Path Dependence

We tend to define ourselves by what we do. Stephen is a Doctor. Nick is an Actuary. Kate is an HR Expert. The thing is these people are much more than that, but as we develop we have to put more and more aside to focus. To become an expert in our field. Each choice results in a new direction, but each choice is not obvious. We have to choose with incredibly complex combinations of what we want, what our responsibilities are, what those around us want, what our opportunities are etc. So we go left, when we might have gone right. Sometimes we don't choose, life chooses for us. It is also true that the further down a specific path we go, the harder it is to jump back to another. The great thing about the way the world is moving is that it is becoming easier and easier to keep the 'wormholes' open to jump to other paths. MOOCs make education cheap and available. Social Media helps people stay in touch with those from whom our paths diverge. Life Hackers like Tim Ferris and Josh Kaufman work hard at finding ways to add back some flavour. We are becoming more efficient at making things. We can choose to either make the same amount of stuff and have more time, or make more stuff in the same amount of time. If you had a wormhole you could jump through, what would you 'be'? What if it took less effort than you think to actually bring some of that back into your life?