Conventional wisdom is great to follow, if you want to be average.

The great thing about working at a startup is that you’d be given responsibilities you’re unqualified for, and asked to figure it out.

That discomfort causes you panic, anxiety, stress, etc. But it also is what creates growth.

The feeling of soreness a day or two after a killer workout is the physical equivalent.

Growth does not happen without tear. You must tear your muscles (have them handle more than they could) in order for them to grow in the recovery process.

In a world that’s more extreme than ever, being extremely good at something has never been more valued.

In most things in life, you could follow conventional wisdoms like “don’t bite more than you can chew”, because you don’t mind being average (example: I follow conventional recipes, because I’m ok with being an average cook).

But in one thing you do, make sure to defy conventional wisdom.

Bite more than you can chew. Take on more responsibility than you can handle. Commit to more than you believe is possible. Risk failing and falling on your face, but do everything you can to get back up and try again.

That’s how you grow and become exceptionally good at something.

I see mediocrity all around me, and the root cause of it is that people are too afraid to commit to something they don’t feel “comfortable/confident” about delivering.

That mindset, if infiltrated a company’s culture, is cancerous.

The result is almost a certain state of mediocrity, followed by a slow and painful death.

If on the other hand the culture is that of biting more than one can chew, then growth would be the constant.

Keep in mind that with growing a muscle, comes rest and recovery. You also can’t grow a muscle without rest and recovery. So one must balance out the sprints with rest.

First tear the muscle, then recover.

Once you experience that mental growth, you can never enjoy cruising without it again.

You will develop an acquired taste for that mental muscle soreness, resembled in fear/anxiety that you’re challenged to overcome. If you don’t appreciate the soreness for what it is (sign of progress), you won’t keep doing it, and hence won’t keep growing.

This isn’t about hustle porn. It’s a realization that the best athletes don’t follow conventional wisdom.

To use the same analogy, if you bite more than you can chew all the time, you will get sick/won’t be healthy. But if you bite more than you can chew sometimes, and balance it with rest here and there, then you are likely to win at whatever it is that you’re doing. Almost like OMAD (one meal a day) which arguably speaking was how our ancestors ate.

Food for thought.