For anyone at my current employer who reads this, I am not looking for a job. But I did read a job description the other day. And like most job descriptions, there was a section labeled “core capabilities.”
It got me thinking on what kind of actions, mindset, and skills make someone truly capable? Not just at work, but in life.
When it really comes down to it, when there’s no time to Google, no one to ask, and no time to wait, what are you actually capable of?
How do you evaluate your capabilities as a man? As a partner? As a friend? As a parent? As someone who will be inevitably called on at some point to take care of something.
Are you capable of trust? Loyalty? Of taking responsibility before someone asks, or when no one’s watching?
Plenty of people are capable of anger. It comes easy, especially when you’re tired or afraid or feel like you’re not being listened to. Pride comes easy, too. So does ego. Stubbornness is also a nicely paired capability to these as well.
Are you capable of patience? Are you capable of letting someone else speak without waiting for your turn? Are you capable of listening to understand without listening to respond?
Are you capable of lying through your teeth? Of manipulating a story just enough to look better in the retelling? There are plenty of people who are capable of making money and building empires, but incapable of sitting still.
Some are capable of trading securities on Wall Street. Some are good at trading advice at the trailhead. Few are capable of both.
In 2025, we’re losing capabilities as quickly as we’re gaining new ones. Hank highlighted the skills of ‘skinning a buck’ and ‘running a trotline’ as core capabilities for a country boy’s survival.
That checks out because every year fewer and fewer of us are capable of starting a fire without a lighter. Fewer are capable of looking up from their phone and even fewer are capable of reading the signs of the woods, noticing a shift in weather, or finding our way home without a map.
The news reminds us that many people are capable of operating within a system, but not capable of living without one.
We live in a time where almost everyone is capable of appearing capable. We know how to bluff. We know how to pad, posture, and pretend that we’re capable.
But deep down, you know.
You know if you’re the person people call when something breaks. When something needs to be done. You know if you’re capable of staying calm when things fall apart. If you can solve problems in the quiet without credit, without panic, without waiting for instructions.
You know what you tell people you’re good at.
And you know what you’re actually good at.
Recognizing the difference is what makes you capable.
From The Field Review Archives:
The Field Review is a space for exploring the intersection of work, life, and the great outdoors. It’s about figuring ‘it’ out—whatever your ‘it’ might be.
Every Sunday at 10AM EST, I share ideas, insights, and conversations that help break through the noise, offering a real look at how we can all keep moving forward.
If you have any thoughts, questions, or topics you'd like me to explore in future newsletters, feel free to reach out!
Venture Onward,
Jack