Shoot your idea babies in the face

I once overheard a conversation my wife had while working at an ad agency. Someone said, "I could never be a designer because I can't kill my own idea babies." That phrase stuck with me. I ruminated on it for a long time because, well, it's disturbingly accurate.

When you're creating new things—especially in uncharted problem spaces—you're going to come up with ideas that don't work. And some of these ideas? You'll have nurtured them. You'll have taken them from a quiet whisper to something you coddled and grew.

But eventually, you'll hit that moment where it's not working. Then comes the hard question: what the hell do you do with this idea?!

And I don't think just "killing" the idea baby is enough. You have to pull it close, put a gun to its head, and shoot it in the face. Harsh? Yes. But it's the only way to clear your head space.

See, you can't afford to keep half-formed or broken ideas lingering in your headspace. They drag you down. They pull mental and emotional bandwidth. They create inertia and mess up your decision-making. These not-quite-right ideas take up space where your next best idea could go.

But we hold onto them because we've already invested time, love, and energy. That's the trap. "It's a tarp!"

The faster you can recognize when an idea isn't working, and have the courage to murder it, the faster you can make something better.