Why do some good ideas go bad? All ideas start out as “good ideas”… but along the way some ideas become bad.
It is easy to claim an idea as being good or bad when looking back in time.
In art and in life, choices are the bits and parts of an idea as it is happening – “I think it would be a good idea to use this color because (fill-in-the-blank). “… Or, “This will be great as soon as I do (fill-in-the-blank). ”
When good ideas go bad
Insecurities and realization are the cancer of ideas originally considered to be good.
Sometimes even the smallest negative reaction to your idea will be more than enough for you to suddenly label your “idea” as bad. The more insecure you are, the more quickly you’re potentially good ideas go bad.
Realization is your “common sense” killer of ideas. It keeps bad ideas from getting worse – “This meat is kinda green… maybe if I just cook it for a really long time, it will be ok to eat.”
However, you can confuse realization for insecurity while proclaiming an idea as being bad – “Do you think having this tattoo on my… ”
Questioning my own choices in my artwork and glass sculpture is very hard. It is hard to not let insecurities rule the day.
Conviction to the rescue
Conviction is the life support for good and bad ideas.
Conviction throws insecurity aside. It is the cheerleader for ideas. Conviction is the noble effort in life.
However, on the dark side, conviction is also the mask for the face of reality.
When an artist, inventor, or so-called visionary stands by their convictions, the rewards can be much greater… and the disappointments can be much deeper.
Just an idea
So, it comes down to the fact that ideas are just ideas. And ideas actually start out neutral, being neither good or bad.
Even looking back in time doesn’t always make an idea good or bad… because as my mom always says, “Everything happens for a reason”.
by Bernard Katz