Where’s the line between being a wandering generality and a meaningful specific?

I’ve written before about how the immense value I feel I gained athletically from playing multiple sports rather than specializing at an early age. And even within a specific sport, such as football, there’s a lot to be learned from playing multiple positions.

A quarterback can learn more about defensive schemes by spending some time playing safety than they could by studying a playbook. Just like they would be well-served to try their hand at route running and pass protecting. It’s the best way for them to truly understand everything going on around them, and thus their role within the complex system.

But eventually, it becomes time to specialize.

Patrick Mahomes is much more valuable to his team as one of the best quarterbacks in the league than he would be as an average quarterback who also could play tight end and dabbles on the baseball diamond.

I see a similar path in non-athletic careers.

It’s great to explore early on. There’s a lot to be learned by playing in different areas and learning how the world works.

But there eventually comes a time to dig deeper. To explore a specific topic or skill as fully as possible, and to invest in excelling in one particular area.

The best part is that it doesn’t need to be a one-way trip. I’d even argue that digging deep in one discipline actually helps to unveil the nuances of other tangential fields.

The challenge is figuring out when to make the leap, and where to go.

-Brandon