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LM: #323: The delve dip
Not all who wander are lost, but most who wander will at some point feel lost.
When you “delve” – when you follow a line of curiosity deeply – you will end up in some place where you can’t explain where you are or why you’re there.
We’re taught to have a plan for where we’re going and what we’re doing. We’re taught to expect a certain outcome from certain actions. So in the “delve dip,” most people freak out.
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But the delve dip is where you collect the loose ends you can connect and lift yourself back up so you can see where you are and where you might go. Usually, that’s to a really interesting place!
Even after I’ve been in the delve dip many times, and come out with life-changing and career-defining ideas, it still scares me sometimes.
But by definition, nothing exciting happens when you know where you are and where you’re going, which is a proxy for saying nothing original or interesting happens.
Most people never make it through the delve dip. If they’d persevere, they’d learn that delving is part of the process.
Aphorism: “Just as food eaten without caring for it is turned into loathsome nourishment, so study without a taste for it spoils memory, by retaining nothing which it has taken in.” —Leonardo da Vinci
Cool: Why life is easier as an outcast
Best,
David
P.S. Delving is a great way to find your wildcards.
