A common trait highly successful people exhibit is their ability to delay gratification. They have a long-term future focus. We all know patience is a virtue. Most of us know in the back of our mind we ought to think long term.
We want everything now
Yet, we favour choices that bring us instant gratification over delayed gratification. We live in a culture where we expect to get everything we want instantly and we want it now! We’ve all grown accustomed to favour the present and care less about the future. While living in the moment and experiencing things in the now has benefits, we also need to account for the future.
According to Sigmund Freud, the mind tends to seek pleasure and avoid pain to satisfy biological and psychological needs. You might notice children’s behavior to seek pleasure in satisfying their cravings of hunger and thirst or whatever they want in the moment. As a child matures to become an adult, he is able to think ahead and delay gratification.
The Marshmallow Experiment
In the late 1960s, researchers at Stanford university conducted a series of study on delayed gratification, known as the “Marshmallow Experiment.” They gave children the option to have one marshmallow now or delay getting a marshmallow for a period of time and then get two marshmallows instead. The researchers tracked the children more than 10 years later. The children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards performed better in health and fitness, academic achievements and financial performance.
What can we learn from Amazon’s success?
Every successful person has mastered the ability to delay gratification. If there’s someone we could learn from, it has to be Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. Bezos constantly stresses the importance of long-term thinking. He grew amazon from a small online bookstore to an industry giant.
The overnight success took many years of perseverance. Amazon was chronically unprofitable for many years. In the early years of Amazon, many people argued that perhaps the company was fundamentally broken, that it would never be profitable and would fail. Most people were impatient, short-sighted and concerned about short-term gains. They misunderstood Bezos who remained steadfast in his grand plan committed to long-term investment and value creation. We see the philosophy of Bezos in the motto of Blue Origin, the space exploration company he founded: “Gradatim Ferociter,” meaning “Step by Step ferociously” in English.
This is what Jeff Bezos said about focusing in the long-term: “If everything you do needs to work on a three-year time horizon, then you’re competing against a lot of people, But if you’re willing to invest on a seven-year time horizon, you’re now competing against a fraction of those people, because very few companies are willing to do that. Just by lengthening the time horizon, you can engage in endeavours that you could never otherwise pursue. At Amazon we like things to work in five to seven years. We’re willing to plant seeds, let them grow—and we’re very stubborn. We say we’re stubborn on vision and flexible on details.”
Buying a car for the first time
When I decided to buy my first car, I had the choice to purchase a brand-new car or a used car. A car is a liability that comes with regular expenses: new tires, repair, gas, car insurance and so on. A brand new car is an even bigger liability as the expenses are higher. In 5 years, a brand-new car loses 60% of its initial value of what you bought it for. I could have easily borrowed money to buy a new expensive car. There is nothing wrong with buying a new car.
Did I want a brand-new car? somewhat Did I need one? NO, I needed a vehicle to take me from point A to B.
So I decided to buy a used car because I didn’t need a brand new. In my case buying a used car was the right long-term decision. This stopped me from borrowing money to buy a liability that immediately goes down in value. Delaying short term gratification enabled me to be debt free and focus on long term investment.
Easy vs hard choice
Pursuing the easy route by satisfying immediate urges and cravings may seem to be a good choice in the moment. In the beginning, you don’t feel any pain and you get instant gratification.If we treat life as a series of short term, the pain will start to accumulate over time, growing every day that passes by.We are witnessing an epidemic of obesity in the Western world. Lifestyle choices play a vital part in our health.
Most people don’t exercise and see it as a chore. It’s easier to be sedentary as this choice involves less effort. Let’s consider the following choices: A- sit on the sofa and watch Netflix B- going to the gym
Which option did you choose? Option A is more appealing because the person avoids the pain of working out at the gym and satisfies their pleasure of watching Netflix. Option B seems to be more difficult. It’s easier to choose A over B. Given the choice, most people will prefer to avoid pain and seek pleasure. Sacrificing long term health for short term gain has become a norm in our culture.
