Being Who You've Always Been
The Field Review: TFR-045
It’s easy to look at where you are now and think you’ve changed.
You might do different things, spend your time in different ways. Maybe your interests now don’t look anything like they did ten years ago. But when you step back, when you really look at how you got here, the pattern is usually the same.
I don’t believe people don’t change as much as they think.
They just find different ways to be themselves.
Same Person, Different Obsession
Most of us have gone through phases. One day you couldn’t care less about something, the next you’re all in.
Growing up I HATED golf. Every single thing about it. I swore on multiple occasions that I’d never pick up a club again. Now I write down my swing thoughts and can tell you how you should approach every hole at Augusta National or TPC Sawgrass.
I used to think watching the NFL was a waste of time, now I have two fantasy teams, and 2-3 backup teams to cheer for. (I’m a Cleveland Browns fan so that’s allowed).
You already know that I never went hunting or fly fishing growing up, but now those are things that I think about every single day.
If I had a conversation with myself in 2015, I would have said “wow, you’ve really changed.” But when I look past the surface, the way I go about things hasn’t changed at all.
I’ve jumped into plenty of things I never thought I would. When something grabs my attention, I usually go all in. I read about it, practice it, figure out how to get better. I like learning, stacking skills, and seeing progress even if it’s slow.
This is how I’ve always approached things. It’s how I taught myself to play guitar so I could join a band. It’s how I learned Chinese so I could study abroad in China.
The only thing that has shifted is what I’m applying myself to.
A Function of Environment, Not Who You Are
I’ve talked about Kurt Lewin’s behavior equation before in The Field Review. It’s one of the few nuggets of my MBA that stuck with me in the real world.
B = f(P, E)
Where behavior (B) is a function (f) of a person (P) and their environment (E).
Basically, a person’s behavior is a result of both who they are and the environment they’re in. Change the setting, and you might see a different side of them. Not because they’ve changed, but because the environment brought out something different in their personality.
Some people are tinkerers. They want to break things down, figure out how they work, put them back together.
Some people are competitors. Whatever they take on, they need to push themselves, chase improvement, measure success.
Some people love tradition. When they find something new, they want to understand its roots, its legacy, and where it came from.
If you put a competitive athlete into a high stakes career, and they’ll likely attack it in the same way they did their sport. Drop a problem-solver into a new challenge, and they’ll probably take the same steps to break it down like they’ve always done.
We pick up new habits. We move through different stages of life. But if you look at how we approach things, it’s tough for me to say that we change all that much.
Someone who’s always looking for a challenge will always find one. Someone who’s naturally curious will always be learning. Someone who’s a perfectionist will keep refining, no matter what they’re working on.
The details shift. The environment may change. But the person?
They just find new ways to be exactly who they’ve always been.
From My Desk:
What I’m Thinking/ Doing: Remember when I wrote about how an app told me I was on track to spend 31 YEARS ON A SCREEN. Well, the good news is that I’m down to spending only 18 years on a screen. The bad news is that I’m still on track to spend 18 years on a screen.
It’s been getting bad again so I’m contemplating deleting all social apps on my phone for good, and allowing myself only to get on them from a desktop. Sometimes I really hate having to stay up to date on social trends for work. It would make deleting my entire existence online a lot easier.
On Deck for Monday: The weeks are starting to pick up in deliverables, and I am not complaining about it. For some clients, it’s been a painfully slow transition out of winter both in weather and in workload, so I’m genuinely excited to start crossing things off the agenda and making progress towards Q2.
From The Field Review Archives:
The Field Review is a space for exploring the intersection of work, life, and the great outdoors. It’s about figuring ‘it’ out—whatever your ‘it’ might be.
Every Sunday at 10AM EST, I share ideas, insights, and conversations that help break through the noise, offering a real look at how we can all keep moving forward.
If you have any thoughts, questions, or topics you'd like me to explore in future newsletters, feel free to reach out!
Venture Onward,
Jack
I really love your closing line here. I’ve absolutely experienced the shift in environment shifting my behavior. But, you’re spot on with what you said “They just find new ways to be exactly who they’ve always been” - loved this read. Thank you for sharing it