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Too many ideas lead us to lack of focus and too many successful examples leave us rather frustrated (and/or envious!)
"Ideas Worth Spreading"
But how many good ideas are 'enough' to make you say I'm overloaded or to leave you in 'the paradox of choice' (follow Barry Schwartz' talk!)? While your enthusiasm is getting divided into a lot of diverse ideas and you are inspired by too many things at the same time, you may not want to leave any of those undone, untasted or untested. As a result nothing is getting done and you lose focus. And finally not getting things done is leaving you frustrated.
Also you are constantly in the middle of listening to amazing things, learning about other people's great ideas kicking off, getting done, making empires etc. You are left asking yourself 'what's wrong with me?' while feeling a bit envious!
As Alain de Botton said in his talk "...Never before have expectations been so high about what human beings can achieve with their lifespan. We're told, from many sources, that anyone can achieve anything. We've done away with the caste system... We're all basically equal. There are no strictly defined kind of hierarchies.
There is one really big problem with this, and that problem is envy....".
So the point is, should or shouldn't we stop pursuing 'new ideas' at some point? Does the overflow of new ideas and news of great accomplishments disturb us in what we are doing? Or are the continuous flow of ideas and news good sources of inspiration and should the flow be continuous?
Janine Fleri
ali victor
For better or for worst, we need them.
There has to be order, if one can gain balance
and recognize ideas that resonates with them, but most importantly
now exactly what they want in life , they
will be fascinated by the power it possess.
I think the answer to your question is organization and TRUE understanding of ones self... :-)
Thomas Brucia
As for feeling envious, I have never had much envy. If someone was able to do something I couldn't, I just tried to emulate them and see if I could do that too. If I couldn't I didn't let it bother me. I learned humility early, and seldom fell prey to the idea that 'whatever the mind can conceive, you can achieve.' I saw too many examples of folks 'falling into' success -- and then discovering they'd been inveigled into a trap.
Maybe I'm nuts, but I think that Buddhism has a lot to say about being happy. If not taken to an extreme, the idea that 'the extinction of desire leads to the extinction of pain' is true. (My appetites for food and women would disqualify me from any standard of Buddhism, but I'm eclectic....). Shrugging your shoulders and dismissing 'success' as a meaningless term is a realistic alternative to having a socially sanctioned 'purpose in life'. I kinda like Winston Churchill's statement that "Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." For me (since I don't care much about what others expect of me) I rather enjoy charting my own (solo) course and measuring my life in terms of what I wanted to do -- rather than against other folks.
Thomas Anderson
Debra Smith 200+
Jay Chatterjee
Generating ideas are more like addiction and sometimes compulsion, that we can not prevent (even if we want).
I think, we all (who have that "addiction") purify/filter different ideas, that we ourselves generate or imbibe in different forms and forums (as in this one) to make a "actionable" plan of work that suits the bigger picture.
That "bigger picture" depends on our "education" and upbringing. Someone might prefer to make this world a "better" place while many others may like to use this word to offer him/her a better place.
In short, we all generate "ideas" depending on our ability, education and grooming. Some ideas are not "worth spreading" or can not even be described as "ideas" (to others). And there is no way out to constantly generating "ideas"- rejecting most, accepting few and working on fewer (lot fewer).
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Debra Smith 200+
Sarah Moran
Too many ideas can confuse the mind, because some will obviously contradict one another and leave an individual with less confirmation regarding their own views of what might be best. While speculation is a good thing, enough of it is bound to drive anyone to a point where they cannot remain grounded no matter how they try to rationalize their wondering.
It is natural to feel envious, but this should be turned into positive aspirations, which is not always so easy to do. I don't think its a good idea to spread a message that "anyone can achieve anything". That message defies common sense. It is a good motivator, but can easily fuel delusion (false hope).
Goldmark Anthony Indico
However, these could only happen if YOU will stop getting envious and start PARTICIPATING.
Gayatri RAMANUJAM
But the problem lies with me. Long may the ideas flow!
