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Creative thinking offers a vast array of possibilities, so it's useful to have a compass to help navigate toward an effective solution. The technique of heading in the direction of an ideal solution serves as that compass.
In the early days of personal computers, I had a computer but lacked a printer. The only printer I had access to was a short drive away and it had to stay there. After discovering how awkward it was to transport my computer to the printer, I tried to figure out a better way to print from my computer. I asked myself "What would be ideal?" Ideally, only information needed to be transported. The somewhat traditional approach of sending the information as sounds over the phone lines would work, but had the disadvantage of requiring the assistance of a second person. Thinking idealistically, I imagined putting those sounds into a box and carrying the box of sounds to the printer. At first, this idea seemed foolish. Yet, I quickly realized that I could carry the sounds by using an audio tape recorder. Once I thought of that approach it was straightforward to figure out the details. The idea worked, having originated by imagining what would be ideal.
The technique of heading in the direction of an ideal solution also works for resolving non-technical problems such as choosing a new career, improving a relationship, handling children, and enhancing a business.
The trick in using this technique is to not confuse an ideal with a fantasy. An ideal must be within the limits of reality, whereas a fantasy can defy reality. As an example of this difference, the idea of carrying sounds in a box is something that is possible, but the idea of transferring a computer's output to a printer using mental telepathy is unrealistic.
In a sense, heading in the direction of an ideal solution is like climbing a mountain to get an unobstructed view of the terrain you want to pass through. Once you see, in the distance, a direction to head in, the job of choosing among many paths becomes less challenging.
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