If you feel like you haven’t quite figured out your specialization yet, still confused about your direction, don’t worry, this article might helps.
When it comes to specialization, the common belief in society is that we should pick a specialization as early as possible. The idea is, the earlier someone specializes, the more they practice, and the better they become.
When kids are in school, they’re expected to know what their interests and talents are, what they want to be when they grow up. Then they’re trained according to those interests and talents, starting early to become experts by the time they’re adults. That’s the general idea in society.
But is that really the only solution?
David Epstein, an American journalist, dives into this in his famous book, “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World”.
He gives two examples that explain that specializing early isn’t always the answer to becoming an expert.
The first example is the famous golfer, Tiger Woods. On the flip side, there’s the opposite example of the world-famous tennis player, Roger Federer.
Tiger Woods is the golfer who was trained by his father from a young age to play golf. Tiger even started playing golf as a toddler. And indeed, as an adult, he became a top athlete in his field. Specialization from an early age.
on the other hand, Roger Federer didn’t start training in tennis from an early age. He actually tried various other sports until later switching to tennis, ultimately becoming the best in his time. An early generalist and late specialization.
The path to expertise, like Roger Federer took, contradicts the view held by most people that to become an expert, one must specialize early. Federer didn’t do that, and there are many more examples like him.
For instance, take Vincent Van Gogh, the famous painter, who experimented with many things in his youth and then specialized later on.
Especially in the current era, which increased in complexity, individuals like Federer, according to David Epstein, are more suitable. Early generalist and then late specialization.
why being generalist in the early stage is better than early specialization?
David Epstein explains that when researchers studied the development graph of elite athletes in their field, they found that on average, these top athletes practiced more intensively at the peak of their performance.
However, in their early years, these elite athletes didn’t spend too much time solely focusing on one specific field. And that’s good. Why?
Because they entered a period called the “sampling period”, where they learned many things, tried many things, becoming generalists. The insights from various fields enriched them when they became specialists later on.
The world needs both types—specialists and generalists (late specialization).
Specialist-oriented individuals are needed for tasks that truly require deep specialization, in controlled environments, like specialized doctors, for example.
Meanwhile, generalists are usually a better fit for rapidly changing environments that require creative problem-solving and the ability to connect different ideas, such as entrepreneurs or management consultants.
So, if you haven’t found your specialization yet, don’t know what you want to do, don’t worry, as long as you keep exploring. Try and learn many things.
Through the exploration you undertake, you’ll get to know yourself better and then focus on what you truly love, dedicating yourself to growing and sharing benefits through that.
You’re following the same path as Roger Federer. A generalist with late specialization.
Rio Benny Arya 