The Occupational Adventure (tm)

Be a serial beginner

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

I've been thinking lately about how easy it is to let expertise turn into a rut. Over the years I've developed an expertise and a confidence in what I do and how I do it. It feels comfortable and solid. And yet I know that if I rest on the laurels of my current expertise, at some point in the future I risk stagnation, like the once-passionate teacher who has been doing the same thing in the classroom for too long.

Right now I'm starting to develop some new opportunities (all still building on my Passion Catalyst work) that take me out of my comfort zone. Rather than comfortable and solid, it's putting me in a somewhat uncomfortable and shaky space. It's putting me in the beginner zone.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how perfect that is. That uncomfortable, shaky space is where the opportunity for doing new, very cool things lies. And it's definitely where the opportunity for growth lies.

Staying 100% in that comfort zone is a recipe for stagnation. Instead of only doing more of the same, commit to being a serial beginner. Dedicate a certain percentage of your focus to pursuing something that is going to take you beyond your comfortable expertise and turn you into a beginner.

Maybe it's an 80/20 split, with 80% of your time spent on the solid, stable footing of your expertise, and 20% spent pursuing something new that challenges you and puts you in the beginner zone. Or maybe you want to get more agressively new, with a 50/50 split.

However you do it, stay new, stay fresh, and stay passionate.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

The 30 Minute University

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Yesterday I posted about The Escape Plan, a 40 day participative plan to help you bust out of your rut.

The task in yesterday's post was to learn something new. The time limit was thirty minutes.

I loved that twist. Limiting the task to thirty minutes meant it was doable. It was a taste of something fun in a time frame that kept it from taking over the day. The limited time also meant there was no possibility to fall prey to the pressures of "perfecting the skill."

That got me thinking about how much potential there is to incorporate new experiences and new activities into our lives in small doses. If, rather than feeling the need to commit to a fixing a five course meal for twenty people, we give ourselves permission to just enjoy a bite sized morsel, the range of possibilities is enormous.

Think of it as The 30 Minute University. Go to it at least once a week. More often if you can. Learn to do something bite-sized and new.

Start out by making a list of things you think would be fun to experiment with. Limit it to things you can do (imperfectly!) in 30 minutes. On The Escape Plan, Kim played with tap dancing and Jason learned a magic trick. Maybe you could learn how to do origami with a dollar bill, or get some kid's paint and spend the time exploring how the colors combine. Finger painting is always a favorite, of course, but I'm probably just projecting there. ;-)

You might even want to schedule a regular slot in your calendar so you are sure to get it in.

Happy learning!

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

The Escape Plan

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Sometimes I run across something that makes me say, "Oh! I wish I had thought of that!" That was my response when Kim Kotecki clued me in to The Escape Plan. It's what she and her husband Jason call an "xblog,"  an experiential blog.

What is that? In their words...

An experiential blog contains the following elements:

1. It has a finite number of posts, each of which constitute a specific step towards a stated goal.
2. Community is created by readers (voyagers) who share comments on their experiences.
3. It is written by an individual or team of sherpas, who lead the experience and guide voyagers in the journey.

They are doing The Escape Plan as an xblog, but they encourage people to come up with their own xblogs and even give a list of possible ideas. A new movement underway perhaps?

The Escape Plan is their attempt to cure a big dose of what they call Adultitis. Here's how they describe it...

1. The Escape Plan is a 40-day journey. Each day brings with it a challenge designed to get us thinking and acting in a more childlike way.
2. We record our daily experiences and personal observations as part of this blog.
3. In order to make it even more fun, we decided to offer you the opportunity to vote on each challenge, deeming which one of us did a better job of pushing ourselves to capture the truest essence of the spirit of childhood.
4. We’ve asked a handful of friends and family to commit to giving the Escape Plan a try as well. They’ll also share their solutions and experiences for each challenge in the comment section of each blog post.

I love this idea.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

You might be in a rut if...

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Sometimes the path we're on has worn a groove so deeply ingrained in our brains that we don't even realize it has turned into a rut. Here's an article with some red flags that should warn you that it might be time for a change.

In a nutshell, you might be in a rut if...

1. ...you can't remember the last time you tried something for the first time.

2. ...you compare yourself to others more than to your former self.

