It is never the horse’s fault – on extrapolating the skills from your hobbies into your career.

Career in IT can be hard. No, wait, any career can be hard. There is a lot of skills to learn and it is very important to know how to do that. Some people learn by doing, some by listening, others by observing. A few years ago, I would say that I mainly learn by doing, but then I discovered there is another way of learning. It was a revelation.???

Skills could be extrapolated. Your daily activities can actually benefit from something you learned while tending to your hobbies. Your work does not have to be your passion (although I heard it is awesome if it is), but you can reach for the skill set and wide variety of behaviors you learned while following your interests and use them at work.

You can search for those exact skills now. Try to find these seemingly nonexistent connections between your passions and behaviors or skills you use at work.?It is probably something you do every day, something that comes naturally to you, something that you just started doing one day without even thinking about it. Maybe it “came by itself” at some point in time as you got better at something you do off the clock. It might be something that you do effortlessly, while others fail miserably at it. It might even be something you did not realize was a skill... I would even consider beliefs and confidence to be skills sometimes. ?

Let's dig a bit deeper on my example (as this is the only one I know well enough):??

Crochet?(verb) - form of?art that involves using exactly one hook for pulling, interlocking,?and?threading in order to transform a ball of yarn into a masterpiece. ?

I learned to crochet by myself, a bit from youtube videos, but mostly by the good old method of trial and error. Right now, I am able follow complex movements required to complete steps and I am able to read those crazy pattern graphs like they’re written in my native language (you need to google those, they look like some kind of an ancient language of magic). I don't even have to look at a crochet hook -that’s how good I’ve become! And I started from not even knowing what crochet is. I got there on my own.?

Therefore, no corporate process will be a mystery?to me for a long time. No programming language will remain unknown for long if I commit to learning it. I hear about new processes every day as a Data and Process Analyst. I can describe all of them in my own way and I can make a beautiful pattern of data visuals out of any crazy set of data, that you send me.?I am sure, I can figure it most of it out on my own. ??

I learned that sometimes you make a mistake and it can mean, that you need to rip 500m of yarn to correct it, because you realized too late. I also know now, that it is better to rip when you notice it, than to wait for the mistake to fix itself on the go. It will not fix itself; the pattern will be wonky till the very end and you will have to rip 1km of yarn. Then you will have to redo everything you just destroyed. I learned, that it is okay. I learned, that I am not the only one making mistakes, as I have seen others rip their patterns as well. This awareness helps.???

Therefore, I know, that if there is a bug in the code, I need to fix it right away. I also know, that I am not the only one making mistakes and I am not afraid to admit to them. I am confident I can fix my own mistakes, because I have done it so many times while crocheting. Even if I have to re-write half of the code or redo the whole dashboard, I will do it.???

Skiing?(verb) the art of going downhill very fast for hours on end in freezing cold with a long, skinny board strapped to each of your legs.???

Sometimes my legs would hurt and my muscles would burn from the all-day strain?halfway down the hill on my last ride, but I knew that the last ski-bus that could take me to the hotel leaves in 5 minutes and I had not time to stop and rest. So I continued downhill, regardless of the discomfort or pain.?Skiing has taught me stamina and perseverance.? ??

Therefore, If I know, that the project due date is approaching, even if I am tired of it, because of its many setbacks or because of the prolonged timeline, I will get everything I have in me I will dig out the deepest energy resources I have and I will see it through to the end. I know I have it in me, because I made it to the ski-bus every single time. If I promised I will deliver something, you can be sure I will.???

My first ski instructor took me to a high mountain on a first day, after showing me only a few times how to turn and how to stop. Once we got to the top, I looked downhill, then I looked at him, scared, and said I can’t make it, because I don’t have the abilities. He turned to me – “Yes you do, but you still have two options: lose the skis and walk, or ski down like the rest of the group. There is no third option.” Guess what? I got to the bottom of the mountain on skis and then I wanted more. Every single turn was better than the last, and I had more and more fun with every meter.?I got better on the go. ??

Therefore, I know not to give up even if I don’t have all the skills needed for the job. I have applied and I was hired for jobs I thought were way above my abilities, and it turned out I was very good at them, I learned the missing skills on the go and thrived in an environment that stimulated me to constantly learn something new.???

Horse riding?(verb) the art of keeping a horse between yourself and the ground.???

This is going to be a long one, so bear with me. Horses teach a lot, because they are not machines.???

