The Generational Effects of Trading Skill for Convenience
I have a bit of a commute to our pod and it gives me plenty of time to listen to podcasts. This past week I was listening to Alex Clark interview Hillary Boynton on the Spillover Podcast and something hit me hard—something I’ve never really thought about.
Hillary is an absolute trailblazer overhauling the school lunch system and bringing an incredible program to school-aged children in California. Not at all schools—yet—mark my words, though, this is a game changer in the nutrition world of our youth and she’ll make waves. She teaches kids how to prepare the meals, they learn where the food is sourced from and the importance of the quality. At one point during the interview, Alex says, “People don’t even know how to cook anymore!”
MIC. DROP. Before you get mad at me because you know how to cook, let me delve into this a bit more...
The Hive Method mission is ultimately to reclaim education—to provide resources to parents and show them that they are capable of doing this without the guidance of the state. We all have the freedom to take ownership of what our children are learning. Not only do we have the freedom—we have the responsibility and obligation.
What Alex was referring to was not that people aren’t capable of preparing a meal. She was pointing out the fact that (in my own words, not hers) our consumer-driven society has become so reliant on convenience, that we’ve allowed ourselves to outsource things to people and corporations who are motivated by profits—which definitely minimizes quality in most cases. And we're unintentionally lowering our standards as a result.
These corporations don’t have our best interest at heart. We’re talking multi billion dollar industries.
Where does this leave us?
Here’s an example…salad dressing—I know, I know. Where am I going with this?! Consider this train of thought for a second…
How many generations of buying processed, chemically manufactured, store-bought salad dressing does it take for an entire lineage to lose the skill to make a simple dressing from scratch? With nutrient dense, pure, thoughtfully sourced ingredients?
WOAH. Is anyone else’s jaw on the floor?!
My mind was SPINNING when I started to think about how many skills we’ve just thrown out the window. Everything nowadays is instantaneous and easy, people don’t want to do things that require more than the bare minimum time and effort. What else are we outsourcing?
Here’s a quick list I threw together…
Preparing meals with 100% fresh, whole food, no additives
Treatment of basic/common illnesses
Childbirth (!!!)
Having hard conversations…..in person, not behind a screen
Changing a tire or using jumper cables
Growing your own food, whether it’s plants or animals
Sewing
Woodworking
Maintaining a positive mindset
Entertaining ourselves without electronics
Financial planning
Control over consumption (what you listen to, what you watch)
I can tell you that some of those have been lost in my family. However, I will always be inspired by my parents willingness to learn something new. When they were building their first house, my mom took classes at Home Depot to learn electrical and how to lay tile. She did all of it herself! Good job, Mom.
We have the opportunity to reclaim so many areas of our lives! All of these examples can fall under the education umbrella. We don’t need to be a pro at everything either, that’s where community comes in! You can carefully choose who you want to rely on for things you’re not familiar with doing…and ask them to teach you!
One of our sweet Pod Moms, Hillary, just had a little get-together for anyone that was interested in making sourdough, such a useful skill to share!
I’m very passionate about homeopathy and earlier this year when Briana wasn’t feeling well I brought her some remedies and she gave me tallow from her cows in exchange. I have absolutely no room to raise a cow, but I know how she raises them and what she feeds them.
Let’s teach our kids to serve others with their skills and to teach those skills to anyone willing to learn.
Let’s teach them that they are capable and self-sufficient.
Let’s teach them that they are resilient and resourceful.
Let’s teach them that there is a time and place for outsourcing.
Let’s teach them that adversity is an opportunity for growth.
Let’s instill confidence in them!
Perhaps this could foster an overcomer mindset in our children, rather than so easily succumbing to their circumstances. Could this be an antidote to a victim mindset? I think it could make a difference.
I shared this concept with my husband, Chris, and he told me about a strategy he learned from Jocko Willink, a retired Navy Seal. When he faces some kind of hardship or adversity, his response is, “Good. Now I can *fill in the blank.”
I want to teach this to our kids, when you don’t know how to do something, this will be your response:
“Good, now I get the opportunity to learn this skill from someone who is proficient in this area and add it to my toolbox.”
What areas in your life are you outsourcing that you can reclaim? Tell me in the comments! I’d love to continue this discussion.
To *finally* wrap this up, I wanted to share a skill that was shared with me by my Italian Mother-In-Law…which was shared with her by her mom.
A SALAD DRESSING RECIPE! :)
It’s all eyeballed and to-taste…mess with it until it’s perfect! So easy and so delicious.
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Clove of freshly minced garlic
Sea Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Basil
Don’t forget the freshly grated parmesan ;)