The biggest lie we are told in the learning and skills sector is that,
"Anyone can be anything they want to be if they applied themselves hard enough"
This is something that I believed for quite a while, especially when I was a student and just training to be an educator / mentor of sorts.
It's something that the media tells us, that schools shape us for, and college and universities prepare us with.
But the reality is, that not everyone's cut out to be a space engineer. And I feel there's quite a pressure on people, on society, to be something more.
What if all you want to do is clean toilets and that's it?
I know a guy that's been perfectly happy to stack shelves his entire life. And he's happy. Doesn't want anything else.
What he earns allows him to do everything he wants and he has a happy life with it.
This type of thing used to frustrate me as an educator. I'd see so many people just going through the motions, getting on with the grind -- doing what they have to do, rather than what they want to do to get on with life.
It always made me wonder -- doesn't anyone want anything more out of life than just the daily grind?
There is actually more out there if you reach out and seek it.
What really brought it home for me though was once when I was teaching a group of older people who were on respite from their caring duties -- helping them get connected to the online world. This was 15 years ago at least when there were still pockets of society that struggled getting connected.
I remember it taking me at least 6 sessions with them to get through to a point to where they were all comfortable holding a mouse and clicking through applications.
The main idea for me was to get them familiar with a computer. Not achieve any real goals, because once they were familiar then they could go off themselves and explore. The trick was to de-escalate the fear they had in their mind about using one.
Anyway, my session was so successful that the entire staff of that place wanted me to take them through a catch up lesson.
So we did.
And the difference in skill and information retention was phenomenal.
They finished an entire two hour lesson I had planned for them in 15 minutes - the next 1 hour and 45 minutes I had to think on my feet.
But that made me realise there was a difference between how fast people learn and how far you could push people. Most people have upper limits and there is only so far you can take someone.
Of course there's many other factors involved there too that serve as barriers towards learning such as home life, family commitments, pushback towards the material they are learning, childhood programming..
A whole array of barriers.
But there is such a thing as the competence hierarchy. People learn and retain some things much faster than others and that's why some people make manager and others don't -- that's not a bad thing mind you, most people are followers anyway.
Only some are leaders.
That's why finding what works for you is so important - we're not all cut out to be fusion reactor scientists, some people just want to stack shelves and have a peaceful life.
I once tried to be a chef -- twice I had the opportunity to go to chef school and be trained in the culinary arts. And this was through work, and not something I wanted to start off afresh at college.
But I just don't have the organization skills to do that. Anyone that works with me or has worked with me in the past knows that I'm a typical artist -- my life is a blizzard.
Sure I can organize my time effectively, make meetings and lead people -- but make sure everyone has their food on time and prepare each meal at least three orders beforehand?
You must be joking.
And that's okay you know?
Some people are just not cut out certain things.
That's why I say to most people find out what you're passionate about and figure out where you fit in; and your life will be exponentially more fulfilling.
It is for me anyway.
It should be for you.