For years, I prescribed to the 80/20 rule. The premise is that most people are idiots and that is, simply, the natural order. This idea is harsh to the point of cruelty and is in fact absolutely untrue. Though it is true that many of us do behave in ways that are, at the very least,  personally destructive, (and I count myself, at least at times, as one of those) this is not an indication of our full potential. 

 

I have discovered a new perspective on the talents and intelligence of individuals all around me. People are amazing, with skills and qualities both hidden and apparent that need to be uncovered and productively used. "Average" is a lie used to more easily categorize the masses for industrial application, intelligence is a metric of dubious value that most often measures a very limited range of skills and aptitudes that often have little to do with a life well and productively lived. 

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Humankind devoloped over  millions of years to thrive in a constanly changing environment where a more generalized skill set paid off in terms of survival and profound specialization was the exception and not the rule. As social groups became larger and more complex, there developed an increasingly heirarchical and role-defined order. Some of this narrowing of the definition of individual roles became increasingly limiting of the talents and skills demanded of the individual.

 

The emergence of industrialization and urbanization has put many of us into boxes in which we simply do not fit. The result is an increase in productivity of the broader society in economic terms but has also led to far more of us fitting less and less well into the fabric of society.

 

Years ago, I lost my home and my marriage, and I became what I thought of as one of the "dispossessed." For years it seemed that I just did not fit in- the self fulfilling prophecy worked perfectly. I did not fit in.

This wrong-thinking was a personal disaster, and one that I fear is repeated all too often.

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Every day is a watershed event for every person- wake up knowing that whatever destruction has fallen upon you in the past, there is an alternative path available today. Not every opportunity will work out, but to change nothing will mean nothing will change. Those who would hold you back may be protecting their interests , not yours!  Take another approach, or attitude or find another playpen. Break out of the old pattern, overcome your fear or aversion to change, and live life on your own terms.

 

 

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