Great ideas always look obvious after someone else makes them. That’s why you have to make yours first.

Obviousness is something an idea acquires after it exists, not before. Beforehand the same thought sounds thin, or too simple to bother with, which is exactly why it is still sitting there unclaimed. Hearing yourself say something and assuming someone must have done it already is not evidence that they have. It is usually just the feeling that comes right before making it.

When you catch yourself calling an idea too obvious, spend twenty minutes checking whether it actually exists. If it does not, that is your answer. Build the rough version before the obviousness argument talks you out of it again.