Mindful Leadership - Invest in Yourself

If you wanted to look and feel better, you might join a gym or start an exercise program.? If you wanted to present a certain image to the outside world, you might buy new clothes or get your hair done.? No one would think twice about any of that.? Why then are we often so reluctant to expend any effort or expense towards increasing our knowledge and improving our skills??

I have always been a big proponent of continuous learning, both personally and professionally.? From a personal point of view, learning new things keeps my mind sharp.? Research shows that there are a number of positive effects related to this:? improving memory, increasing creativity, better problem solving.? Continuous learning can also reduce the risk of developing dementia later in life.?

Apart from all of those great reasons, I have just always thirsted for knowledge.? I like understanding how things work and why they are the way they are. ??Most of us are born with a deep curiosity about the world but as we get older and busier, I think this often gets pushed aside, which is a shame when there are so many benefits to it.? As Albert Einstein famously said, “I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious”.

Learning new skills will give you a sense of accomplishment, which in turn will boost your confidence.? The more you learn, the better you will be at seeing different sides of a problem and finding solutions by thinking outside the box.? While much education and training are specific to developing new skills, it is just as much about training your mind to think.??

Professionally speaking, continuous learning becomes a catalyst for career growth by enabling people to increase their knowledge base, embrace new trends and navigate a changing terrain.??

Many employers will offer paid tuition for skills upgrading and this can be a wonderful opportunity to learn something new and get some help paying for it.? ?

That being said, not every employer is going to offer that, especially if the desired skills do not directly impact your current job.?

If you see yourself advancing in your career, moving up in the company, being a manager one day, then you might just have to invest in yourself!? ?There are so many options for skills upgrading. ?Traditional routes include in class or online courses through colleges and universities.? College level courses range from an average of about $200.00 to $425.00 depending on the length of the course.? University courses tend to be a bit higher.?? LinkedIn Learning offers courses and webinars on a myriad of subjects for about $35.00 each and there are a lot of options in between.?

LinkedIn learning is a great way to test the waters as well.? For example, say you currently work in a warehouse as a Shipper but see yourself as a Material Manager one day.? You can take courses very inexpensively on the subject to see what you think about it before you really dive in.?

Taking control of your own learning path towards advancement in your current job, or something new entirely, can mean the difference between a job you just show up for, and a job you really love that fulfills you and gives you purpose.

I am reminded of a person I used to work with.? They were promoted into a new department, whose existing members had all been previously sent to an outside training program with a third party.? Unfortunately for the newcomer, this program was no longer available.? Several members of the group who had done the training offered the newcomer their notes, their books and various other training materials.??? The newcomer however decided that if they didn’t get to go for the same outside training, they weren’t going to make any effort and declined all offers.?

This is what my Grandmother would have referred to as, “cutting off your nose to spite your face”.? I don’t imagine it shocks anyway to hear that the newcomer is no longer is that department.

Depending on your age, you may or may not remember Schoolhouse Rock.? Schoolhouse Rock was a series of animated musical and educational short films that ran on tv from the mid-seventies into the 1990’s or so.? They were about grammar, math, science, computers and various other subjects.?

If you have never seen it, I know you can find them online.?

The tagline of these short films has stuck with me for all of these years: “Knowledge is Power”.?