Conclusion
Delaying gratification is a route paved with discomfort. You might have to go through pain in the beginning. However, the pain decreases over time and you are rewarded in the long run. Your ability to delay gratification impacts upon your health, happiness and success.
It might be useful to ask yourself this question when you make a choice: How will it impact me in 5 years?
When Dr Stephen first came to me, he was desperate having failed MRCGP AKT multiple times. He lost all hope and self-esteem. The previous attempts deflated his confidence. Stephen was granted one last chance to sit the exam. He was nervous as this was his final attempt. It was make-or-break time. We worked together and broke down the limiting beliefs that held him back. We addressed his weaknesses and built on his strengths. It was a difficult process to unlearn old mental models and re-learn new ones to upgrade his mindset. Are you ready for the 3 steps?
See, Believe & Achieve
I was seeing massive changes. It paid up big time, beyond my imagination.
In this audio clip, Stephen recounts the struggles he faced sitting the AKT and the self-doubts that crushed his confidence. He lost hope and thought he was not good enough. His self-defeating mindset kept him hostage of his past. By applying the See, Believe & Achieve mental model, Stephen started seeing massive changes. His AKT score went from low 60s to 75.
Visualise the future you want
Let your creativity guide you. Think big! There is no limit to a man’s vision. Don’t worry how crazy your vision is. The crazier, the better. If you struggle to define your vision, know that the process can take time. Imagine yourself 10 years from today living your best life. What do you see? Can you visualise yourself working towards the vision you set?
Believe in yourself
You might think this one is a cliché. It may well be, do you know why? Every successful person believes in himself. Having envisioned the future you want, commit to make it a reality. It is vital to broadcast your vision to your mind daily. There is greatness in each individual. The potential is often wasted because people doubt themselves. Do not allow self-doubts or failures to stop your progress. Self-belief is crucial to be successful.
David J. Schwartz summarised the effects of your belief and disbelief in a couple of sentences:
“Belief releases creative powers.”
“Disbelief puts the brake on.”
If you don’t believe in yourself, your mind works against you. It produces all kind of excuses that lead to your defeat. When you believe in yourself, you start seeing possibilities that you previously didn’t realise were available.
Believing in yourself gives you power. A great way to cultivate self-belief is self-affirmation practice. Highly successful people have attributed a huge part of their success to positive affirmations and visualization. Will Smith and Arnold Schwarzenegger have publicly talked about the power of believing in yourself.
“In my mind, I’ve always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y’all just didn’t know yet.” ― Will Smith
“If I can see it and believe it, then I can achieve it.” ― Arnold Schwarzenegger
Time to take action
Most people do not take this step and they wonder why their visualisation and affirmation practices are not working. The last step is the most exciting one. Without execution, you can’t achieve anything in life. Take consistent actions that will enable you to achieve what you envisioned.
Conclusion
As Napoleon Hill once said “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.”
When we let the mind generate doubts, negativity and self-defeating thoughts, it works against us. Many of us are trapped by our past failures and deny ourselves of the endless possibilities ahead. See, Believe & Achieve are three simple words that enabled Stephen to move past failures and succeed beyond his imagination. Working on your mindset is laying the foundation to your success. You can apply See, Believe & Achieve to realise your dreams and life goals.
The six logical levels of change proposed by Robert Dilts provide a useful model to understand ways we can achieve change at an individual and organisational level. The six logical levels are: purpose, identity, value/belief, capability, behaviour & environment.
Purpose: Why are you alive on this Earth?
This question may be hard to answer if you have never thought about your role in the wider world. Discovering your purpose in life is something that may take years. Most people will never find their purpose because they are not even trying. It may be hard to figure out your purpose if you have different interests and passions. Perhaps, you feel lost and don’t know where to start. That’s natural, everyone feels lost on their journey. It takes time, efforts and sacrifices to find your purpose. It is a self-discovery journey where you follow your own unique path.
