Of random ideas and choosing

I remember as a kid when it was time for recess, I would walk past the swings and four square court to the field with the wildflowers and wander around by myself making up stories in my head.  It wasn't that I didn't have friends.  (At least I don't think so.) It was just that the stories were so compelling and somehow walking in the flowers made them more real because I could push away everything else and just think about them.

I find I'm still like that, but as a grown up it isn't just about stories. I like to play with the big ideas.

I've been told that there are convergent thinkers--those who look for the right answer--and divergent ones--those that look for multiple possibilities.  Get a bunch of divergent thinkers around a table of any sort, and it is incredibly fun for me. There are fresh perspectives and new takes. Things get revealed that I hadn't considered before. Everything feels possible.

But just like stories are just daydreaming until you write them down, ideas are just air until you act on them.  At some point, the possibilities have to quit swirling and you choose the ones you want to own.

This is where I think divergent thinkers have a distinct advantage over convergent ones. If you are a convergent thinker, then you won't try things until you find the "right" idea. Divergent thinkers are into life experiments. And it is all just dinner conversation until someone tries to put it in action.