Have you ever found yourself sitting at your work laptop thinking about how fun it would be to start a dog-walking business? Or maybe you can’t wait to leave the office at 5pm to get home and bake, knowing that your cakes would go down a treat in the chic café you imagine setting up?

New research by Microsoft has revealed that 45% of people in the UK reckon they have a ‘million-pound idea’, with over four in 10 saying that they are inspired to pursue new ideas at least once a week. The study also found that seven in 10 people consider themselves to be ‘creative’, while 44% would call themselves ‘entrepreneurial’. 

However, while many of us are feeling inspired by our ideas for products, businesses and activities, we’re being held back by confidence in ourselves. The study found that two-thirds of people find it challenging to articulate their ideas, facing psychological and logistical barriers to starting their project, while one in five cite fear of failure as holding them back.

To encourage people to bring their ideas to life, Microsoft partnered with psychologist Honey Langcaster-James to give her top tips on overcoming mental barriers and having the confidence to pursue your ideas. Langcaster-James advises:

1. Visualise the end goal. Keep your end goal firmly in your mind by setting out your objectives and what your ultimate dream looks like, as clearly as you can. This will be your vision for success.
2. Break down the project. By breaking things down into smaller steps, you’ll be able to see each task in the process in a less daunting way, helping the overall goal to seem more manageable.
3. Acknowledge your barriers. Recognising what has held you back so far is the best way to have a breakthrough. Has it been the fear of failure or lack of confidence? Understanding what has been putting you off for so long will help you work around the barriers.
4. Utilise helpful tools. Technology has provided us with so many useful tools to help you beat procrastination and get off the starting block. Use AI to your advantage and allow it to support you and your goals.
5. Focus on the process. Instead of only focusing on the end result, look at each action you’ve laid out for the project and celebrate small steps in the right direction. Reduce pressure and enjoy the journey.
6. Embrace imperfection. Perfectionism can be one of the biggest barriers as it leads to inertia and procrastination. Imperfection is all part of the process. Mistakes will inevitably be made, but you can learn from them.
7. Challenge any negative thoughts. By replacing common thoughts like “Yes… but” with “Yes… and” you can shift to a more positive growth-based mindset. Then you can use steps as building blocks and get things moving upwards rather than hitting dead ends.
8. Seek support. Don’t try to do everything alone. You’ll only burn out. Ask others for help, speak to friends and family or experts in that area, and if there’s no one you can think of for a particular problem, turn to technology for inspiration and guidance.
9. Reduce stress and practise mindfulness. Bringing an idea to fruition can be stressful, so look after yourself. Mindfulness can help you stay present and focused, and keeping a journal with a gratitude list can help you stay positive and motivated.
10. Take a first step. The hardest part is always getting started. By taking the first step, almost any step at all, even if you discard things later, it will get some momentum going. With the help of AI, it is much easier to make your first move.

Images: Getty