In Defense of Being a Jack of All Trades, Master of None
I never wanted one life endeavor to be the sole determinant of my happiness and identity again
Right now, I’m known as someone who has a reputation for overcommitting. I am working during the day in special education while attending law school at night. I also write and maintain my blog in my free time, and am taking some courses on Coursera to supplement skills I’ve learned in law school. Whenever I have downtime, I train for marathons, all while trying to also spend adequate time with my wife and friends and maintain an adequate personal and social life.
Being someone with a lot of skills, but not quite being the best or a master at any of them has always been a part of who I am. I think a lot of people see this overcommitment and very diverse array of interests as a weakness, but it did not come overnight, and there’s a method behind my madness. I’m a jack of all trades, master of none, and most people don’t realize it is learned behavior and a coping mechanism from the disaster that comes from all my eggs being in only one basket.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think many people who see my performance in these various areas of my life would call me not a master in what I do. I am very close to the top of my class in law school (just…
