The Thing About Spontaneity

"People respond to something that happened in the moment, much more than they will respond to the most brilliant thing that was thought of ahead of time and prepared. There's something in us, and they're going to find it someday. It's like a tiny piece of zinc in our cerebral cortex. They're going to find out what it is. But when we see something that unfolds naturally and is real, people love it... something going off the rail, something going wrong, something happening that wasn't supposed to happen. Do not fear those moments. That's where the gold is."

- Conan O'Brien (again)

When faced with a task, especially a writing task, I know I've had instances when I swear I've racked my brains, painfully over-thinking and trying to come up with good ideas, then ending up with garbage. Like every other normal human being, I do get some criticism with the work that I do; sometimes a lot of criticism. I also did realize that the ideas that seem to get criticized the most are those that I've agonized over, those I made sure had no loopholes. In other words, I get mediocre results when I analyze things way too much. 

Although I think I'm fairly open minded and can take criticisms constructively, I have to admit there are times I wish my skin was a lot thicker. See, I find sometimes that it's hard to psych yourself up to "try again" and not be discouraged when you get a "eureka!" moment that turns out to be a dud.

But there are also times that I do manage to get back up and spin the wheel again, this time a little more carefree. And after some lively, oftentimes off-track discussion with my colleagues or my brilliant (I'm not sucking up here, he really is something else) boss, we always come up with something goosebump-worthy and ingenious, something that is just simply and universally true. Surprisingly, these epiphanies always happen after that point when we've thrown in the towel and decide to take a break by goofing off for the rest of the conversation. The mood flow goes: serious, serious, serious, TIRED! break, break, break, laugh, laugh, laugh... DING! EUREKA! 

It's just magical, is what it is. I've heard/read somewhere that the best ideas are often accidental.

I think this is also the answer as to why planned gimmicks almost never push through and spur of the moment things always do.

Moral of the story - planning is overrated.