I'm a believer in the idea that variety and trying new things can stimulate creative thinking and improve your performance, even if it is not right away. When you are doing, using, learning, teaching, trying, conquering, and even fumbling your way through something new, you will have do things differently than you have previously.
If you're paying attention, that newness can be the source of creative thinking inspiration to achieve greater things than you've previously accomplished.
This phenomenon isn't universally smart though.
That hit home talking with someone semi-seriously hoping the “newness will lead to stronger creativity” phenomenon would prove itself out in a "what matters" area. By a "what matters" area, I mean a core belief, relationship, or commitment people generally hold incredibly important.
During our conversation, the other individual was talking about implementing changes to something I (and many people) consider a "what matters" area.
While the thought of making changes for the sake of improving performance makes sense on the surface, the changes under consideration would be so dramatic that the "what matters" area could never hope to remain intact. In this case, what was perceived as tinkering around the periphery would be tantamount to blowing up a core principle.
So be careful out there, kids.
Do you really know "what matters" for you?
Have you explored (and do you revisit) what goes on the short list of the most important things in your life? And do you guard those things as if they truly are the most precious things in the world for you?
If so, then be very, very reluctant to make changes to THOSE things in the interests of newness, variety, and a potentially illusory improvement in performance.
Because that may be exactly what you get.
And what you thought mattered for you, will never be the same again. – Mike Brown
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