Design what you can't

Something that always fascinated me about humans is our ability to do pretty much anything to stay in our comfort zone and never do anything that may make us uncomfortable.

This applies to pretty much anything - we don't want to change our job for a better one because we're comfortable where we are right now, we don't want to learn something new because we already know something and we like it that way, we don't want to meet new people because socializing requires too much effort, we don't want to save money because we can't buy things we like, and so on.

We spend our life trying to be as comfortable as we possibly can, which is a normal thing. I remember that a while ago a content creator I follow was asked what's our purpose in life, and he said "comfort". We want to be comfortable financially, emotionally, and so on.

Another area we want to be comfortable in is our work, especially if we have a creative job that requires us to come up with new ideas all the time. If you're a designer, a writer or a 3D modeler, you may know how good it feels when someone asks you to do something you know really well.

That doesn't always help you make progress, sure, but being able to finish your work really fast simply because you know how to do a specific thing really well feels amazing. Not only you get to have more free time, but you also get to feel good about your existing skills and your ability to do something in a way not a lot of people can.

But, as I said, that doesn't help you make progress. Getting out of your comfort zone and doing something you can't, that does. I realized this many times in the past, but I also realized it today, after receiving an e-mail from a former client of mine who asked me with some help regarding a cover design.

I never really did a cover before, especially not for an album. It doesn't mean I have no clue how to make one, I just don't have the experience to do it. Why? Because I was never really interested in creating covers. I was constantly focused on what I was able to do (backgrounds, wallpapers, photomanipulation, photo effects and, recently, 3D modelling), and while it's great to invest time into becoming good at one thing, learning more and being able to do more is also useful.

This applies to pretty much everything you do. If you're an artist and you specialize in drawing human bodies, should you learn how to draw environments? Well, maybe you won't need that skill for your work, but you never know what can happen in the future, and how knowing how to also draw environments can be the thing to get you a job you really wanted.

If you're a writer and your main focus is writing articles, should you even think about writing fantasy? Well, it may not make you rich, but you never know how one good story can get you more attention than all the articles you wrote before. You also never know how being able to write fantasy may just get you a job.

Creating what you can't, designing what you can't and working on something you never worked on before may be a struggle and it may get you out of your comfort zone, but it can also provide you not only with a lot of experience, but also with a lot of opportunities.

So, next time you're thinking about skipping a project because it's something new and you may struggle with it, try to make an extra effort, get out of your comfort zone and do something else than what you're accustomed to. You may have a pleasant surprise when you'll see the result and the progress you'll make.