Growth and Success Requires New Skills

Do you have some goals you want to achieve in life?  Are you taking a new journey, and you find your old talents are leaving you less than totally prepared? Is that new position making you feel uncomfortable, thinking maybe you made the wrong decision?

We have all been in a position where the skills we have may not be good enough for where we want to go, what we want to accomplish, or, yikes, what we are currently doing.  If you feel out of your element, or over your head, you are not alone.  A lot of people have felt the same way.  The sad reality is, most quit, and find position where they already have the talents, or even worse, give up and blame the government or the economy for their lack of opportunity.  The truth is, new skills are needs continuously, and we need to be constantly learning to succeed, and these day, even to survive.

New Skills are a Process

In today’s fast pace world, we want instant results…  heck we expect instant results.  However, that is not the natural order of things.  We all want success, or fame, or a better lifestyle, with the media and internet providing hundreds of examples of who we want to become.  The fact is, we only see a snapshot, a finished product, or someone future along the journey to success than us.  We do not see the process or hard work that brought them to this point.  Just like a farmer who wishes to harvest must first prepare the field and plant the seed, a person who wishes success must set goals and develop new skills.

What most of us forget is new skills, and learning in general, can be uncomfortable and discouraging.  Most of us, especially adults, naturally navigate to what we feel comfortable with, or what we are “good at” – a welder has a certain set of skills, and a police officer another, and if they switched places, they would likely perform poorly and be very uncomfortable in their opposing roles.  As a welder, if you lose your job, you look for another one as a welder, as that is where you feel most comfortable and confident.  That same welder, with training, could become the best police officer, with the proper training, but most would not go through the pain and effort of learning the new skills.

When you see role models of success, it is motivating.  However, generally speaking we only notice them once they have achieved the level of success we want.  The have the skills, the poise, the confidence we want, however, if we do the same things, we rarely get the same results.  The truth is, we are all at different stages of our journey.  If we compare to someone further along, it can be discouraging, and maybe even make us want to quit.  The reality is, all skills start badly, and develop over time.  If you remember the first time you tried to swim, or ride a bike, or throw a ball, it is very different than your skills with years of experience.  Keep looking toward your goals and making progress – you will get better, and it will get easier.

When in Doubt, ask for Help

Success is a journey.  Just as new skills are a journey.  There are no short cuts to developing new skills.  However, there are many people in your organization, town, or even family that may have travelled the road ahead of you.  Do not be too proud to ask for help.  Most people who struggled to success will help you avoid the traps they fell into, and can help you develop along the way.  These people, whether cheerleaders or Mentors, can be a great help in the discouraging times – just remember to pay it forward!

I hope you found value in the post.  Developing new skills is one of the cornerstones to achieving success in whatever your goals may be.  If you found value, please Comment, Like, and Share below.  If you have any questions, either comment below, or email me at mike@mikehisem.com

I don’t guarantee everyone success, but I guarantee everyone a shot!

Mike Hisem

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles and freedigitalphotos.net