Indicate [in-di-keyt] verb
1. to point out or point to; direct attention to
2. to state or express, especially briefly or in a general way; signal
In my experience, most cars on the road have indicators fitted for obligatory purposes only when changing lanes. To indicate is to share an intention with others. Therefore, when changing lanes, indicating to let others know you’ll be turning, before you actually turn, is the correct procedure. Most drivers, though, hit the indicator with their hand while they’re turning the wheel.
Did they share their intention with others beforehand? No.
As a biker riding between lanes, I know this sneaky little cage-driver trick, so my first indication of anyone turning is not the indicator, but their front wheel. If it starts to turn toward your general direction, you know they’re about to make a break for it. I’m pretty good at identifying these, however, sometimes I get it wrong.
This whole non-indicating indicator dilemma got me thinking: Is the real reason people actually don’t give enough time to indicate (set their intention) because when others see it happening, they race ahead to not let them in? I’ve seen it happen. It may have happened to you. Hell, you may have been the douche closing the gap!
Is this how people generally tend to think? Much like they hold back on the indicators until the last minute, what are people holding back on in their business or personal lives? To make it personal, what are you waiting to do/launch/create that you don’t want others to know about until the very last second, just in case they steal your idea or break it down before its begun?
Time and again I hear of people who had amazing ideas but never executed them (I’m guilty of this myself, too) because they didn’t want anyone else to know about it until it was ready to launch, but then someone else launched it before they could.
<insert sad face here>
The one thing that we never learn though (read this about learning from others’ mistakes) is the fact that their idea was, in fact, eventually executed by someone else. Which means your idea is not only in your mind. It’s everywhere. Ideas are developed through experience, and there are loads of other people experiencing similar things to you right now, and will have ideas too. Probably ‘your’ idea.
So what to do?
Simple: Get that idea out there. Don’t hold it in. Make it. Own it. Tell the world. Do your idea. Stat.
(Originally posted on LinkedIn)
