Do you have what it takes to be an original thinker?

“Originals are non-conformists. They are people who stand out and speak up. Originals drive creativity and change in the world,” says Adam Grant, a Ted Talk speaker and a specialist in organisational psychology in a speech he delivered in April 2016. According to him, three common traits of originals are-

1. They are procrastinators: They are always running short on time. According to a study, people who wait until the last minute do not have enough time left for any new ideas. Whereas people who precrastinate (do things long before the deadline/opposite to procrastinate) are in such a frenzy of anxiety that they don’t get new ideas either.

Originals are the ones who procrastinate moderately. It is because procrastination gives you time to come up with different ideas and think in nonlinear ways. Adam says, “Originals are quick to start but slow to finish.” To be original you don’t actually have to be first. You just have to be different and better. And the theory of first mover advantage is mostly a myth. A study shows that the failure rate of first movers was 47% compared to only 8% for the improvers, who introduced something better. It is because it is easier to improve what is already there than to start from scratch.

2. Full of fear and doubts: They do look confident outside but have the same fear inside like others. The trick is to manage it. When we have new ideas we find them great at the beginning and then gradually start to doubt them and in turn doubt ourselves. Here lies the difference. Self-doubt paralyzes you whereas idea-doubt encourages you to think and experiment. Grant stressed the fact that to be an original thinker, you just have to skip the self-doubt. Freshness comes when you see the same thing but with different vision.

3. Have lots of bad ideas: Just like us, originals have really bad ideas too. But we do not speak up and they do. And yes, the fear of failing in originals is same as us too. But the difference is they are even more afraid of failing to try than failing itself. Grant says, “Original thinkers are the ones who fail the most because they are the ones who try the most. And if we want to be original, we have to generate more ideas.”

Note: The web report is based on a Ted talk delivered by Adam Grant in 2016. You can access the full talk at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxbCHn6gE3U