So, where do you start?
You could start by pursuing one of your interests if you don’t know where to start. Learn, serve and contribute in that area of interest. Once you have gained sufficient experience, you will know if this is something you want to keep doing, or you may decide to move to something else. What you started with may change over time and you may find yourself with something different. Most people try different things before they discover their true purpose.
Finding your purpose and embracing it gives a sense of meaning to life. People with a strong sense of purpose lead a fulfilling life. They enjoy positive emotions and greater life satisfaction. When you have assigned yourself a life mission, you have something to look forward to every day. That mission gets you to jump out of bed in the morning. You feel you are part of something bigger than you. I’d like you to picture yourself being presented with a lifetime achievement award at the age of 80-year-old. What would your biggest contribution be?
Identity
If you asked someone “who are you?”
That person replied “I am a physician”
He identifies himself with his job.
People can identify to different areas of their life including their role at work, within the family, and in romantic relationships.
When was the last time you thought about your identity?
Identity is the way you view yourself. Identity encompasses memories, experiences, self-esteem and self-worth. Knowing thyself is crucial to live an authentic life. Self-awareness is key in understanding the self. It is shaped by our experience and choices we make. Identity formation is a matter of “finding oneself”. ‘Who am I?’ is a complex question that needs an in-depth exploration of one’s talents and potential with available social roles. Your identity is what defines you as a person. Identity is something that is malleable and develops as one confronts challenges and grow in life. People who have a strong sense of their identity enjoy happier and a more fulfilled in life.
Value and Belief
Everyone has personal values whether the person recognize them or not. Values are the fundamental beliefs dear to us that govern our lives. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
When your thoughts, feelings and actions are in congruence to your personal values, you experience a sense of satisfaction and contentment.
Do you know your core values?
You need to take a deep look inside yourself to understand your core values. Being in alignment with your personal values make all the difference in the way you live and work. When your choices and actions are incongruent to your set of values, you may feel an internal stress and conflict. This is often a source of frustration and profound unhappiness.
Common personal core values are achievement, freedom, community, honesty, respect, love and integrity. Identifying and understanding your core values is a challenging exercise for many people. Being aware of what you value most is important and worth your time.
When you understand and honor your personal values, it’s easier to make crucial decisions. You are guided by a moral compass in decision-making to determine the best direction for you and your life goals.
Capability, skill and competence
Capability ranges from behaviours you do without conscious efforts to skills you have learned more consciously. Capabilities refer to plans, strategies, knowledge and skills needed to achieve a goal. It is considered the ‘how’ level, also known as competence.
Competence can be classified into 4 levels:
unconscious incompetence
conscious incompetence
conscious competence
unconscious competence
For instance, brushing your teeth might seem to be effortless for you. However, there was a time when you were unconsciously incompetent before you learned to consciously use a toothbrush. Then you developed your skill such that you don’t need anybody’s help to brush your teeth. Competencies can be learned and trained. Do you remember the first time you drove a car? How competent were you? The capabilities you might need to develop will be different to someone else’s capabilities. Successful people identify capabilities related to their purpose. They develop crucial skills, continuously learn and grow. Improving your skills with constant learning and consistent series of actions increase your capabilities. When you stack a skill on the other, you increase your value since the marketplace rewards people with valuable set of skills. You allow the compound effect principle working to your advantage thereby increasing your odds of success.
Do you know about the 1% rule?
“When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens and when it happens, it lasts.” —John Wooden
I first read about the 1% rule in Atomic Habits from James Clear. The 1% rule is simple.
