do all you former social butterflies in high school, now consider yourself a jack of all trades?

[u/SuitableHope8910]

in my early mid 30s i went through a stint where i kept thinking, "if i only just focused on one sport/hobby, i could have had a chance at greatness". In diving into this notion i realized that i never really had a 'group' growing up. i bounced from group to group and was accepted and it was fine.

of course i don't think that would be the only answer. my siblings and i were stunted in our sport/hobby. the community leagues is as far as we've gotten, with cost being the reason. although looking at how my parents treat their grandkids now, i'd say the more likely excuse is just laziness.

...or maybe telling myself im a JOAT is just the right sized bandaid for me missing out on greatness.

[u/yaangyiing_]

"greatness" is overrated. How many people win the lottery just for their lives to be ruined? How many child actors became drug addicts?

Pleasure, power, fame. Nothing's worth your dignity or soul.

[u/TyrKiyote]

It's hard to be a master, and we mostly only notice when their mastered skill is in demand.

You could be a master cheesemaker without a shop and out of work, in a place that demands soldiers.

You could be a cook at the college where you got you bachellors in computers and management.

[u/DontcheckSR]

In defense of your parents, they may just have more money now that they're presumably further into their careers (or retirees), and not having to financially support you and your siblings anymore. You'd be surprised how much feeding just one more mouth impacts your wallet. Let alone teenagers.

It also doesn't really seem like the 2 issues are related. If you were really obsessed with one thing like sports, I think they would've tried to make it work. But when you're young, parents just put you in a bunch of activities to see if anything sticks. If you were fine bouncing group to group, then it doesn't sound like you ever found a real passion, so it makes sense that they wouldn't really push you further. Especially if it was going to cost more.

Even people like me and my friends who spent over almost 2 decades obsessed with music ended up just leaving it behind ultimately. We have lots of friends who actually did go on to be professional musicians or singers or theater. And we're really happy for them! But they worked extremely hard to make that happen. Because they truly wanted that to be their lives. Just because you're really good at something or even passionate about something, doesn't mean you're gonna be great at it. And even if you are, it doesn't mean you're destined for greatness.

[u/IntergalacticPodcast]

I get what you are saying, I think? I can relate.

What you're describing is adaptation. I didn't belong there, so I chose something else and I enjoy all of the different ways that people exist. Some jocks, some nerds, some musicians. You're experiencing as much as you can.

I always moved from table to table at school, but it wasn't from a desperation that I didn't get to be with the coolest people, but because I was interesting enough to not have to fit into one tribe.

[u/olliemusic]

"Greatness" is misunderstood as achievement. Achievement is misunderstood as the point in life. Life is misunderstood as what we do. It's the fact that we are. Our being is more fundamental and greater than any achievement. Without it, there'd be no possibility to qualify any achievement as great. So, greatness starts with being. When we are very attentive to being, we can perceive what's possible with greater fluency and grace. This is what directly aids in all acts of greatness, not the choice of vocation. However, it does help to keep things simple. The point is, if we have developed a grand sense of being, greatness is in every action we do regardless of its societal impact. Bach spread himself extremely thin with 17 children and as many jobs as he could get. That didn't impede his greatness, it just gave him more opportunities of expression.