Embracing my inner generalist
143: You want to try everything and are intrigued by the unknown. However, it isn't easy to commit to initiatives for an extended period of time. You are quickly bored.
My interests come and go in waves, usually over two years. I discover something new, obsess over it, and devour everything I can on the subject, until a point, before moving on.
I dig deep enough to gain a general framework, but I quit before the actual effort towards mastery begins.
There are diminishing returns for a generalist in the blurry center of mastery, or "the dip," as Seth Godin refers to it.
Specialists use the blurred center as a barrier and struggle through difficulty before achieving clarity.
Being a generalist can be difficult in some ways.
There is a widespread cultural belief that life is about "mastery" and that being a generalist is a subpar way of living/being in the world.
You want to try everything and are intrigued by the unknown. However, it isn't easy to commit to initiatives for an extended period of time. You are quickly bored.
However, there are many hidden upsides of being a generalist. I find that
You learn faster than most peers; you're pretty quick to get up to speed on things.
You easily connect with almost anyone you meet because there is something they are interested in that you've tasted or tested before, and so there is some common interest.
It's super fun finding something new to obsess about; it's a thrill.
Life is full of variety, and you get to taste a wide range of that variety.
Gaining market credibility
The market is the element that generalists frequently struggle with. The market is looking for the most effective answer, so you must become marketable by becoming a specialist in order to optimize for the value you can share with others.
You don't want a doctor who isn't wholly committed to medicine; you prefer an SEO expert who loves and breathes their work.
There are two methods for dealing with this to serve your natural tendencies while also meeting market demands.
Learn how to package your generalism
While it's difficult to "unlearn" being a generalist personality, and I doubt you'd want to, you can learn to package your current field of interest in a moment in time to the market.
I've met people who have previously worked as neurosurgeons, photographers, and book writers.
I've met folks who transitioned from restaurant owners to UX designers.
The idea is not to have a flawless, permanent, or exact manner of permanently explaining who you are to the world but rather to describe yourself today.
You can establish yourself as that one thing now, even if you know it may change in a few years.
Use deep themes or questions to contextualize your work
The second step is to incorporate your generalism into a body of work. This process occurs spontaneously and is tailored to your own interests.
Generalists can investigate bigger themes, questions, and lenses that give them a broad perspective on their interests.
A chess specialist, for example, is someone who is obsessed with the game and spends their waking hours training, playing, and studying.
A generalist is passionate about games and has done extensive research on sports, childhood psychology, board games, and philosophy.
The first goes deep by going narrow, whereas the second goes deep by going broad.
When you bring your interests together in this manner, you become more contextually relevant to the market by filling a "slot" in someone's mind about what you do.
Accept your place on the map
For me, being able to "pinpoint" onto a map is the polar opposite of being generalist. We don't want to be limited to a single location.
Accepting being a coordinate on a map for a given point in time means allowing yourself to be perceived as something specific.
Generalists may feel imprisoned by this, but the truth is that being specific and on the map for others is a method of serving others.
If you never tie yourself down (even briefly), you miss out on the rewards of being linked or serving.
Consider it a role; if you work in a restaurant, play the waiter character to the maximum. Maybe you'll be in a different role in two years, and that's fine. However, you are now overlooking the connection and service you can provide with the available position. And, if you serve today, nothing can take away what you learned/did then, even if you depart in 6 months.
This way, you can enjoy delving deep and obsessing without being concerned that it will last forever.
And you can let go of the stigma of being someone who "doesn't finish" things since you can finish many tiny tasks along the way, even if you have to let go of that chapter to make room for something new.