Small Reminders (For Myself [Mostly])

All humans have strengths and weaknesses. A human with weaknesses is not defective; it is functioning correctly.

All human minds have finite capabilities. Using a tool to increase the capability of a mind or to perform a kind of task that brains aren’t very good at is does not imply that the mind’s capability is insufficient. The most creative minds depend on tools more than anyone. As a person who is more brilliant than resourceful, you are biased toward the value of brilliance. A brilliant mind that refuses to make best use of the tools around it can be creatively outpaced by an average or below average mind that’s sufficiently resourceful, however. This fact is not an indictment of brilliance; it’s reframing the question of how brilliance relates to creativity and innovation.

A finished product that doesn’t look like its plan is ok. A product that isn’t finished on the first try is ok. A product that works is ok even if you don’t understand exactly why it works yet. You can take pride in creating a product that works in a new and interesting way is ok even if you didn’t build every piece of it. Expertise usually starts with deeply understanding the things that people with more experience than you have already built.

Take these reminders and apply them to all life situations as needed.