Focus on improving your capabilities by 1% each day. Just 1 %, no more. It might seem very little. In the beginning, the improvement will appear negligible. Rome wasn’t built in a day, neither will you. Great things take time to build. When you continually improve by 1% each day, those improvements start compounding on each other. Slowly, the good habits you develop stack over time. Several months later, the improvement you make in 1 day equals to what previously took you a few days to accomplish. When 1% compounds every day, it doubles every 72 days. If you continually improve yourself by just 1% each day, imagine the personal growth in your life at the end of this year.
Behaviour
“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” -Stephen Covey
Adopting a new habit or breaking an old one is notoriously hard. Human beings generally do not like change. We stick to old routines for various reasons that may include fear of the unknown or fear of failure. Researchers Prochaska and DiClemente were originally interested in why some smokers were able to quit on their own while others needed help. They found smokers quit only when they are ready to do so and discovered five stages that can be used to assess a person’s readiness to make change. Understanding the science of behavioural change has been insightful in enabling people to make lasting changes. The stages of change model have been an effective construct in understanding how people go through change successfully.
Three important considerations to modifying behaviour include:
Readiness to change
Barriers to change
Expect relapse
You could explain everything about healthy lifestyle to someone and be sorely disappointed at the end if you don’t know at what stage the individual is currently in. When someone is not ready to change, your information goes from one ear and out the other.
Stage 1 Precontemplation
During precontemplation stage, you have no conscious intention of making a change. People in this stage may not recognise their behaviour is unhealthy due to lack of awareness or information. Most people might be in denial and tend to avoid thinking about the unhealthy behaviour. For a person to move past precontemplation, you need to sense the unhealthy behaviour is holding you back from attaining important personal goals.
Stage 2 Contemplation
At this stage, people become increasingly aware that the behaviour is a problem. You consider the potential benefits of making a change and the weigh the cost. You may resist change as the costs tend to stand out. Ambivalence may cause you to re-weigh the benefits and cost. This stage can last over months or even years. You may experience conflicted emotions about changing as you view the time and effort involved in change. Most people prefer to be in their comfort zone and procrastinate.
The key to move to the next stage is a shift from an abstract idea to a belief that modifying your behaviour is beneficial to you. You need to ask yourself why you want to change. Congruent people tend to think of intrinsic reason to change. It might be helpful to make a list of pros and cons of behaviour change and identify barriers and think how to overcome them.
Stage 3 Preparation
During preparation stage, you are ready to start taking actions. This stage typically lasts a few weeks. You might take small steps that will prepare you to make the required change. People may share their plan to change to friends and family who may offer advice. Gather information about ways to change your behaviour and do your research.
It’s important to write down your goals and prepare a plan of action if you want to increase your chances of making a lasting change.
Stage 4 Action
Once you have a plan, you need to take direct action in order to accomplish your goals. If you don’t spend enough time in preparation, it is difficult to progress in action due to temptations from people or your environment. It’s important to fight urges that could cause you to slip back to old habits. When you work towards your goals, reward yourself for the positive behaviour. Reinforcement and support are extremely important to strengthen your commitment and move forwards. Remind yourself regularly of the belief in making change and the benefits that will come.
Stage 5 Maintenance
In maintenance stage, you have changed your behaviour and you need to turn it in a habit. Be aware of situations where you might be tempted to slip back to old habits. Avoid temptations and aim to replace these old habits with positive actions. Reward yourself if you can avoid a relapse. Surround yourself with supportive people whom you trust.
Relapse
Relapses commonly occur in behaviour change. If you lapse back to an old behaviour, don’t beat yourself up. Take it as a minor setback. Analyse what led to the relapse and identify possible triggers. Avoid the triggers in the future and don’t give up on yourself.
Environment
Environment encompasses everything outside of yourself. It is the state of the external context where people live. Your surrounding influences your thoughts, feelings and actions every day. The choice of clothing a person wears is heavily influenced by the climate. In the UK, people can be found wearing coats during winter. If you live in a tropical country, you don’t need a winter coat. Recognizing the impacts of environment on your livelihood is vital.
