Do we get to know something really, really well? Do we dig a really deep well, and become an expert in that area, so knowledgeable that people all over the world seek us out to learn from us? We are brilliant in our field. Rocket scientists. Ansel Adams, Wayne Gretzky, Dalai Lama. And we know our thing inside and out, upside down and sideways. We know and do it so well, that we are looked up to, revered, asked how to do our thing, and how to do other things, how to live.
Or do we dig a thousand shallow wells, knowing many things just a little bit. Becoming pretty good at almost everything. Not great, but good enough. A man of many talents. Give it to Mikey, he'll do anything. In my leap from the cliff of permanent teaching with a salary and pension, with security, I have jumped into these decisions. Do I pick something specific, or choose a bunch of things I like? And which ones are fun? Which projects are fulfilling? Enjoyable. Which ones make money? And how to juggle? How to navigate smoothly? How to integrate? What's important?
How do we choose? How do we make decisions? The key thing seems to be to just decide. Make a choice. Use a shotgun approach. Throw spaghetti at the wall. See what sticks. What falls away. Choose something you care about, and commit to doing it. Get a sense of where you're going. And then choose. Over and over. And if it isn't working. Change it. Create a discipline in something important to you. By a certain time. By a certain day. Every day. Every week. For 10,000 hours. And let's see what happens.
My discipline right now is laundry. I want all my clothes cleaned and ironed at the beginning of the week, so I'm ready to get out there. My costumes are pressed and hung. And each day, I can step into them and start stuff.
Writer's note: Missed my mid-week blog, and late on publishing this one. So goes the juggling. Back onto 3 posts next week.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite comment, the one that most strokes my ego, is the one that says: "Ask Nathan, he can do it." Since I was 20 I've wanted to become a person who could do everything pretty well.
ReplyDeleteIn my memory a lot of my late teenage years were spent drawing constantly. Constantly. Constantly. I was laser focussed on drawing, comics and animation and I had enough talent to give me enough immediate success that discipline wasn't a problem. A big goal for me at the time was getting into the animation program at Sheridan college. It became a singular driving force in my life. And I started taking night classes at Sheridan with adults to improve my skills. I was skipping my high school classes and nearly failing so I could draw, always focussed on getting that coveted acceptance and the beautiful future I was sure would go with it. I did get accepted, barely. I enjoyed college for the first two years. By the time I was done my third year, drawing 40-50 hours a week, my love for drawing was spent. Vanished like a puddle on a hot day. I did not have the discipline to see my commitment through at this time and now I hardly draw at all.
I lament that focus, that discipline and the desire that fueled it all. It was so clear. I have a sense of what it feels like to be good - and on the way towards mastery - at one thing. I also have a bit of a sore spot about losing it. It's an identity that was begun but now sits on the shelf, waiting for a new possibility to arise.
Since then I've chosen to be good at as many things as I can be good at: farming, guitar, board-games, cooking...whatever. I'm interested in EVERYTHING. But not drawing so much. Digging that deep hole over drawing taught me something. Digging all these other holes is teaching me something else.
Right now I'm beginning to unearth fatherhood. Finn Orion Carey was born on friday night.