Justin ondriest
Though I understand your point, I think it is seriously flawed. The Renaissance was a time of many ideas too, and it seemed humanity gained a great deal from that period of time. Now we are in a state of constant renaissance and with the digitization and virtualization of literally anything growing more and more possible, we are seeing more people living their lives in virtual environments wherein all ego needs are satisfied.
This is not an excuse and should not be considered a viable complaint against TED. I actually find myself wondering if you are part of an obtrusive regime somewhere. Ideas make the world grow and its inhabitants evolve. Little children who grow up playing with digital devices are going to represent a new paradigm in consciousness as they learn the language of computers as quickly as they do human languages...they will build a world unlike any we have seen before it. But powerful, pathological people will do everything they can to fight it. The world is changing though...you will see...ideas are required to save us from the frightful oppression of out-dated economic mechanisms and governments, and brilliant people will not stop creating and inspiring others to create.
Mohammad Tauheed 500+
Here the issue of 'stopping the flow of ideas at some point in life' is more of a personal necessity or not. Obviously the global flow of ideas worth spreading must continue. To be clear, this debate is NOT a complaint against the mission of TED's Ideas Worth Spreading.
But I think sometimes we need to pause all our connections and the flows of ideas, to keep our head concentrated to the works of ideas-in-action that already we have. Otherwise it disturbs, makes us feel anxious, impatience, tends to lead us getting things done in a short-cut way and may also lead us to the tendency of quick show-off.
Kevin Raney
Salim Solaiman 50+
Shokrullah Amiri 10+
When it comes about ideas worth spreading in Ted, it is both; giving & taking ideas.
It is almost equal to not that people get frustrated of many ideas compared to having one.At exceptional level it is true, but you need to have the idea of differentiating good ones too.
Colleen Steen 500+
Personally, I will never stop pursuing new ideas until I take my last breath on this earth school:>) The news of great accomplishments by so many people in our world inspires and motivates me daily, and I think/feel that the continuous flow of ideas is wonderful for all of us.
I observe that people sometimes get frustrated and overwhelmed with so many things that could be done in our world to create a more peaceful global life experience. Each one of us, as individuals, can evaluate what talents, skills, knowledge, time committment, financial committment, etc. we can contribute, that works best for ourselves, other people, and our environment. We are all in different stages of our lives, and many things change for us regarding our interests at any given time. In my perception, there is no such thing as too much knowledge, and in each and every moment, we can decide as individuals how to use the knowledge we have. We can focus on one cause or issue that we feel is relevant and can realistically contribute something to. What we focus on expands. Can you imagine what our world could be if everyone spent some time focusing and contributing to causes that were important to the individual and to the whole?
Salim Solaiman 50+
While in reality, living with people without curiosity (lack of curiosity doesn't bring any idea) by at large , I am not in favor killing / blocking any idea.
However here in TED , the word WORTH is already a filter...........
How much is too much ?
Who decides it's too much ?
Sam Rock
So i mean that Ideas are always there for everyone but if someone want to take that then one must also see the hard work behind that Ideas and Inspirations. I like Tendulkar(a great Indian cricket player) and if my heart said that..." Hey let's play a cricket dude." then i know that my mind will reply " Hey stupid!! be in your limit and you can't do that much of hard work " .
So still I must say that Ideas and Inspirations are very necessary. doesn't matter whether they come alone or in bundle .
Christophe Cop 500+
-and I must admit I have experienced it myself-
But to me, there seems no such thing as too much knowledge...
And I'm happy to know that other people will execute a lot of those ideas I'm not able to pursue.
Fritzie Reisner 100+
Rhona Pavis 50+
Sam Rock
Rhona Pavis 50+
Mohammad Tauheed 500+
Yes "too many...", at some point too many ideas throw us into the 'paradox of choice'. Personally I constantly feel interested about almost all good ideas :p I immediately start dreaming of a new project, start thinking about possible new people to help me doing that etc. These thoughts have a dual effect. It makes me inspired and enthusiastic about pursuing something new, again, since that very idea may not be very compatible with my expertise or typical interest I give up the thoughts and it leave a lasting bad feeling of 'giving up'.
Rhona Pavis 50+