“Jack of all trades,” but wait… Hogwash.

I have always hated that “Jack of all trades, master of none” quip. It has always made me feel less than. It describes me to a T. I don’t have ONE area of interest or ONE hobby or ONE skill or ONE talent. I dabble in a bunch of stuff. Conventional wisdom seems to say that you need to focus on one sport if you want to be great or that you need to focus on one area of teaching if you want to make an impact. You can’t get distracted by a bunch of interests; you need ONE interest so that you can really get good at it.

I guess I have FOMO when it comes to focusing. I have a myriad of interests. I love tons of different topics. I dabble in a bunch of hobbies. Sure I don’t finish a lot or go really deep like some people do who all they do is live and breath that ONE thing. But I get bored…. out of my gourd. I just like everything. I can hear the naysayers: “Well then you don’t like anything.” Hogwash.

The rest of that little saying says, “… though often better than master of one.” Yes. Yes. Yes. Where have you been all of my life?

I think there are drawbacks to being a master of one. In addition to producing boredom for some, what I learn in one field of study (psychology or physics) informs other areas of knowledge (theology or servant leadership). Being a specialist is cool for some, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think it should be a universal saying that causes High School kids to play baseball or softball all year long instead of using other muscles and learning different disciplines that could help one be a better player on the field.

So If you use that little adage, please add the last part on it too. I can finally feel good about having so many interests instead of feeling like I need to be a one-trick pony.