One Apple A Day #1080
I love linearity. Maybe it's because of all my years as a software developer, but I love when there's an order in how things happen. The outcome of each step is the input of the next one and so on until you make everything work.
However, in my experience, life is rarely linear. On the contrary, more often than not, it's pretty messy.
When I approach a new project, the "linear guy" within me tries to create an order. First, we define the vision about where we want to go and why. Then we agree on a set of guiding values or standards, we make a plan and define some key metrics. Then, we identify the first action, and the adventure begins.
If I look back, however, it seldom went like this.
Sometimes I took the first step just following a hunch, and the vision became clear later while I was working on it. At least one time, I understood my why only years later when the project was just memories.
I also lost a few opportunities because I got stuck in finding clarity, and I never started at all.
I've learned that sometimes my brain struggles to keep up with the speed of my heart and guts. I'm so conditioned to do things that make sense that I struggle to trust my sensing abilities when moving forward.
Yet, by sensing the way forward and challenging what makes sense, we create breakthrough innovations.
“Start before you’re ready.” — Steven Pressfield