Outsiders of Curiosity (GWTW334)

Have you ever been told to stay in your lane? I really dislike that phrase. It makes sense when you’re driving down the road. I talk to the cars around me all the time and tell them to stay in their lanes. Fortunately, they listen to me. However, when it comes to people, this one-size-fits-all […]

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Have you ever been told to stay in your lane? I really dislike that phrase. It makes sense when you’re driving down the road. I talk to the cars around me all the time and tell them to stay in their lanes. Fortunately, they listen to me. However, when it comes to people, this one-size-fits-all strategy doesn’t always work. Sometimes you need the person who thinks drastically different from everyone else—an outsider of curiosity—to solve the problem, finish the project, or even save the day.

From Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein:

“Knowledge is a double-edged sword. It allows you to do some things, but it also makes you blind to other things that you could do” (p. 179).

“Sometimes, the home field can be so constrained that a curious outsider is truly the only one who can see the solution” (p. 181).

“The more information specialists create, the more opportunity exists for curious dilettantes to contribute by merging strands of widely available but disparate information—undiscovered public knowledge” (p. 189).

Understand the differences between the depth and breadth of experiences in your life and work.
Figure out how you are going to deal with the negative emotions of being an outsider of curiosity.
Allow your trusted advisors to save you from any “impulse of instability” (a concept written about by Shawn Askinosie in Meaningful Work).
Surround yourself with people you can jam with.

Show Links

Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
Shawn Askinosie
Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul by Shawn Askinosie
Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do by Studs Terkel
Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon
The Optimist’s Telescope: Thinking Ahead in a Reckless Age by Bina Venkataraman
Photo by Vivaan Trivedii on Unsplash
The (Seven Deadly) Curiosity Killers
Getting Work To Work (@gwtwpodcast) on Twitter
Chris Martin (@cmstudios) on Twitter
Sign up for my weekly newsletter: The Curiosity Lab

The post Outsiders of Curiosity (GWTW334) appeared first on Chris Martin Studios.