My Game of Life

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

In today's competitive society, the kiasu spirit is getting ever the more prevalent - the oddly irrational drive to be the best in every single thing in order to not lose out to those around us. But is this really beneficial to us?

Indeed, it is natural for such a human instinct in the survival of the fittest. However, in society today, there is no such room for people. Perhaps in the earlier ages, where education levels were low, there were many vacant roles in the academia and this gave a chance for people like Leonardo da Vinci to sweep them all, with him becoming a prominent scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, musician and writer. But such people do not exist anymore, for the main fact that there is greater equality now and everyone receives fair education and opportunities. Instead of being reserved for the elite, these slots have opened up for everyone to rise up to them.

What this all means is that there is increased competition for the limited amount of spots in the upper hierachies of society. Skill standards and requirements have gone up. It isn't possible anymore to devote like 20% to five areas and expect to excel in all of them, just like in Leonardo's time; a full 101% is required in shaking off the competition. Thus, one cannot be just "quite good" in an area, but really has to focus one's efforts in order to be the best (there ever was) and outshine all the rest.

It would be better if one simply worked hard in a certain sector so that one can be an expert in it. Specialists, especially those in the medical field, are one of the top earners today. They don't have to worry about losing their jobs since their expertise is invaluable to their various sectors. They are the ones who gain recognition and attention, not those with multiple PhDs or diplomas which have no relation at all to their work.

For example, an engineer who also can do humanities - so what? Sure, it may give him an edge in that he has multi-faceted knowledge and can multi-task or make a switch if he feels like it, but it is unlikely that he would be able to take up multiple jobs at one time. In fact, if you were hiring an engineer, i believe you would rather choose one more skilled in the engineering sector alone over him.

Then there are those who constantly take up new things as they come, in attempting to beat others in everything to boost their own egos. These people can be identified from how they always compare their performance with others, constantly jump from one trend to the next as the interests of people change and how they like to show off their new 1337h4x skills to everyone else (and putting them down too.) Heck, they may even take up stuff as diverse as DotA to Rubix cubes to cracking others' fingers, and of course the usual trying to top the class in all subjects, attempting to outdo others in all. *coughshaunthocough*

The thing is, it simply won't work out. Sure, they may do better than the newbies who just started out in the fields and have little to no experience at all, but once they meet the pros who have been doing that for a long time already and have honed their skills to near perfection, they are just no match for them. You simply cannot expect to be the best in everything since you stretch out your energies over so many fields, compared to those who focus on just that and mean serious business.

If you don't selectively specialise, you'll turn out to be like me, sucking at everything. Gymnastics, wushu, soccer, social life, academics, math, scripting, writing/blogging; all i have tried my hand at, unfortunately to no great success in any of them. Maybe "suck" here is too exaggerated, as its more like being at most above average in all fields, but never performing outstandingly well or even being close to the best in them.

I've been having this trend since primary school, in acadmics at least, always having one of the better overall results but never actually topping any of my subjects. And it sucks, i tell you. Maybe if i had had a different mindset and invested my energies in just a single field, my situation now might have been a lot better.

Specialisation is essential if one wishes to gain some standing in the field he is in. Since all of one's efforts and resources are channelled towards a single cause, it ensures none of it is wasted in the quest for excellence, compared to if you often switch your focus and end up 半途而废.

In conclusion, you're better off just concentrating on one specific field which you have the talent in and work your way up to the top, leaving those which you are not good at for others to excel in. As they say, quality over quantity - don't bother wasting your time with opportunities that are meant for others, stick to one throughout instead. You stand a better chance of actually becoming a someone through being renowned in a single field rather than spreading your efforts thin and being overshadowed by specialists in every field.

So for those parents out there who are enrolling their children in every single course they can find, from piano to dance to abacus to wushu, don't waste your money and their time. You may have high hopes of them, but it just won't work out if you force them to go for so much stuff, especially if its against their own interests.

'Twas teh winnar at 8:31 pm.