The zones.

[Danioover9000]

   I'm getting a bit of a headache finding out what is my zone of genius, or the things I think are what is my zone of genius. One example, I keep going back to video games as my zone of genius, but I know that is false. Why? I spent so many years, 15 years or so, of playing a few game consoles, like Playstation, and specifically focused on genres like hack in slash, rpg and racing. It took time and effort that I seamlessly could play that game really well, that if I swapped the controller it felt strange, that's how intuitive it felt. The most confusing bit is the distinction between excellence and genius. Is the zone of genius here all along, or does it need me to go through zone of excellence first?

   I bring this up because I'm pursuing a hobby on the side, drawing. I feel like I'm in a de ja vu moment but instead of games it is drawing. Unlike with gaming, I spent a few years of serious drawing, training both my hands to draw on seperate sessions sometimes.

   If anyone could give me a clear, concrete examples of how both differ, that would be appreciated. This is driving me nuts I don't get enough sleep. Thanks for reading.

[Matt23]

12 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

Is the zone of genius here all along, or does it need me to go through zone of excellence first?

I don't think it's laid out in terms of developmental stages you have to go through.  Rather, I think they're just modes of being people can inhabit depending on what they're doing.  So just go for Zone of Genius and skip the other ones. 

12 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

If anyone could give me a clear, concrete examples of how both differ, that would be appreciated

Are you talking about the differences between the zone of excellence and the zone of genius?

• If so, from what I remember, the zone of excellence is something you do well and others see that.  But perhaps it's just something that you don't necessarily feel like it's your top gift or the "biggest" thing you could be doing.
• The zone of genius is something where you might even feel some fear in doing.  Yet it's also something that excites you and energizes you.  

For example

• For me, I could say that me playing basketball was a zone of excellence. Why?  Because I excelled at it, played it often, people recognized that I was good at it, but I didn't feel like it was the most meaningful thing I could do or something that sort of scared me.  It wasn't something that I felt "Wow, I'm actually doing this!  This is great!"  It was more like just one of those things that you grow up doing and people see you as "the basketball guy" even if you don't really care for it a whole big deal.
• On the other hand, I've experienced a rush of excitement (which to me includes fear) when going and starting conversations with people in the community, telling jokes, and just trying to connect with people and bring them together.  Sort of like a "social magnet" in a sense.  I can kind of sense intuitively what to say and do and there's also a mix of fear in it (I'm not saying this is necessarily my zone of genius either, but just as an example that I think fits the model).  

Also, I think a big one for the zone of genius is that it's something you can do for long stretches of time without getting bored or tired.  = I'd use this as a key to watch out and aim for. 

 

[Danioover9000]

@Matt23

5 hours ago, Matt23 said:

I don't think it's laid out in terms of developmental stages you have to go through.  Rather, I think they're just modes of being people can inhabit depending on what they're doing.  So just go for Zone of Genius and skip the other ones. 

Are you talking about the differences between the zone of excellence and the zone of genius?

• If so, from what I remember, the zone of excellence is something you do well and others see that.  But perhaps it's just something that you don't necessarily feel like it's your top gift or the "biggest" thing you could be doing.
• The zone of genius is something where you might even feel some fear in doing.  Yet it's also something that excites you and energizes you.  

For example

• For me, I could say that me playing basketball was a zone of excellence. Why?  Because I excelled at it, played it often, people recognized that I was good at it, but I didn't feel like it was the most meaningful thing I could do or something that sort of scared me.  It wasn't something that I felt "Wow, I'm actually doing this!  This is great!"  It was more like just one of those things that you grow up doing and people see you as "the basketball guy" even if you don't really care for it a whole big deal.
• On the other hand, I've experienced a rush of excitement (which to me includes fear) when going and starting conversations with people in the community, telling jokes, and just trying to connect with people and bring them together.  Sort of like a "social magnet" in a sense.  I can kind of sense intuitively what to say and do and there's also a mix of fear in it (I'm not saying this is necessarily my zone of genius either, but just as an example that I think fits the model).  

