People ask if every idea has been had before by someone else. The theory is that there are so many people in the world - and so many who have already lived - that you don't have a truly original thought in your head. In response to this question, I pose a question of my own.
Who cares?
It doesn't matter if no one has ever thought the exact things that you're thinking, because you're you and that means that it's different. No one has the exact experiences and lenses that you see the world through.
When taking improv classes at Second City and iO Chicago, there were plenty of recurring themes, and while the majority of the lessons centered around freeing your mind and being in the moment as you're onstage, there was a specific explanation that stuck with me. As per Colleen Doyle (a teacher I had/genius whose shows with Dummy at iO were/are absolutely incredible), the characters you play are affected by your own life; you see what the character sees, but you see it through your own life lens and filter it that way.
While it's good advice for being onstage, the bigger picture here is that you are uniquely you. No one can see things the exact way that you see them, so even if there's a person 5000 years from now having this same thought-process that I'm having, s/he will have different life experiences and a different personality than me, which means the thoughts will not be precisely the same.
It's the same principal as when you watch a movie with someone and you have wholly different opinions of the same thing. You're being fed the same stimuli but processing them in completely separate ways. Why? Because you're different people. Other people might look like you, sound like you, talk like you, and - god forbid - smell like you, but they aren't you. Hell, they probably don't speak the same language as you, so there's a pretty low chance that they'd have the same thoughts.
Accept that you're not original, but embrace that your point of view is original. Even if someone is very similar, you don't see things the same way, no matter what. Your opinions matter, and the differences between them are what makes the world an interesting place.
But I swear to Science that if you ever say an unkind word about Finding Nemo, I will disregard your opinions about anything for the rest of ever.
Who cares?
It doesn't matter if no one has ever thought the exact things that you're thinking, because you're you and that means that it's different. No one has the exact experiences and lenses that you see the world through.
When taking improv classes at Second City and iO Chicago, there were plenty of recurring themes, and while the majority of the lessons centered around freeing your mind and being in the moment as you're onstage, there was a specific explanation that stuck with me. As per Colleen Doyle (a teacher I had/genius whose shows with Dummy at iO were/are absolutely incredible), the characters you play are affected by your own life; you see what the character sees, but you see it through your own life lens and filter it that way.
While it's good advice for being onstage, the bigger picture here is that you are uniquely you. No one can see things the exact way that you see them, so even if there's a person 5000 years from now having this same thought-process that I'm having, s/he will have different life experiences and a different personality than me, which means the thoughts will not be precisely the same.
It's the same principal as when you watch a movie with someone and you have wholly different opinions of the same thing. You're being fed the same stimuli but processing them in completely separate ways. Why? Because you're different people. Other people might look like you, sound like you, talk like you, and - god forbid - smell like you, but they aren't you. Hell, they probably don't speak the same language as you, so there's a pretty low chance that they'd have the same thoughts.
Accept that you're not original, but embrace that your point of view is original. Even if someone is very similar, you don't see things the same way, no matter what. Your opinions matter, and the differences between them are what makes the world an interesting place.
But I swear to Science that if you ever say an unkind word about Finding Nemo, I will disregard your opinions about anything for the rest of ever.
Comments
Post a Comment