The Upside of Being Inefficient

We feel obliged/pressurized to be perfect. As Shane Parrish wrote:

“Don’t waste time, we’re told. Maximize the output of your moments. Minimize your energy expenditure.”

So the opposite of efficient must be bad, right? Wrong. After all:

“Inefficient does not mean ineffective, and it is certainly not the same as lazy.”

In fact, going way further, Parrish says:

“There is real value in not being the best at everything.”

Did that sound blasphemous? Let him elaborate.

One, there’s the impact that being perfect at something changes has on us, consciously or unconsciously:

“Total efficiency constrains us. We become super invested in maintaining the status quo because that is where we excel. Innovation is a threat. Change is terrifying. Being perfect at something is dangerous if it’s the only thing you can do.”

But of course, change will happen:

“Efficiency is great in an unchanging environment, but to expect an environment to remain static is unrealistic. Environments change all the time.”

And it’s in that changing environment that your past inefficiency actually becomes a positive! Here’s how. When you were not the most efficient, you were forced to try different things, many of which didn’t work. But along the way, unwittingly:

“You build your repertoire of traits and talents, so when change hits you have a wide array of skills.”

Which is what Parrish says:

“Inefficiency, like a genetic mutation, can allow for serendipitous discovery. Sure, it may produce the same mistakes as before, but if the environment is different, they might actually work now.”