Om ergens goed in te worden moet je veel oefenen. De tijd dat we iets goed vinden wordt echter steeds korter, het kan al snel beter. Krijgt goed een andere betekenis?
Je hebt 10.000 uur gerichte oefening nodig om ergens het beste in te worden. Dit staat los staat van natuurlijk talent. Alle personen die iets hebben betekend voor de mensheid hebben veel tijd besteed aan hun ontdekkingen en dus veel kunnen oefenen. Denk aan Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci maar recenter ook Steve Jobs en Bill Gates. Willekeurige voorbeelden uit verschillende tijden. Het is wel opvallend dat ze alle vier heel veel uren in hun ‘ontdekkingen’ hebben gestoken.
Nieuwe ontwikkelingen volgen elkaar steeds sneller op. Waar moet je je op richten en hoe lang ga je dit volhouden? Accepteren we dat het al snel goed (genoeg) is of vinden we een manier om ook in deze tijd ergens echt goed in te zijn?
At 5 years old, you are at the top of your creative ability
You question everything and laugh throughout the day.
But in school you have to be quiet and you are allowed to ask questions,
If you raise your finger and wait your turn.
You learn to comply,
Adapt to a standard
Conduct ‘normal’ behavior.
You lose your own identity and are shaped to the average.
By the time you’re 8 your creativity is halved.
You mirror yourself to your environment.
As a reward you fit in,
In a box!
That box imposes a job-description
And with a little luck you find a fitting job somewhere in the future.
But that job is accompanied by a manager, a process and an organizational objective.
And in exchange for your monthly dose of drugs, also called salary, you make a structural sacrifice
A sacrifice of your autonomy
A sacrifice of your freedom of movement
Essentially a sacrifice of your personal development
Working is clearly not about you as an individual,
but about you as part of the collective.
“All noses must point in the same direction”
At 44 you reach a state of ‘terminal seriousness’
You have permanently exchanged your creativity and unique features for conformity and structure
A structure that promises predictability
A structure that offers peace and regularity
A structure that prevents errors and minimizes variation
A nirvana for tally-smurfs , check-off cattle and especially for sleepy heads
Because structure numbs you and becomes reality without you noticing
Creativity on the other hand thrives on unpredictability, chaos and diversity
“when two noses point in the same direction, it is one too many”
We must replace ‘organization’ by ‘organize yourself’
Not only plan and organize meetings,
but especially to do things and experience
Take action
Make your own choices
learn to learn differently
learn to work differently
Step out of your comfort zone
Dare to make mistakes
And experimentally determine what does, but also what does not work .
Confucius once said : Give me work that suits me and I never have to work .
Now it is : Do the work that suits you and you’ll never have to work .
Doing is still the best way of thinking .
So improvise, break your habits and fixed beliefs.
The worst is not ‘not-knowing’
but thinking you ‘know for sure’.
Research, Question, Stumble, Fail
And especially break your routine
Patrick Donath 