In October of 1993, after leading the Chicago Bulls to three consecutive world championships in basketball, superstar Michael Jordan (left) made a strange decision. He quit. The reason? He thought it was time for him to try another sport. in the Spring of 1994 he was signed by the minor league Birmingham Barons and played with them for the rest of the season. It was strange to see this wizard on the basketball court look so uneasy on a baseball diamond.
Career changes are tough. They take us out of our comfort zone and launch us into an unfamiliar world. Able to move easily in work to which we have become accustomed, we may suddenly find ourselves feeling awkward in a new role.
The transition happens frequently in healthcare. First line nurses who are promoted to leadership roles may feel clumsy as they try out a role for which they may have received no training…
Psychologists say it’s good for us to experiment working in areas outside our expertise. Otherwise, they say, we may fall victim to three problems: 1) the unused part of our potential may atrophy making us increasingly unidimensional, 2) we may become complacent, narrow-minded, and lazy if we always stay in the same role, and 3) we may become arrogant within our field and under-appreciate the world outside of what we know.
I’ve probably taken this counsel overboard in my own life. Something inside my psyche drives me to try all kinds of things I have no business attempting including (but not limited too) modern dance, painting, music composition, poetry, a novel, a collection of short stories, a full-length play (which will be performed in February) photo-art, television & radio hosting, film production, and magazine publishing & editing not to mention an array of sports where I’ve never been better than average. This Friday, at a new radio-style show I’m hosting, I’m going to try one more thing I’ve never really done – singing in public.
At a cognitive level, I have the idea that trying all of these things is part of living a passionate life. More likely, it’s some kind of Quixote-esque nonsense. I know I’m not really that good at any one of these things. I was trained as a trial lawyer. I did that for seven years before I entered the field of healthcare where success has come far beyond my expectations. Why bother with this other stuff?
Each new venture generates anxiety and a wail of why-am-I-doing this? But, I really believe I am able to lead better (and live better) for trying all these different things.
After his year playing minor league baseball, sitting in the dugout with a bunch of fairly average players, Michael Jordan returned to the hardwood floors where his moves were magic. He then led the Bulls to three more championships. He says he never regrets his try at baseball. Why should he? We only have one chance at life. And Jordan decided he wasn’t going to stay in his comfort zone for the rest of his existence. He didn’t want to sit there in retirement moaning "I wish I had tried baseball when I could."
And that is the challenge to each of us. What part of our unused potential could we mine that would yield gold that would enrich both our lives and the lives of others? And do we have the courage to leave our comfort zone to find out?
-Erie Chapman
Journal of Sacred Work 
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