Also, I think a big one for the zone of genius is that it's something you can do for long stretches of time without getting bored or tired.  = I'd use this as a key to watch out and aim for. 

 

   Ah, great! Thanks a lot, this helped clear a bit for me because my mind was lazy and thought zone of genius is like as natural as breathing, like 7 billion people do, and other so easy and so instinctual things that it sometimes backfires on some of my trainings on the side.

   So, zone of genius is something that exciting to me, makes me alive and is sustainable to my mindfulness, like it's easy to focus, label and savor the sensory experiences of the thing I'm a genius at. Also, zone of excellence is like a years or so long habit built up around fields of interests and activities that also align with that self image as well.

    Just a few more questions for you to clarify and really nail this down for me:

   When you say you're like a 'social magnet, is this zone of genius coming from just innate ability of you connecting to other people? Or, is this due to 1,000 -10,000 hours of socializing with family members, friends, other strangers in field, which later translated to you connecting to people easier? Also, was this a mix of both external and internal motivation that made this sort of your zone of genius? 

   When you said basketball was your zone of excellence, was there a learning curve involved? Was basketball your only hobby? Were there times that basketball got boring?

   When you said that the zones are like a developmental modal, is that for feedback later on, like deliberate practice and mastery? For example, say you wanted to be really good at conversations, and you somehow kept a journal to take notes on social and conversation techniques, or to keep a record of how a convo went, you could also use the zones to sort of see and track your progress?

   About the excellence and genius zones, do they sometimes combine? Like basketball is your excellence, but if you found something deeper with it that makes you feel more alive, is that also a zone of genius?

[Matt23]

3 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

When you say you're like a 'social magnet, is this zone of genius coming from just innate ability of you connecting to other people?

I would say "does it matter what the cause is?"  

3 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

When you said that the zones are like a developmental modal,

I said "not" developmental.  Meaning, I don't think you have to go through each zone to reach your zone of genius.  You can just find it/get into it once you've found it.  

3 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

When you said basketball was your zone of excellence, was there a learning curve involved?

I'd say there's always going to be a learning curve, even if it's your zone of genius.  Zone of genius doesn't mean that you're just going to be a savant at it on the first go.  You'll probably suck at it.  But I suppose, to my mind, it seems like the zone of genius differs on a subjective, felt-sense way than the zone of excellence.  Like, doing your zone of excellence might be nice, but doing your zone of genius might feel more awesome/powerful.  

Also, take these things with a grain of salt and try not to overthink this.  I see that lots in myself and on the forum (I think there's a lot of "thinkers" here).  Maybe try to just let yourself do what you really love and find meaningful and just trust that. 

A quote that I really liked that I read recently was "If you have to pick between what you're skilled at versus what you value, choose what you value."  I think this can make a big difference in terms of motivation.    

Have you read the book?  I'd recommend it = The Big Leap

3 hours ago, Danioover9000 said:

zone of genius is something that exciting to me, makes me alive and is sustainable to my mindfulness, like it's easy to focus, label and savor the sensory experiences of the thing

That's the way Gay Hendricks talks about it I think.  

I mean, if we're going strictly "by the book theory", then he lay sit out like it's something that you've developed since childhood.  So, to me, that sort of implies that it's not only a practiced thing (though ya, that too).  But I wouldn't over analyze this.  