Meet John, a University student who wants to be healthier. He lives with his flat mate, Tom, who is less health conscious. John has decided to eat nutritious food. He wants to stop eating so much junk food. He made a good start by carefully selecting groceries and cook instead of ordering take-out. As the weeks went by, it became more difficult to stick with his routine. Cooking took significant time and effort while Tom ordered take-out almost everyday. The savor of the pizza Tom just ordered reminded John of the convenience of just ordering online. The temptation to fall back to old habit was very high.
We can observe environmental factors that antagonized John’s effort to be healthier. If John wants to adopt and maintain a healthy habit, he needs to consider the conditions in his environment. In order to set the best conditions to be healthy, John needs to start by talking to Tom. Imagine if John and Tom agreed to cook together and shared the chore. It would take less time if both chipped in. Cooking for 2 people is more cost-effective than cooking for one. John would not be exposed to cues that constantly remind him of fast food. Tom would cut his spending on take-out and eat nutritious meals. The environment in the flat would enable John to adopt a sustainable habit without resistance.
The odd of adopting and maintaining a habit is higher when you set the best conditions in your environment to work in your favor.
Conclusion
Being conscious of the six logical levels (purpose, identity, value/belief, capability, behaviour & environment) can help you understand at what level you are attempting to make change. Sometimes, we might waste time trying to make change at a lower level when we need to consider a higher hierarchical level to achieve that change. If you want to achieve a desired change in life, think about the logical level you are operating.
Applying for a job is a process that requires persistence, creativity, research and hard work. The job market is competitive so you need to differentiate yourself from others to succeed. Writing an excellent application letter is a crucial step to get your foot in the door.
Lack of research
Not doing enough research is a common mistake that results in rejections. Candidates who do not put enough effort to research the organisation, the hiring manager and the position advertised have a slim chance of success.
Each application letter needs to be tailored to the job. Address your email or letter to a specific person. The application letter needs to convey a sense of your personality and professionalism. You need to convince the recruitment team that you are the right candidate for the post advertised. This where research is crucial to write a good application letter. Candidates who pay close attention to the specifications of the job will be more articulate in communicating how they fit the requirements.
A good application letter must show an awareness of the job and enthusiasm to join the organisation. The statement in the application must clearly and concisely explain how you meet all the essential criteria for the job and perhaps some of the desirable criteria. Your application letter is a sales pitch. Don’t regurgitate your CV. The application letter needs to highlight the skills and qualifications that make you the right candidate for the job.
Overlooking values
Meeting the essential criteria is not enough to secure a job. Many employers use values based recruitment approach to help them identify candidates who possess values and attitudes that will fit in their team.
“Values based recruitment (VBR) is an approach to help attract and recruit prospective employees whose personal values and behaviours align with the NHS values outlined in the NHS Constitution.” NHS Employers
It is imperative you research the core values of an organization. These are guiding principles by which an organisation choose to operate. You need to demonstrate some of these values in your application.
Not being allocentric
Most candidates think only about themselves. How can I land this job? The thinking is limited to the employee perspective. You need to consider the recruitment process from the employer’s perspective. Being allocentric will give you an unfair advantage to stand above the lot. If you were recruiting someone and had to go through 100 applications, how would you shortlist the best candidate for an interview?
It is not the most exciting job to go through hundred generic applications. The hiring manager wants to select the best candidate who adds significant value to the organisation. It helps if you make his job easy by writing a compelling application that will instantly grab his attention and help him to that conclusion.
I hope you have gained insights from reading this article. I wish you the best of luck in your application. If you receive rejections, don’t get discouraged you can always ask for feedback to improve your application next time.
Humans have around 50, 000 thoughts every day. With all the thinking that goes on, mind wandering is an activity you may be familiar with. The human mind tries to make sense of the world using past references and memories. Thinking creates a unique narrative through which we understand the world.