3. ...you've become comfortable living a life filled with goals mostly unrealized.

4. ...you find yourself playing the victim.

5. ...you haven't made a big mistake lately.

More details in the article. Check it out.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Magazine rut-busting

mapmaker.curtrosengren.com

Over on Worthwhile's blog, Kate Yandoh pulls a page from Dan Pink's book A Whole New Mind for some ideas on stimulating some new thinking:

Go pick up five magazines that you've never heard of in areas you've never chosen to read about. Flip through at will, maybe tear out some images or articles that speak to you in some way, then watch for breakthroughs.

Wow.  Courtesy of Aquarium USA, Sing Out! Folk Music, Grassroots Motorsports, Modern Drummer, and Wooden Boat, some new thoughts about a web project, seeds for a future blog postings, a few new words and who knows what else are mine. Even if you're not wrestling with a particular form of block or working on a project, spending just an hour doing this can make some creative connections and furnish a very economical - and portable- brain break.

Part of what I really like about this idea is just the pure simple thought of injecting something new into the picture. At some point, most of us get bogged down in our same ruts, often without even realizing it. Our thinking gets stale, our habits get stale, even our interests get stale. This is a great quick and dirty way to breathe a breath of fresh air into the picture.

I likes it, I does.

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

Take time away for a fresh perspective

I've been going through a stack of old travel magazines and cutting out the articles I want to keep. In perusing them, I ran across an October '97 article by Joe Robinson from the now defunct Escape magazine about the ability of travel to spark creativity and new ways of thinking.

I like what he had to say on the power of the perspective shift that is an inherent part of travel.

So much of what we do or don't do is contingent on the rules as we know them - what's a ridiculous or hairbrained scheme and what's not, what's possible for someone of our - fill in the blanks - age, education, social status, prior level of success to dream up and achieve, and what's not. We act or often don't act accordingly, based on the limited data we've encoutered living by the inertial laws of one small piece of the universe.

Step out of that concrete, and you find people doing things in very different ways. It changes your notion of what's possible. Move around enough, and you start believing anything is possible. And, guess what, humans achieve what they think is possible to achieve.

Even if we don't go someplace where the culture and way of thinking is exotic and new, a jump out of the rut can work wonders. Even just a weekend away from the things you think about and experience day in and day out can have a tremendous benefit. 

I had one client who would plan occasional "retreat weekends" with his wife to talk about where the future was going, what was happening, etc. Getting away from their everyday routines helped set the stage for thinking beyond the blinders of their day to day world.

As you ponder your career future (or your future overall), give some thought to taking a little time away. It could be just what you need.

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM

Is that routine a rut or a groove?

Leslee at 3rd House Party points to an interesting article titled Is That a Rut or a Groove You're In? by Dru Sefton with the Newhouse News Service.

Routine can make our everyday lives less complex, the article states. At the same time, Sefton cautions:

A set routine is "convenient, we can do it with our eyes closed," said Dale Bond, an expert in health behavior change at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. "But if that's the case, it means metaphorically we're also going through life with our eyes closed."

The article points out that:

A set routine frees humans from having to reason about recurring situations...

But ingrained routines may also stifle creativity and spontaneity, and dull us to other possibilities.

Eastern philosophies prefer "mindful living," the awareness of each moment. "The opposite of mindfulness is mindlessness -- an autopilot life," Bond said. You go through the motions, again and again, not even remembering your commute to work that morning.

We've all got our routines. But when does a comfortable routine become a one-way ticket to the numb zone?

The way to determine whether a routine is efficient and comfortable or mundane and oppressive, experts agreed, is to consciously ponder it.

"If your routine is boring, if you are lethargic about it, think about changing it," said Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology and management at Claremont.

You needn't reject your entire routine, he said. Just consider alternatives. "The problem is, people rarely stop to reflect whether what they are doing they have to do, or they enjoy doing," he said.

At work, Amick said, there are "simple things to try," such as brainstorming with a co-worker about how to make daily tasks more engaging, or asking a supervisor about varying your responsibilities.

Is the routine in your life saving your energy and attention for the things that bring you joy, both in your career and your life in general? Or is it bogging you down, miring you in every expanding waves of lethargy? If it's the latter, what can you change? And when?

Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst ^SM