Which Is Simpler? Doing It Yourself? Or Teaching?
Posted on September 21, 2011 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Simplification
Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
The old saying is “give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”
But sometimes it is extremely time consuming to teach the person to fish. And often times if we need something done quickly, it is easier to do it ourselves.
I think our modern lifestyle, with its constant time crunches, lends itself to rushing through ourselves and not passing the skills on.
I started thinking about this for two reasons: I realized it was often less hassle to do things myself, but this made my life overly complicated; and I was doing those around me no favors when I did things they should do themselves, but staying after them just added more onto my plate.
What do you think? Is there a middle ground? Is it a symptom of modern life?
Photo by Ian Sane
If you enjoyed this post, please buy me a cup of coffee!
Comments (2)
I do think it is a symptom of modern life if, by modern, you mean the last century or post-19th century. Pre-19th century one had to do almost everything for himself–from building one’s own home to growing, preserving and cooking one’s food. With so much work, any and all hands were needed. Today we have have alternatives and are attempted to use them to persue things we can do well and enjoy. Often we not have the skills or the necessary tools. One could repair and service one’s model A Ford but not today’s cars. What were routine chores have now become hobbies or crafts.
You have a good point. My daughter would probably be much more interested in growing food and cooking if there wasn’t a grocery and McDonald’s down the street.