The thrill of not knowing
Jacob and Susan on Day 1 at Office Nomads – November 1, 2007. (Image: Matt Westervelt)
I was doing something I had no idea how to do and I was having a great time.
I recently uttered these words during an interview, discussing the experience of starting a coworking space in a time when no one knew what coworking was.
Saying it out loud was this little epiphany. I hadn't realized how important not knowing what I was doing was in my experience starting and continuing Office Nomads.
Not knowing meant I had no roadmap other than the one Jacob and I created together. It meant that I could figure out what I was good at and identify the areas in which I needed help to succeed. It meant that every day was different and every day provided an opportunity for me to learn something new.
That's some pretty exciting, powerful, life-altering stuff.
The same week I had that interview, I listened to this podcast featuring Reshma Saujani, the founder of Girls Who Code. She talked about running for elected office and starting a nonprofit teaching girls to code – both areas in which she had no experience. Then I got to hear Samin Nosrat speak at Benaroya Hall here in Seattle, and she talked about having Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat turned into a Netflix special (and thereby launch her into stardom). She didn't have acting experience – she's a chef. She had to figure out how to be on camera in order to bring this book she was so passionate about to life.
You never know unless you try. (Image: Susan Dorsch)
I think that for many people, and especially for women, we are taught to stay safely within our wheelhouses in order to have the highest likelihood of success. There's a lot to that – working within your skillset to bring on success is not a bad thing. But that mentality can build up resistance to stepping outside of our comfort zones and doing things that are unknown to us. That resistance keeps us from learning, keeps us from progressing, and keeps us from the thrill of experiencing the unknown.
And here's the thing: the more you get comfortable with not knowing what you are doing but moving ahead anyway the easier it gets. And then you start seeking out experiences that push your boundaries. Because you know just how fun it can be.
Over the years I've been honored to witness many of our members throw themselves into the unknown. Whether it's been striking out as an independent contractor after years as a FTE, starting a family, or embarking on a career change later in life, our members have taken on a whole lot of "new" over the years. Both from my own experience and through the joy of witnessing our members' journeys, I wanted to highlight a few tips that can be enormously helpful when leaping into the unknown for the first time:
Practice letting go of your expectations. If you're embarking on a project where you have little experience and you're going to be doing a lot that is completely new to you, you are going to mess up. A lot. More than you think you will. Especially in the early days, that messing up can be disheartening and discouraging. It all gets exponentially harder of you have an expectation that you're going to knock it out of the park on your first try. So take it easy on yourself. Expect to mess up and expect that success may take you a lot longer than you might think. In fact, it may not come at all and you might have to just scrap and start all over again.
Be sure there is an element that lights you up. The allure of newness (or just the allure of $) can't be all you have to look forward to in order to step into the unknown. If there's not something that sparks your interest throughout the process, it'll be too easy to let go after the first few failures. Be sure that part of what is driving your exploration into the unknown is something that truly ignites your curiosity and keeps you going.
It's OK if you reinvent the wheel. Especially in the age where there are 25 apps for any one thing you might want to do, you might think that you can skip your way across knowledge instead of actually absorbing it. Why reinvent the wheel, right? Well, reinventing the wheel means you actually learn the hows and the whys behind what you are doing. And that's more than OK, it can be vital to you knowing how to make decisions going forward.
Identify your human support system. This one can't be emphasized enough. Whether it's a dear friend, a business partner, a spouse, or a mentor, be sure to have people you can reach out to and lean on for support. You don't have to do everything by yourself and struggle unnecessarily (yes, even if you're busy reinventing the wheel). As for help. Admit defeat. Have some hands ready to pull you up when you need it.
Heading into the unknown is way less scary if you have some friends along for the ride. And floss. Floss is good too. (Image: Office Nomads)
What about you? Have you ever leapt into the unknown? How did it feel? What did you learn? Give us a shout on Twitter and let us know.