People tend to promote being good at one skill instead of well-roundedness. We have heard of child prodigies: the children who are amazingly talented at one skill and become famous for it. Due to this sense of fame, people gravitate towards the notion that being extremely adept at one skill will grant fame to that person, which can be a sense of value. Some people dedicate their time to this one skill for the sake of their "identity." They may consider themselves to be the "dancer" or the "painter" that everyone knows. But what if that "famous painter" suddenly cannot paint anymore? They lose their confidence because they based their entire life on the specialization of one skill. Since a lot of people identify others based on their profession or their talents, individuals are more likely to devote time to specialization instead of well-roundedness. However, this results in the detrimental belief that identity should be determined by the capability of that person with this one skill.
If this person does not feel like they can "measure up" with this skill, then they can lose confidence. Their identity is infused by the one skill that they can do, and if it is not consistently upheld, the person's identity will be in a constant fluctuation between feeling confident and insecure. Confidence should not be based upon one skill that cannot be constantly relied upon. No one should believe that their only value in society should be based upon the specialization of one skill. Their humanity is completed ignored for the sake of the robotic output of the one skill
Specialization also increases the competitive instincts of people, which can also be detrimental. The problem with competition is that there is always going to be someone who is "better" than someone else at a skill. Competition creates a constant sense of ranking between people: they become numbers instead of humans that can co-exist. If we only promote specialization instead of well-roundedness, people will constantly compare themselves to each other based on the only "skill" they are good at. Although such comparisons and competitions are capable of stimulating dedication and discipline to achieve higher results for a certain skill, it eliminates the sense of comradery with the people who also specialize in that one skill. Thus, the humanity of these people is ignored for the sake of a ranking system that does not promote a healthy outlook on identity anyway.
Well-roundedness is healthy because it increases the agency of every person. The more a person is capable of in regard to taking care of themselves, the more confident that person is going to be. Self-sufficiency is basically impossible: no man is an island because we all need people. We need community. When we become well-rounded, we invest more time in promoting diversity of people due to the diversity of our interests. The more well-rounded we become, the less we rely on one fluctuating skill in order to achieve a healthy identity for ourselves. The more we try to learn new skills, the more confident we are in adapting to our environment. Since our environment never stagnates, it is important to be able to adapt to its ever-changing ways.
Furthermore, well-roundedness is more fun than only feeling adept at one skill. If someone considers themselves to be a "pianist," then they may feel utterly useless when they do not have a piano to show off their skills or practice. Their only feeling of gratification may come from that dependency on that one skill because that one skill is where they gain their sense of identity. There is a sense of dependency on one skill in contrast to the sense of independence and agency that comes with being well-rounded.
We should not be under the illusion that we can only be good at one skill. It is actually unhealthy to dedicate all of one's time to just one skill and never take breaks. During these breaks, we can practice other skills. In fact, there is also an illusion that people cannot work to become more talented. There is an illusion that makes us believe that if we are not immediately good at a skill when we are young, we can never be better. This is false. Every talent can be worked for through practice. The real question is whether or not we are willing to practice skills that we do not immediately master. Over time, almost any talent can be achieved at a considerable level regardless of the initial amount of "talent" a person has with this skill.
When people give us the impression that we can only be good at ONE thing, they are dismantling our confidence and sense of liberty from the dependency that comes with specialization. We do not need to depend on specialization. We can have the sense of peace and independence at being well-rounded. Specialization turns us into a ranking system where we number ourselves based on who is better or worse than us at arbitrary points in time in our lives. Specialization erodes away our humanity to drive us into a robotic dedication to one skill. Specialization is based on illusions that make us insecure and persuades us to not try to achieve as much as we possibly can.
