What’s So Great About Being Well Rounded?

Posted December 21st, 2015 by Carroll King Schuller

Being well rounded is a well known platitude, pounded into our heads as we grow up, leaving us to put aside what we excel at in order to brush up on the things we don’t. While it’s certainly useful to be well rounded, when it comes to carving out your place in the professional world, being a jack of all trades and master of none can make finding success a bit more difficult.

We live in a society and era of perfection. We teach our writers how to solve quadratic equations and harp on our engineers about spelling mistakes and sentence structure. Our country is obsessed with having children who excel in every area of academia, testing every subject for retention and comprehension regardless of a student’s interest, intent only upon discerning their understanding. When our students fall behind we hire them tutors to help them improve in the subjects where they’re falling behind.

But what if we didn’t put so much focus on the subjects they are weak in, and instead focused on improving upon the skills they had already mastered. What would happen if you tutored an excellent mathematician in how to be even better at math? Once students enter their major in college and exit into the working world, often their success is defined by their ability to be the best at something, rather than their ability to simply take on a variety of tasks. When we find we’re good at something, we enjoy doing it, and when we enjoy doing it, we have more success. Isn’t another common phrase, “If you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life?” How high can you go when you’re doing what you love?

It’s feasible that by focusing on being well rounded we’re not setting our kids up for success. By nurturing and feeding a child’s interests and successes, the chances of them getting a head start in a career also increase. Those students who have discovered their passion and have had it fed can be ahead of the game, allowing them to take more rigorous courses in the field they have focused on and setting them up for better positions earlier on, leading ultimately to greater success. Doing what comes naturally to you can even effect your life outside of work as well. It’s easier to complete tasks you understand at work, allowing for greater productivity, and with those complete, your personal life and free time open up.

As always there’s a flip side. While it’s true that most of us do best when we are excelling at something we understand, there are a large number of individuals who thrive off overcoming challenges. Some people see doing what’s easy to be unworthy of their time and instead strive towards tackling things they struggle with.

When looking for future jobs, take into consideration what you excel at, and take steps toward launching your abilities even further forward. Become the best at what you do and you’ll find that not only will your enjoyment at work increase, the time you have to do the things you love outside of your professional life will go up as well.

Whether you are returning to the workforce, want to change careers, or need advice about your current job, a career management coach can assist you on this journey. If you feel you or someone you know could benefit from these services, feel free to contact Carrroll King Schullerof Organic Blueprints, Inc. at 804-288-0099.