Experimenting, fear of failure and morning sunrise

THINK. On a morning run, I stumbled upon ideas on experimentation. Interestingly enough, just last week I brought Malcolm Gladwell and his position on a 10,000-Hour Rule ('Outliers') to my reflections. For clarity, the original research conducted by Anders Ericsson and his colleagues, was later revised to mention the presence of standard deviation, which is nothing more than some people excel at 3,000 hours while others need 20,000. The main premise of the study was to unpeel the power of deliberate practice, as opposed to innate talent.

So, there is hope, I guess, for all of us?

As much as 'fail fast' agenda has nearly become a meme, overused to explain all sorts of erratic behaviours, it carries some wisdom. There is no novelty without trying. There is no improvement if one follows the same pattern, rinse and repeat. There is no room for observation it the outcomes are almost fully predictable. It is only when things go south, a perfect moment presents itself to stop and reflect.

The other piece of research quoted by David Epstein (and originated by Robin Hogarth & team) is 'kind' vs. 'wicked' learning environments. Intuitively, we should all know that. Learning to address rule-based situations, memorizing a response protocol to a particular problem, practicing by repetition, it all helps us deal with that problem in a predictable fashion. If this happens, this is what you do, and that's the outcome you can expect. Works in a lot of places, most of the time, and candidly is a best strategy for many things humans deal with every day (and if you are not convinced, just imagine a public bus driver experimenting with the use of pedals, speed, directions, and signals on your commute to work!).

'Wicked' learning helps train problem solving skills and adaptability. Our brain, reinforced by emotional reactions, helps assess the situation we are confronted with, recognize patterns, and apply a measure that could be best suited to a problem we might have never come across before. Wicked, isn't it?

By no means, one model is better than the other!

What it all signifies to me is that while we should put in an effort (proverbial thousands of hours) to overcome innate talent deficiencies, it is the openness to embark on a new journey, amplified by the lust for learning, that help us becoming a different person tomorrow.

FEEL. Why is this so hard to experiment? Fear of failure might be a more impeding factor than we would have ever wanted to admit. That, combined with the need for external validation, is often driving us to commitments and decisions that we otherwise would not have taken. Think about the last time you said ‘yes’ to an ask that you did not really want to comply with - in a professional or personal setting. Chances are that social pressure, drive for approval, fear of relational rejection or conflict avoidance led you to biting your tongue and going along with it. Feels horrible, doesn't it.

The true confidence comes from within. Yes, it is normally amplified by an external validation. Yes, a lot of it is built in our early lives, through the ways we were brought up. Narratives engraved in us, that we wallpaper over with other experiences, are still there, beneath the surface. But the more layers one consistently puts on top of the patterns we want to keep hidden, the more chances that the conscious, preferred choice will prevail. This is both 'kind' practice, sometimes flavoured 'fake it 'till you make it', and 'wicked' - how does one train to recognize when to stop, reflect, explore. And then act. 

In my life, same as in many others, moments of joy are sometimes washed over with everyday stress. Gratitude journaling has never been my strong suite, neither have I really tried. But at times, it feels so good to slow down, force yourself to stop. Take a photo of a glorious new day starting over Seapoint and the Dublin Bay. An emotion captured in pixels.

DO. I am going to throw a few punches at my fear of failure and need for positive validation - my Caring Geek website premiers TODAY. Still at a temporary location, and just a thin skeleton of what it could become, it forms a beginning of a thoughtful routine, a communication platform, and a place that one can slow down, reflect and explore.

I will be delighted to engage in conversations that change lives, one step at a time.