February 2nd | The Opposite of a Good Idea

Inspired by “Alchemy” by Rory Sutherland

Good morning, friend.

In the simplest world of binary opposites, the opposite of something good is something bad.

And there are certainly things in life that do play by those rules. Bad sushi is certainly the opposite of good sushi. Bad decisions are the opposite of good decisions. But mostly, good is only the opposite of bad in the abstract and often behave very differently in the particular.

If you got in a fight with a very large, very angry bull, the opposite of trying to punch it in the face might be either trying to outrun it or, alternatively, doing your very best to sweet-talk your way out of the situation.

In other words, a scenario where the opposite of a bad idea is more bad ideas.

But the reverse situation is also often true: the opposite of a good idea is often also a good idea.

We lose track of that because good ideas are hard to come by, and usually by the time we’ve found one, we’re also invested in precisely why it’s a good idea. We’re too busy arguing why it’s a good idea to realize the alternatives are also good ideas.

And yes, it is a good idea. Might even be the right idea.

But often? The opposite of your great idea is another great idea.

Who knows—an idea that might even be better.… Read the rest