In school and work, you’re conditioned to believe, “Your contribution isn’t valuable if it’s obvious.” But more often than you’d think, you take for granted what you know, and assume that I know it too. 

What’s obvious to you might not be obvious to me; it might be the first time I’ve learned about it.

Moreover, the “obvious” idea might also be extremely useful—because it has found so many people—and yet it it remains more hidden—because everyone thinks other people know it.

A useful quote you’ve known for a lifetime might be new and powerful to a friend. Simple tips—to pick up your snacks with chopsticks, let your food get closer to room temperature before eating, or sprinkle your cat’s food with nutritional yeast—could improve other people’s daily lives in small, meaningful, ways.

Don’t hold back because you think it’s obvious. Publish it, and see what happens.