Perhaps my quest for deeper meaning will be propelled by the constant reminder that I am not original. This is not a bad thing. Barbara Grizzuti Harrison said, “There are no original ideas. There are only original people.” Perhaps this is what I am really trying to say. I realize there is no other person out there who is exactly like me – every person in the world then becomes unoriginal in their originality (if we are all original, doesn’t that make us all unoriginal????)
I do not like that my IDEAS do not seem to be original. I want to have that one AMAZING idea that really motivates someone (even me), sparks an interest, catches someone’s eye. But NO, my ideas indeed are not original. Need some proof??? I really thought I was being clever and unique with my 400 Days ’til 40 blog…. apparently some others did as well:
400 Days Until 40: http://400daysuntil40.com (blog on health and fitness before turning 40)
400 Days Until 40: http://400daysuntil40.blogspot.com/ (not kept up, she already turned 40, hope it was good!)
400 Before 40: http://400before40.wordpress.com/ (blog on 400 things to do before turning 40)
400 Days to 40: http://www.everydayhealth.com/blogs/400daysto40 (health blog on Everyday Health site)
40 Days Until I’m 40: http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/capital-life/40-days-until-i-m-40 (a blogger from New Zealand, now 40 – congrats!)
400 Days to 40: http://cecilyjackson.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/my-healthcare-myself/ (blog started in Dec. 2011, not kept up)
The Final Countdown: http://christy-gets-fit.blogspot.com/2011/11/enough-is-enough.html (counting down to age 40 – while working on a fitness goal)
You get the idea, I am sure there are individuals in cyberspace who could find even more blogs for me that reinforce the notion that my idea was NOT original.
This may lead someone to ask the question, “If there are no original thoughts, why think at all?” This is a good point… Perhaps the greater question is, “If there are no original thoughts, why open our mouths to express our lack of originality?”
Maybe the key is to think less and act more? Can I make my actions more original than my thoughts? Maybe I don’t have to – maybe my actions just need to have an impact. (Please note: A fist in someone’s face is technically an impact – I am NOT referring to this type of impact.) If somehow my actions can make someone’s life a little better than perhaps it does not matter if they emerge from original or unoriginal thoughts.
I am NOT original, neither are you. We still matter. Get over it.
400daystil40 (not to be confused with “400 Days Until 40” or “400 Days to 40” or “400 Before 40”)!
Fortuitous Forty!!! 
illusionofnormalcy
March 5, 2012 at 02:53
As an amateur writer, I understand your observation. It is something that often paralyses my creative process. What’s the point, if it’s already been done? However, as you’ve pointed out, we’re all just a little different. We’ve all had different life experiences. So, there is always the potential for something new to be created. I have learned that ideas get built upon ideas. Perhaps on the surface it looks as though your idea is out there. That remains to be seen. I suspect that though the general idea may be out there, your writing is not yet out there (at least not all of it yet.)
400daystil40
March 5, 2012 at 07:55
Thanks, Illusionsofnormalcy. You make a very good point. Even if we do something that has been done before, it is likely to have a slightly different outcome/ twist/ flavor because we are different individuals.
I look forward to hearing more from you!!!
~400daystil40
damoris
May 16, 2012 at 13:46
😉
Yep, we’re all different, and just like you say , if we’re all different, then that makes all the same right? So… by being unoriginal, that actually validates you as original compared to the amount of originals out there, you really stand out… lol
I think most of all ideas have been copied. But the way each one of us perceives them and translates them into our own “original” words is what makes the copy “different” from the original… lol
400daystil40
May 16, 2012 at 18:49
Hahaha – Thanks for making me laugh!!!! 🙂