Ultimately, I think you can boil it down to "What do you like to do so much that you can do it for long periods of time with little effort?  What's something that you can just get totally engrossed in?"  It could be a sort of activity or even just a general subject, like reading self-help books or something. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by Matt23

[Yarco]

On 7/31/2021 at 10:14 PM, Danioover9000 said:

   I'm getting a bit of a headache finding out what is my zone of genius, or the things I think are what is my zone of genius. One example, I keep going back to video games as my zone of genius, but I know that is false. Why? I spent so many years, 15 years or so, of playing a few game consoles, like Playstation, and specifically focused on genres like hack in slash, rpg and racing. It took time and effort that I seamlessly could play that game really well, that if I swapped the controller it felt strange, that's how intuitive it felt. The most confusing bit is the distinction between excellence and genius. Is the zone of genius here all along, or does it need me to go through zone of excellence first?

Drill deeper into video games. At surface level they might not be your zone of genius or life purpose, but they are probably contained in it.

Is it the artwork? Is it the storytelling? Is it the sense of awe and inspiration that they create?

Could you combine drawing + video games and find an overlapping zone of genius between both? Creating pixel art or designing assets to be used in video games?

[Danioover9000]

@Yarco

4 hours ago, Yarco said:

Drill deeper into video games. At surface level they might not be your zone of genius or life purpose, but they are probably contained in it.

Is it the artwork? Is it the storytelling? Is it the sense of awe and inspiration that they create?

Could you combine drawing + video games and find an overlapping zone of genius between both? Creating pixel art or designing assets to be used in video games?

   I was saying that the video games I did I went through the zones of it, were I sucked at first, but slowly got better, and finally did really well, and sometimes regardless of how I felt, I still could play certain games well. The point I was making there was that I was confused about the genius part, like was it after sinking in many experiences that I entered the zone of genius, or is genius referring to innate talent instead. However, this is one of my passions that started in childhood, and sort of persisted to today, with different genres instead.

   The storytelling was the next chapter, roughly after my video game passion was kind of cooling down and not taking the priority a bit, and this quickly developed into some level of obsession. I would read books, fiction, fan fiction, mentally create stories, explore writer blogs and take down how they construct stories, to the point I sometimes can write out stories when I find a pencil and blank book. It just became hard when I had to abandon ship when the story I made wasn't as good. Also, was annoying cringing over some parts of my writing as well.

   Lately it's now more the artwork, and the inspiration that comes with it. I definitely do need to contemplate more about these three passions, and combining them and synergizing those things I like, might be where my next biz idea comes.

[Danioover9000]

@Matt23

On 8/2/2021 at 0:59 AM, Matt23 said:

I would say "does it matter what the cause is?"  

I said "not" developmental.  Meaning, I don't think you have to go through each zone to reach your zone of genius.  You can just find it/get into it once you've found it.  

I'd say there's always going to be a learning curve, even if it's your zone of genius.  Zone of genius doesn't mean that you're just going to be a savant at it on the first go.  You'll probably suck at it.  But I suppose, to my mind, it seems like the zone of genius differs on a subjective, felt-sense way than the zone of excellence.  Like, doing your zone of excellence might be nice, but doing your zone of genius might feel more awesome/powerful.  

Also, take these things with a grain of salt and try not to overthink this.  I see that lots in myself and on the forum (I think there's a lot of "thinkers" here).  Maybe try to just let yourself do what you really love and find meaningful and just trust that. 

A quote that I really liked that I read recently was "If you have to pick between what you're skilled at versus what you value, choose what you value."  I think this can make a big difference in terms of motivation.    

Have you read the book?  I'd recommend it = The Big Leap

That's the way Gay Hendricks talks about it I think.  

I mean, if we're going strictly "by the book theory", then he lay sit out like it's something that you've developed since childhood.  So, to me, that sort of implies that it's not only a practiced thing (though ya, that too).  But I wouldn't over analyze this.  

Ultimately, I think you can boil it down to "What do you like to do so much that you can do it for long periods of time with little effort?  What's something that you can just get totally engrossed in?"  It could be a sort of activity or even just a general subject, like reading self-help books or something. 

   Ah, I see what it is. Zone of genius is more like intuition at first.

   

[Matt23]

Just do what you most enjoy and are passionate about.

[Danioover9000]

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