According to Buddhist principles, we all have the mind of a monkey. The ‘monkey mind’ is a metaphor to characterize our mind that keeps jumping from one thought to the next just like a restless monkey hops from one branch to the other all day long. The self-talk generated by the ‘monkey mind’ is perpetual. Most humans do not know how to tame their ‘monkey mind.’ The human mind doesn’t come with a manual. If the ‘monkey mind’ is left to its own device, the brain becomes easily distracted. Sometimes, we slip into long-held patterns of feeling and thinking that bring anxiety and a feeling of being overwhelmed. We engage in toxic patterns of thought without realizing the damages we make. Understanding these three common pitfalls will help you tame your ‘monkey mind’.
1. Negativity bias
The ‘monkey mind’ often takes us down a rabbit hole of negative thinking. Our brain is hardwired to pay more attention to the negatives and overlook the positives. Let me give you an example. Tom receives a couple of compliments and a complaint from his customers on the same day. The compliments do not impact upon him much positivity as he almost ignores them. He finds himself obsessed about the one complaint. He goes home and his wife asks him “How was your day?” Tom starts talking about the complaint he received and how bad he feels. He starts telling himself he is not good at his job. He brings the negative thought back home and ruin the rest of his evening.
“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
Anais Nin
Is your glass half-empty or half-filled?
Tom sees his glass half-empty. He magnifies a complaint he received and filter out all positive complements. He keeps replaying a mistake made over and over again.
How to overcome negative thought pattern?
First things first. You need to gain awareness of the negative thoughts your mind is generating. What we choose to broadcast our mind has powerful effects on our life. If you keep generating destructive thoughts, your mind becomes good at creating more of them. To break this vicious cycle, it’s important to change the channel. The best way is to take actions. You could go for a walk, talk to a positive person or do something that you enjoy. By engaging in an activity, you distract yourself from the constraint of the negative thought pattern.
“Your private inner dialogue can either be a powerful stepping stone or a major obstacle to reaching your goals.”
Amy Morin
2. Overthinking
Tom dwells on the complaint he received and goes over the same thing trying to imagine every possible outcome and what could happen in the future. He can’t stop thinking about should, could and what if. “I should have done this instead of that” “What if I’m not good enough” “I’m going to get fired” “What people would think of me?”
When we think excessively about something, we get stuck in our head. We impose unnecessary stress upon ourself and our judgement is clouded. Overthinking makes a situation worse than what it is. A complaint stings but it is not the end of the world.
How to stop overthinking?
It is useful to question your thoughts as opposed to believe they are facts. Most negative thoughts are over exaggerations that are not true. When you find yourself overthinking, you almost always worry about things outside of your control. Overthinking clouds your mind and holds you back from taking actions that are within your control. Focus on what you can influence and control.
3. Social comparisons
As much as 10% of our thoughts involve comparison of some kinds. Social comparison is a normal behavior. People constantly measure themselves to friends or colleagues to self-evaluate their wealth, status and relationships. It is difficult to avoid comparing our lifestyle with people we follow on social media. People may compare themselves to someone successful to find motivation or someone worse off to feel better about themselves. Theodore Roosevelt once said “Comparison is the thief of Joy.” We observe this phenomenon on social media where people feel less happy because they envy the success and happiness of others. Social comparisons cause people to experience a feeling of deep dissatisfaction. Sometimes, people want to live someone else’s life thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.
It is important practice gratitude for what we already have in life. Cultivating a sense of gratitude is a great antidote for social comparison. While it is difficult to avoid comparing with the Jones, see whether you can be content for others success.
Conclusion
Being aware of these three toxic patterns of thoughts can help you to stop engaging in a downward spiral. When you understand the ‘monkey mind’ you can direct your focus where you want it to go.
James Clear, author of Atomic habits describes 4 steps that form every habit:
Cue
Craving
Response
Reward
Cue is anything that triggers an urge for your habit. The cue tells the brain to go into automatic processing mode, and it takes effort to resist the cue. If you don’t expose yourself to a cue, you don’t do a habit. Cues fall into one of 5 different categories: a location, a time of day, other people, an emotional state, or an immediately preceding action.
