Can Lack Of Practice Hide The Zone Of Genius?

[Guest]

I am pretty sure my Zone of Genius is in mathematics, but I wouldn't call myself a genius or outstanding. I attribute this to lack of practice. Could this be the case or am I likely bullshitting myself?

[Robert]

This is an interesting question. I've pondered it myself when trying to find my own zone of genius.

As far as I know, zone of genius doesn't have to do with expertise. It's just a fancy term to describe your approach to your passion. So, in your case, if mathematics is your passion, you would have to find out your unique talent when it comes to mathematics. Are you good at doing math in your head? Is there any specific area of math that you're naturally good at? These are questions you should ask yourself. When trying to find your zone of genius, it doesn't matter whether or not you're outstanding at your passion; mastery is a whole different beast that you will spend thousands of hours working on.

[Leo Gura]

Yes, definitely.

Zone of Genius is like a diamond in the very rough. You gotta have a lot of vision and persistence to polish it into a sparkling beauty.

When you first start, it will seem like you're not great at anything. Greatness only comes with 10 to 20 years of prep work.

[Gus]

On 27/02/2016 at 11:30 PM, Saitama said:

I am pretty sure my Zone of Genius is in mathematics, but I wouldn't call myself a genius or outstanding. I attribute this to lack of practice.

An excellent point, Saitama.

 

On 27/02/2016 at 11:47 PM, Robert said:

It's just a fancy term to describe your approach to your passion.

So if that's the case, does that mean that Saitama, as well as I, should just start with our suspeceted Domains of Mastery and we'll find our respective  Zones of Genius after some years?

[Electron]

@Saitama "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to become great." --Zig Ziglar

[Robert]

@Gus  It's fine to choose a domain of mastery as long as you know what your top passion is. However, I think you should still try to identify your zone of genius as soon as possible (it doesn't have to be years later.)

[Veggies]

A horrific scenario in which you do twenty years of prep work only to realize this isn't your zone of genius. Brilliant.