Concentrate on your circle of competence

Jake Eagle — Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Hannah and I were watching the PBS television show Charlie Rose last night. His guest was Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She was talking about her philanthropic work and Charlie asked her if she wished she had some skill or experience that would allow her to be more effective. She said she wished she had a degree in biology, but then she went on to quote advice she received from Warren Buffet. Buffet told her to “concentrate on your circle of competence.”

Buffet’s quote reminds me of the Green Psychology principle of self-renewal. Green Psychology suggests that self renewal comes from knowing what we value and then living in accord with these values.

I like the idea of combining Buffet’s advice about “concentrating on our circle of competence” with the Green Psychology principle of self-renewal. The GP principle says that self-renewal comes from knowing what we most value and then living in accord with these values. Putting the two together, we do what we are good at if in doing it we nourish and energize ourselves. This seems like a pretty healthy recipe for a life well lived.

So what is your area of competence? Or areas of competence? Have you built your life around these areas of competence? Is it realistic to do so? It may not be. Maybe you are a competent artist, but you can’t financially support yourself creating art. If you were to pursue a career in art you might cause yourself financial hardship, depleting yourself with worry…this is not a path of self-renewal. I encourage you to combine the two criteria—define what you are good at, also define the ways you nourish yourself—then look for things that satisfy both criteria.

     

Tags: Personal Growth

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