean it’s automatically a good idea for you. And damn is that true of the whole wide world.
If you find certain restrictions and limitations a good idea for you – that doesn’t make them good for everyone else. Part of the problem the United States has right now is a certain group of “Christians” working to force their ideology on everyone else, as though it’s a good idea for all. FYI – it’s not.
Your good idea might be a bad idea for me. And vice versa. While we don’t need to necessarily agree, here – we do need to be cognizant of our prejudices, biases, values, and beliefs – and that just because they differ that doesn’t make one greater or lesser than the other.
With mindfulness, we can all coexist.
Mindfulness for coexistent ideas
I think one of the biggest problems in the world today is conflict around ideas. Sometimes such conflict is legit, in that attempts to force people to your idea of how things are or should be is never right for anyone else. Sorry, it won’t work.
We need to be better at accepting and understanding that we’re all different. While we might disagree, overall there is room for all our ideas to coexist. This applies to religion, culture, values, morals, and lots of other far-reaching notions.
When you work to force people to your idea and way of thinking you will create conflict. That’s because you can present the best conceived, truly good idea for you – that’s not a good idea for someone else.
Likewise, we need to be more accepting that different isn’t a bad thing. And some differences are wiring while others are choices. So long as you intend to cause no harm or hurt, your idea is valid. But know it might not work for all. And that’s ok.
A good idea for me might not be a good idea for you. Mindfulness of this truth allows us to work together, rather than let differing ideas divide us. That’s a choice.
Hate is a choice. Fear is a choice. Forcing an idea down someone else’s throat is a choice – and a poor one.
Not every good idea is good for everyone. When you are mindful and consciously aware of this, you can work with your intent to create more balance in your corner of the world, and potentially spread that to the world at large. Mindfulness is knowledge, and knowledge is power and empowerment.
Do you have an idea you believe is a good idea?
This is the five-hundred and forty-second exploration of my Pathwalking philosophy. These weekly essays are my ideas for – and experiences with – using mindfulness and positivity to walk along a chosen path of life to consciously create reality.
I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world and empower as many people as I can with conscious reality creation.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-post and share this.
The first year of Pathwalking, including expanded ideas, is available here. Check out Amazon for my published fiction and nonfiction works.
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