Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated, thus, everyone’s task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.
—Viktor E. Frankl
As writers and other creative people, our ideas are precious to us and we hold them close to our hearts. We know that it’s important to keep our projects, “our children,” in a state of protection and loving care until they are ready to go out into the world on their own.
But sometimes in our enthusiasm we may inadvertently let slip a word or two, and later find that our listener has decided to work on a project similar to our own.
It’s true that writers study what others have written or created, and we like to be inspired by those we admire and respect. As I read the works of writers I love, I am better able to flesh out my own characters and themes. If I say something similar to what someone else has written, I change it and use it in the context of my own story. What I’m talking about are small bits and pieces.
But when a friend or colleague decides to use something very much like the overall concept we have shared, resentful feelings can arise. Negative emotions can then infiltrate our minds and put a damper on the joy we feel about our project.
In ancient times and during the Renaissance, it was said that each person had a daimon, a guardian spirit that inspires and impels the individual to create what only he/she could create. In other words, your creative talents, desires, longings, and impulses, are given to you and you alone.
To the Platonic philosopher Plotinus, the Greek word for happiness or human flourishing, eudaimonia, had to do with the well-being of the soul, or the highest good. So when you listen to your daimon, you flourish in life.
If someone else uses an idea you have shared, it may mean that person is not in contact with his or her own daimon.
In any case, an idea is just a seed that needs to be planted, watered, fed, loved, watched over, and nurtured. If someone can take your seed and raise a better plant than you can, so be it. For example, finishing a novel, getting an agent, and selling the project to a publisher is a long an difficult journey. And anyone who does it is to be congratulated.
Whatever happens to someone else’s project, you still have to do your work and fulfill your creative mission. There’s no point in letting negative feelings interfere. That would be destructive to us emotionally, creatively, and spiritually.
*Don’t argue inside your mind. Try not to let the mind stream of another person affect you so strongly. That person’s journey is that person’s journey, not yours.
*Be careful when analyzing the situation. That person is not out to harm you. Whatever is going on probably has to do with his or her own sense of lack. Take it as a compliment. Your idea is a good one.
*Have compassion for the person, because it is only in following one’s own daimon, or calling, that we receive fulfillment. Wish that person well.
*Keep your boundaries clear. You can keep your space, but do it without rancor. In fact, bless the person and the work he or she does. What you wish for others, you eventually receive for yourself. It’s the law of karma.
*Put it in perspective and be generous. Let people have what they have taken from you, whatever the reason. You’ve been inspired by others, so be an inspiration to someone now. Life is short, and we are here to raise ourselves and others up, to live with meaning and purpose, and to develop generosity of spirit.
*Nourish yourself. Continue your work without hesitation or discouragement. No one can say what you have to say and in the way only you can say it.