It’s easy to take on projects that you know you’ll finish successfully, but as designer Milton Glaser (who’s most famous for the I♥NY logo) points out, “When you do something that’s guaranteed to succeed, you close the door to the possibility of discovery.”
Failure is inevitable, and it’s one of the ways we get better and learn. Every time we take on a project that’s guaranteed to succeed, we’re not creating that challenge that makes us better at whatever we’re practicing. Glaser talks about how he balances his work between taking on jobs he knows how to do and jobs where he’s forced to learn new skills in order to keep discovering new ideas. It’s a nice reminder that stepping outside of your comfort zone is almost always a good idea.
Milton Glaser: Good Life Project [YouTube via Brain Pickings]
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