2 approaches for professional growth:

A) Goal-driven: What do I need to learn to immediately solve this concrete problem?

B) Interest-driven: What can I learn about this domain that I don’t already know?

To excel in the long haul:
Make B your default & use A when necessary

An observation:
Majority of people tend solely toward Goal-driven growth.

They don't seek to learn things without a clear & immediate problem.

They don't make this choice explicitly.

It's just how they are pre-wired.

The trick then is to:
1) recognize this
2) re-wire oneself

Why?

Growth isn’t a straight line.

It isn’t fully Cause & Effect

The brain makes connections in ways you can’t predict upfront.

You can’t plan proficiency.

So get comfortable with learning without an immediate problem or purpose.

And grow in ways you never thought possible.

If you liked this thread, check out this thread on growing as a product person and tackling the hardest challenge that most product folks face: finding the time for ongoing growth https://twitter.com/shreyas/status/1301710291080675329