TOO SMART FOR YOUR OWN GOOD?
Do you desire mastery, leadership, motivation, empowerment, winning, focus, greatness, success, or excellence in your life? Silly question, right? Of course you do. If so, please pay careful attention to this:
It is entirely possible for you to be competent in five, ten or fifteen areas, but virtually impossible to attain mastery in them all…even three! The grade point average of your life is just that, average. Your many As and Bs don’t matter as much as that one A++, the zone in which you are the best you. Myriad competencies do not make you great. If history remembers you, it will be for something you mastered.
Find your area of greatest strength and focus on it. Refine it, polish it and leverage it. How good was Einstein at political science, geography and art? Who cares? How skilled is Usain Bolt at mathematics? Who really cares? What is there about you that will make others care?
Develop basic competency in vital areas that are required to get along with others and function well in society…words, numbers, ethics, computer literacy and so on. Now, at all cost, pick one on which to focus, then spend your life mastering and leveraging it. This is a quest for your greatest talent and purpose.
QUESTIONS: Is it better to be well rounded than to be a “one-trick pony?” And what if you don’t know your greatest talent and purpose? Suppose you pick the wrong item as your specialty?
What are your thoughts on the matter?
This statement could very well be plausible. Too often individual trying to tap into their multi task skill
Interesting thought, Rosemarie. I saw some research that proved multitaskers are up to 40% less productive than those who focus on one task at a time. I can find it for you if you like.
How do you know what you are good at. Is it what people compliment you on most. Should I ask my coworker what do they like about me to help me figure out my strengths
Jaks…not always easy. If you have the book, If Caterpillars Can Fly ~ So Can I, in the chapter on Uniqueness, you will find a series of steps laid out.
I totally agree that we should find one area of greatest strength and become an expertise on it. I am passionate about ministry and serving in the kingdom and so I was like a flashlight, just all over the place I came to a grinding halt, tired, busted and disgusted did I say disgusted? yes! On my jobs I was no better, jack of all trades and master of none. My life went down a spiral of frustration and I almost lost it. But thank God for a second chance. One day our mentor said to us, do not be a flashlight, be a laserbeam. Immediately a light bulb went off in my mind. I recognize the disempowered paradigm I was operating from. Now I have a whole lot of grounds to cover but I feel alot more freedom as the areas that do not concern me I am able to say no and not feel guilty. I move from being a people pleaser to freedom……
I think that being a well rounded person is very good because it give you the ability to interact in most situation, but the main focus is to excel in one specific area. That way you can master what your passion is.
Alvin,
I must disagree with you on this point. Mastery of one skill will put you in the lime light but being a well rounded person that has multiple skills makes you a valuable member of your company. I have a degree in General Chemistry which allows me to work in many aspects of Chemistry; i.e. not the specializations such as Organic, Inorganic, Analytical, Polymer, etc. It is this generalization that allows me to be a utility player and makes me valuable to my company.
Disagreement noted. “One trick pony” is certainly not as negative a label as being “well rounded.”
I am easily bored and so I prefer to branch out than stick to a single area of expertise. Is it then, that I am at a disadvantage.
Claudia:
Not necessarily. You may be just content at moving from one field to another for the variety and personal interest. However, if you ever want to be A++ at anything–if you ever desire to do something so well that you leave a legacy behind–jumping from one thing to another is very unlikely to get you there. Time, focus, refinement, fall-and-rise-and-go-again…they are all prerequisite to a life of greatness, so defined. In such case, a little boredom and a lot of frustration are part of the price you pay.