Disrupt

Dis·rupt
/disˈrəpt/
Verb: drastically alter or destroy the structure of (something).

How often do you bend the rules? How often do you break them? Work outside the norm? Why the norm? Progress is made not when you apply the same rules again and again, but when you disrupt them. When you work so far outside the norm that you are either considered an outlier, or, most often, one of the crazy ones.

And yet, we fail to disrupt.

Why? Is it the fear of the unknown? The fear of failing? Or maybe it is the temporary (or permanent) lack of comfort that comes with disruption that scares you? Unknown, lack of comfort, failure… All speaks to one thing: aversion to risk. Yes, in order to make a change you have to risk losing a “thing” to gain another “thing”.

Disruption is necessary so solve problems, to find the solutions that move all of us forward. It’s the thing that pushes individuals and teams to do better. It’s the concept that keeps us from becoming stagnant. Stuck, repeating the same thing again and again and again.

"If the facts don‘t fit the theory, change the facts."

— Albert Einstein

Be your own adversary, bring that alternative way of looking at things to yourself. Once you go down that route you will begin to see that the chaos you feared is the chaos you will thrive in now. The comfort will be found not in the warmth of the known, but in the chaotic unknown, the raw power of just taking things and pushing them to the breaking point to see what it becomes.

"Burn the bridge. Nuke the foundation. Back yourself up against a wall. Have an opinion one way or the other, get off the fence and rip it up. Cut yourself off so there is no going back. Once you’re committed the truth will come out. You ask about security? What you need is uncertainty. What you need is confusion; something that forces you to reinvent yourself, a whip to drive you harder."

— Mark Twight / Twitching

Begin by disrupting yourself, then disrupt the things you care about most.

EDIT 16 OCT 2019

Mark Twight sent the following after I showed him the article. Thank you Mark.

I think one more thing should be addressed when thinking and writing about disruption and change; we are often apprehensive about what is ahead of us, and about the potential risk but why? These things are not independent of what has happened in the past and apprehension about change is often tied to what we are giving up—our current condition—and not just the unknown in front of us. What got us "here" also (maybe) got us comfortable, at least in the sense of knowing the routine, knowing the left and right limits, and being able to forecast the outcome. Leaving the nest, whether theoretical or physical, leaving the known even if it isn't comfortable or satisfactory it is at least known, influences our perception of the risk that is ahead on the new road. It's not simply the fear of risk or the unknown that governs behavior. The condition of our adaptation to current circumstances can also be a very heavy anchor.

Onward,

Mark