Get Outside (Your Comfort Zone)

David Epstein was a scientist living in a tent in the Arctic, studying the carbon cycle. He was a competitive runner when he wasn’t working in the field.?

At the end of a race, one of his training partners, a top-ranked young runner, dropped dead.?

It was tragic.

It also made David want answers as to how this happens to a young, fit man.?

To find the answers, David had to merge his interests in sports and science. He determined that his training partner had a condition caused by a single genetic mutation.?

This overlap between his interests in sports and science allowed David to have a unique perspective on athletes and their health, and he realized he could use that perspective to make a difference in both science and sports.?

David became a science writer for Sports Illustrated and did precisely that.?

When I spoke with David on the Disrupt Yourself podcast, he shared that he once debated with Malcolm Gladwell about his thesis around the 10,000-hour rule.?

In preparing for his debate, David learned that the typical path to becoming an elite athlete was to have a sampling period early on and delay specializing until later than athletes who plateaued at lower levels.?

By combining skills from many arenas, you are far more adaptable than if you maintain a narrow focus, which also puts you at risk for burnout. David has written a book detailing this titled Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.?

But sampling, or becoming a generalist, can be difficult, especially in the professional world. We are more likely to fall into what economist Russ Roberts calls the “hammock of competence.” It’s so comfortable that you don’t want to get out and try something else.?

But, all too often, especially in our professional worlds, we like to stay in our hammocks of competence because it feels safe.

But, to grow, we have to get outside of our comfort zone. We have to take risks.?

Taking the right risks is one of the seven accelerants of growth—the seven variables that can speed up or slow down the movement of individuals or organizations along the S Curve. The right risks are market risks, not competitive risks.?

Competitive risks pit you against someone else trying to win the same opportunity. In contrast, market risks create new opportunities where no one else is currently competing.?

How can you create rather than compete??

Consider David’s research about the benefits of sampling. When you know a little bit about a lot of things, you can combine them in new, interesting ways that others may not have considered before.?

To exercise your generalist's muscles, David encourages keeping what he calls “a book of small experiments.”?

Keep a book (or a note on your phone) where you list ideas you want to learn or have a deeper understanding of. Then, regularly, once a month, or once every other month, find a way to explore one of the ideas you’ve written down.?

Maybe you are interested in typing faster, using Excel functions more efficiently, having difficult conversations with your team members, learning to use new software or understanding website design. Maybe you’re interested in something else entirely. Nothing is off-limits.?

Anything can be an experiment for you as long as it forces you to get out of your hammock and explore something new—as long as it pushes you onto a new S Curve, even if it’s just a micro curve within one of the larger S Curves you’re currently on.

Just like your fitness eventually plateaus if you do the same workout over and over, so too does your growth. You need to seek out things where you feel incompetent, things that are a little harder or different than you’ve done before.?

Continue to explore new micro S Curves—small experiments—and then overlap your curves in ways that make you unique. That unique perspective will make a difference in the world because you will be creating, not competing.?

What will you include in your book of small experiments?

How are you creating rather than competing??

Where does your portfolio of S Curves overlap in unique ways?

I’m excited to announce that Disruption Advisors is launching a new Certification program for coaches and leaders. This highly interactive, experiential, and informative program teaches you how to support others as they navigate individual and organizational growth using our Smart Growth framework and S Curve Insight tool! When you finish, you’ll be able to bring the Smart Growth framework into your organization and/or your coaching practice. Learn more here.