Craving is the motivational force behind every habit. Without some level of motivation or desire, without craving a change we have no reason to act. What you crave is not the habit itself but the change in state it delivers.
Response is the actual habit you perform. It is the activity you wish to change or reinforce.
Reward is the end goal of every habit. It satisfies your craving. The reward reinforces the desired behavior, making it more likely that you will produce that behavior again in the future.
A habit I started is to Meditate 10 minutes every day. Studies have shown time and time again the benefits of meditation. By training my mind to focus and re-direct my thoughts, I increase my attention, clarity and reduce stress.
Let’s break down the habit:
The cue: doing it first thing in the morning
The craving: the state of mindfulness
The response: meditate
The reward: add honey to my tea after every session of meditation
In the first few days of starting a habit, it may help to start small. I meditated for 5 minutes and progressively increased to 10 minutes. There are many barriers to meditation and being consistent is crucial. I used honey in the first few weeks as an incentive to consistently meditate. Over time, the act of meditation became a reward in itself. Adopting a daily mindfulness practice has been extremely beneficial in every aspect of my life.
To ensure consistency when building a new habit, consider tracking the habit. Measure your progress for the next 21 days. Some studies suggest 30 days or even longer. By doing so, you see your progress and it makes the habit more satisfying to keep going. You increase the odd of following through. Can you think of good habit that will improve your life?
Everyone aspires to become a specialist. Specialists are highly praised and often seen as superstars. Specialists deserve the recognition for their incredible skills and expertise. Progress in society has created a need for specialists who have an in-depth knowledge and complex skills. In recent decades, we have seen a rise in sub-specialties. Experts in a very narrow discipline are very sought after. Being a generalist is like being a “jack of all trade”. As the saying goes, “jack of all trades are masters of none.” Generalists are often perceived as an ‘inferior’ option as they are not the superstars. The very fact that generalists are not the superstars is one of their superpowers.
Multipotentialite
Emilie Wapnick coined the term “multipotentialite” as someone with many interests and creative pursuits. Generalists are true multipotentialites. They have an ability to see the big picture and keep an open mind as opposed to monopotentialites whose knowledge are limited to one discipline. Generalists have a breadth of knowledge and a unique set of skills to excel in the full spectrum of a variety of fields. The best generalists know the limit to their depth of knowledge and are acutely aware when to consult specialists.
Generalists thrive on always learning new knowledge and adapting themselves to improve their practice. They often jump in wherever needed to pick up the pieces others have forgotten. Without a linchpin that holds the various parts together, the whole thing falls off. Generalists communicate with other specialists and understand their perspectives. This puts them in a unique position to always see the big picture. Like a linchpin, the generalist connects and holds each part together thereby supporting cohesive work. You might have read until now and still don’t know.
Should I be a generalist or a specialist?
It’s not an easy career decision. What if you could find a middle ground? Generalist and specialist do not have to be mutually exclusive. A generalized specialist is someone who has roughly the same breath of knowledge as a generalist with at least one deep area of expertise.
Leonardo da Vinci was a perfect example of a generalized specialist. He is renowned primarily for his paintings and drawings. Da Vinci was also interested in architecture, engineering, music, literature, mathematics, botany, and history. His application of combined interdisciplinary knowledge from botany and mathematics are reflected in his paintings. The Mona Lisa is the most famous of his works.
Johannes Kepler was a mathematics teacher who became interested in astronomy. If you are interested in astronomy, you might have heard of Kepler’s law of planetary motions. Kepler revolutionized our knowledge of planetary motion by combining physics and optics.
Whether you are a specialist, a generalist or a generalised specialist, each category has its place in the world. Ultimately, you need to consider your personal interests and what category fits you.
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