I heard a great analogy from the audiobook of Seth Godin’s The Practice.
He said the secret to winning on a game show like Jeopardy is to hit the buzzer before you know the answer. As the host is finishing the question, you hit the buzzer and in the time it takes him to come to you and ask for an answer, that’s when you work it out.
Seth says you don’t need to know the answer to hit the buzzer, you just need to know that you’re the kind of person with the kind of knowledge and tools to work it out.
Sure, you could be wrong, but you gave it your best shot.
I’ve felt this in my daily filming challenge. There will come a point in the morning where I remember I’ll be making something today. I have no idea what it will be, but I know I’ll make something. By committing to the daily task- I’ve hit the buzzer.
So I’m just trusting that I have the skills, knowledge and curiosity to figure it out. It might not be the best thing, but I’ll sure as heck try my best.
I’d much rather hit the buzzer and GIVE IT A GO than miss my chance waiting for certainty.
A helpful reframe I’ve felt is the difference between seeing the daily task as:
“Oh no, I don’t know what to make”
to:
“Oh! I wonder what I’ll make today”
There’s no option of not showing up and doing my job today- I hit the buzzer when I decided to do this daily.
I’ve got no safety net but I am trying my best. And best of all, I get to try again tomorrow.
(and the next day)
