Push the button - how trying new things can help you win at work… And in life
The “Fish Out of Water” episode of Bojack Horseman (Season 3, Episode 4) has been described as one of the greatest episodes of TV ever produced. It’s a bold claim for what some would simply regard as a cartoon. However, lovers of the hilarious and often existential show about a washed-up horse actor named Bojack would probably agree.
Besides its stunning visuals, two things make “Fish Out of Water” stand out relative to other episodes in the franchise — it takes place underwater…and it’s completely soundless. Bojack navigates through the scenes in a diver’s helmet, which helps him to breathe underwater. At various junctures, the helmet frustrates him — he tries to talk, but can only produce bubbles and gurgling sounds, and lights a cigarette only for it to be snuffed out on the helmet’s dome. Eventually, he accepts his limitations and stops trying to speak.
As the episode progresses, viewers come to terms with the lack of sound and even embrace it, focusing instead on Bojack’s escapades. But in the dying seconds of the episode, Bojack gets nudged by an impatient pedestrian who pushes a button on an identical helmet and screams at him to get out of the way. The episode ends with a close-up of Bojack’s face as it dawns on him that he could speak the whole time. Exasperated, Bojack clicks the button on *his* helmet and yells “You’ve gotta be kidding me” as the credits roll.
As comical as Bojack’s last-minute realisation is, sometimes life imitates art. We all wear helmets, and sometimes, they blind us to the possibilities that surround us. The most common of these helmets tends to be our careers. Our jobs often box us into a set identity without us even realising it. US capital Washington DC is a great (if not extreme) example of this phenomenon. No introduction in DC is complete without mentioning one’s profession. In fact, I would wager it is the second-most important fact after their name. The stats back this up: 55% of American adults base their identity on their profession, a figure which rises to over 70% for college graduates.
But like Bojack, does the helmet of career prevent us from “speaking” or more broadly, finding expression and fulfilment in other things? Perhaps. But why do we tend to focus so narrowly on professional pursuits anyways? Well for most people, a job is simultaneously a means to earn a living, a part of their identity and a key to social status. So it would make sense that achievement in a chosen career path would be a way to make more money, feel better about yourself and gain more respect from peers. However, that achievement doesn’t come easy. Companies are constantly competing for the same customers, and even internally, we each have to contend with co-workers for limited resources (promotions and salary increases). It stands to reason, then, that reaching the zenith of our chosen field would require choosing a career path early and working with singular focus.
But what if that early, unrelenting focus *hinders* our progression to the peak of the career ladder? In David Epstein’s bestseller Range, he segments professional pursuits into two. The first segment is “kind environments,” where situations are relatively similar, and the goal is to repeat performances as identically as possible. Specialised surgery, playing instruments and tennis come to mind here. The other segment, “wicked environments,” more closely mirror everyday life and most career paths. The challenges vary from day to day, and they require a broad set of skills to cope and flourish in these environments.
Epstein argues that in wicked environments, early specialisation and relying on a skillset from one field can actually be dangerous. It calls to mind the old adage about everything being a nail to a hammer. Basically, if you only know one problem-solving method, you tend to default to it even when it’s not relevant to the situation at hand. Given that most of us work in wicked environments, what’s the solution to this hammer syndrome?
There’s no easy answer or panacea, but there is one thing that is proven to help — trying new things. Broadening your horizons by switching job roles, pursuing new hobbies or starting a side hustle gives you transferable skills and experiences that you can then apply to solve problems in a wicked environment. Essentially, living a fuller life makes you more adaptable, and being more adaptable makes you more effective in your quest for career advancement.
Just like Bojack’s helmet, a 9-5 can be frustrating and limiting. But jobs and helmets are alike in another way — without them, we would drown. Life never stops. While it would be nice to take off our career helmets and smell the flowers, things like rent, school fees and rising costs of living create endless waves that force us to keep swimming. But in the midst of life’s rolling tides, we can still try new things that enrich our lives and perhaps even take us further along on our career journey. Just like Bojack, we may struggle with the helmet, but we can still push that button.
