For a long time in my life, I felt I had nothing. Like I was empty, devoid of anything special that made me unique. And this is true.
Growing up, I had no talents that stood out far from the group, no competitive advantage that I could be known for. Not overly intelligent, athletic but not the strongest or fastest, a little under average height, and no peculiar skills or tricks. Pretty average.
If there was one speciality I had it was being average at a lot of things. I would be classified a 'Jack of all trades, master of none'. This is not ideal in a world obsessed with specialisation and narrow views. People want an authority figure that can provide in-depth information within a very narrow field.
This hasn't always been the case and has been brought about by the industrial revolution where companies developed production lines and filled the talent requirements with those specialised for a given station.
Early on, companies were forced to train for their requirements but soon, the governments and educational institutions took on the role of preparing the workforce.
This was mutually beneficial between government and company for one provided the workers so profits could be made, the other repaid by offering jobs that paid tax and some tax themselves. Win/win.
However, it came at a cost to the worker. The security of the position and the comparative ease of work relative to depth of skill requirements meant that it was attractive. the cost however came in the form of loss of control, reliance on another for security and reduction in skill set.
The more complicated a position became, the more pronounced the loss of skill range got. Manual positions advanced physical skills and thought work specialised mathematical or creative skills but there was not much overlap between positions. Before this, necessity dictated a development of skill variation but in time, this continued specialisation meant that the willingness and ability to learn outside of it reduced.
Fast forward a century or two and we see that although jobs have specialised further, efficiency and cost-saving measures have seen many jobs get rolled together. The required skillset for each position may not be specifically trained though.
The schooling systems still specialise training for positions but fail to factor in all the requirements. An engineer is no longer just an engineer, they are also their own secretary, manager and skills trainer. But, they have learned to be specialists and will generally underestimate the importance of abilities that lay outside of their chosen field of expertise.
This is true for traditionally manual positions also as the skill range requirements widen to include an increasing amount of self-management, information and communication skills. The necessity has been driven by competition, need to cost-save and of course, to extend profits.
To best take advantage of the current climate, one must be able to learn and adapt to a changing environment and for many, this has proven difficult as the very skills required to do so, have been 'bred' out of large parts of the population through their entire educational experience.
This narrow view of educational needs and purpose has left those most vulnerable, exposed to a volatile working environment. One they were not trained for and not educated in sufficiently to understand to effectively take the responsibility and train themselves.
Responsibility often comes up for the experience we have is our own and no one can learn a skill for us. People often say things like 'I wasn't told' or 'I didn't get the training' and this may very well be true but unfortunately, the untold, untrained person is still the one that is stuck in the experience of an untold, untrained person.
Ignorance is rarely bliss when what one is ignorant of is the very thing that may lead them to bliss. I see work, and therefore skill development, as playing a major role in how we experience our lives and how we rate our experience. I do not limit this work to paid work or even traditional work at all, it can be anything that one puts concerted effort into for some kind of feedback and return.
How we view ourselves is rarely from the enlightened position of the lack of self and identity, it is generally from a more practical and material position that attaches to action and return. Leaving development of ability in the hands of others who have vested interest in their own activities and gaining profit or power for themselves will undoubtedly lead to an imbalance of skills and open to be taken advantage of and cast aside and made redundant when a profit can no longer be returned from one's services.
That sounds quite inhumane doesn't it? Remember, companies and governments are not human. They are system-based entities that act in service of society but are directed by a narrow view of what is the best course of action. Generally, profit and tax. This is their function and it is like getting into a cage with a hungry tiger expecting it to play like a puppy. The nature of the beat is what it is.
They also cannot factor in the individual requirements of any one specific individual as they are designed to work on averages and what is best to see the narrow view realised.
Who do we blame for being in this position? Anyone but us usually, but the truth is that we put ourselves in a vulnerable position by giving up our agency to those that are invested in a very limited view of the world and what it means to be successful.
For most, this 'giving up' wasn't a conscious choice, but a societal and cultural one. As mainstream as the concepts of individuality, creativity and proactivity are, the actual case is there are very few actual practitioners. Most fall into line with what the majority are doing as is the general way of any society based on conformity. And all are as that is the nature of society. Another hungry tiger, that wants to be fed.
Since you can never end a situation by continuing to do more of it, the only solution is to take control back into the hands of the individual and let them decide what is best for themselves. A free market.
As most economists know, the markets are not very free and never has been so when people say that a free market isn't working, how do they know for what they are actually observing, however labelled, is not what they have labelled it. Calling the tiger a puppy, doesn't change its behaviour.
Some parents with the means have thankfully started taking the education of their children back into their own hands. They call it unschooling. I call it parenting. Parents have a responsibility to their children and for too long, too many have shirked it and handed the future of their children's welfare, lives and skillset over to a state and education system invested in providing workers for companies.
Unschooling doesn't mean that a parent is the sole educator, it means that the child directs the learning process and gets supported as required along the way. This is a big responsibility for parents, but children are not fashion accessories and Farmville and Facebook can wait. (Check out 
So, going back to my opening statement about not being unique. It is true. I am in the same boat as everyone else. A boat that has been steered away from real individuality and creativity towards authorities that are invested in control, but promise freedom.
Instead of trying to continue to fit into society, something I have failed at time and time again, I decided to explore myself and my world as an individual. This doesn't mean I do not spend any time interacting with others or learning from others, it just means that I control what and where I learn to a greater degree.
There are many doing this and in time, they will increase their connection points between and new systems will develop from them organically. Hopefully though, they will be based on a decentralised free market across all requirements and will therefore take a wide view of the world that creates space for all, rather than a narrow minority.
Will it work out, will I be rich, successful, revered and honoured. Unlikely. I am just a Jack of all trades that never wants to be anyone else's master but my own.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
If some parts of this are useful, inspire or get you thinking please show your support and pass it on to others. As said in the article about people connecting like minds to build a decentralised, free-market society. We are in one here to some degree and there are many people that can add their skills and depth to further and speed it along but at times, even while all on the same platform, they don't find each other. Steemit is built to be a leading component in a new type of society and has a decentralised currency to support it. It is in all of our best interest to help realise it.
