DI Why?
Now before you go all out and pick a bone with me, just a reminder that I went to design school and have championed the DIY camp for years.
Studying Product Design = spending a lot of time learning how to build things. From hammering a mask out of an aluminium sheet to using a planar to even out a piece of wood - I have done it all. The amount of time (+ blood, sweat and tears) I have spent building stuff is evident from the trunks that sit in my loft.
Unsurprisingly, in all of my professional experience, no one has ever asked me if I can make the perfect dovetail joint. But, that all time in the workshop taught me how hard it is to make a single shelf. It made me value woodworkers a lot more than I did before.
I had almost forgotten about this lesson until late last year. I was demotivated and tired of figuring out my workout regime on my own. After trying out yoga, running and multiple training apps, I gave up and reached out to my old Crossfit coach. For almost a year now, he has been programming my workouts for me. Cut to today - workouts are the favourite part of my day and I am the fittest I have ever been.
What changed? I worked with an expert who could push me to achieve my goals in a way I couldn’t have. So many times we feel like we can do something on our own. It can be about saving money, about not having the time or not knowing who can help - all very valid reasons. What we forget is that there is an opportunity cost to learning and without a coach, there is a ceiling to growth. So while we need to know enough to be aware, we shouldn’t take the mantel of being experts - not for everything.