Horses speak the language of body and energy and they communicate a lot, but not like in the movies that you see, where the neigh and make noises. They communicate silently through body, face, ears, tail and so on... Once you have learned that language, you will be able to tell when the horse is about to spook a few seconds before it happens. Usually that's enough to prevent it. You learn to read even the slightest changes in body language, you read the energy, you feel their muscles tense up through the saddle (true story, you can feel the muscles of the horse tense up through a thick saddle, comes with practice).?Horses communicate very subtly, and even a slightest change always means something. You have to see and sense everything. These skills can be the make or break of whether you hit the ground or stay on.???

Therefore, I got better and better in reading the crowd. I can almost sense confusion through the camera. Often, I am the only one on the meeting, who notices that two people are talking about two different things, even though they don’t realize it themselves. I can see the slightest glimpse of confusion on people’s faces and I react to it by adding some details or rephrasing what was said before. This is why I sometimes completely change what I was going to say. I will say “let’s scratch that”, and explain something in a completely different way.??

Horses are powerful creatures, the only way you can make them listen is by communication and collaboration, not by brute force. They are and always will be stronger than you are. I had to learn how to be gentle and nice, but I also had to learn when I have to put my foot down and become a bit firmer and more decisive, so I don’t get ran over or kicked. Assertiveness comes into play. Sometimes I have to become the “scary one”.???

Therefore, I know that in corporate world, which is stronger than I am, I will achieve much more through collaboration, than by trying to strongarm someone. I also know, that there is a line, that I do not want the corporation to cross and there are times when I have to stand my ground to defend my rights and my personal space. I will help you with whatever you want, but if you start scheduling meetings with me at 11PM my time, I will tell you “no” and I will not care if you are my colleague or the boss of my boss.??

“It is never the horse’s fault” - when you work with horses, you are meant to be kicked, stepped on, bitten or thrown off at some point in time – it is inevitable. What I got from one of my instructors was always a scolding towards me, not the horse. “You came too close”, “You should have moved your foot before he stepped on it”, “He turned, why didn’t you follow?”. All of these were true. It was always me. In the end, I should have decided to hold on instead of crashing into the ground. My fault.???

Therefore, I know, that if I want something done and I want to be sure it will be done, I have to achieve 100% agreement and the same understanding on both sides (action points and action owners listed). I have to ensure it happens if I am the one who depends on this (follow up if needed). Otherwise, I will only have myself to blame. This is why I frequently use the phrase “did I understand correctly, that...”. It helps me make sure that we are all on the same page. Also - meeting minutes help.

Tip: Establish a OneNote folder, give everyone access, and write your minutes there, this way everyone has access at all times and they can comment as needed. ???

“The hardest part of learning how to ride a horse is the ground” - been there, done that. It happened so many times, that I cannot even count. I remember everything about my first fall though. I recall my instructor running to me, concerned, helping me get up and then looking for injuries. Then she did the best thing anyone could ever do. She said “if you can walk, you can ride, get back on the horse”. So, I did, still a bit shaken, a bit beat up, a bit shocked with her reaction... but I was okay, just a little bruise. I got back on. I came back the next week and the next and so on, and I have been falling off less and less for the past 10 years. I don't do "unplanned dismounts" that often anymore. Even if the horse spooks, most of the time, my abilities are enough to keep me in the saddle. My reflexes got better, my balance got better and my skills got better with time, and something that was scary just a few years ago, today is just a funny story I tell my friends. And it is thanks to that instructor. If I had stayed on the ground, and started thinking about what happened, I would have probably been scared of horses for the rest of my life. Today, if I'd fall, all I’d do is get up, dust myself off, check for broken bones, grab the horse that just bucked me off and get back on. In the meantime I analyze why it happened and correct it during this or the next ride. ??

Therefore, I know, that whatever challenge I am to face, I will make it through. Either I will manage it completely and it will blow over or it will become a big issue. If that's the case, all I have to do is regroup, check what went wrong fix it and try one more time. Over and over again, if needed. And I will learn something every single time I do it. I will learn once and for all NOT TO do something. This happened once when a code that I was testing failed (miserably) on production (BIG issue). The code was backed out, corrected and restored. Everything was fixed in the end. That day I learned how code testing should be done. Never made the same mistake again.

What makes horse riding different from most of the other sports is the fact that you work with a live creature, that can read your body and energy better than you can.?What’s interesting is that horses give constant feedback – they mirror you. If you come in nervous, they will be nervous, if you come in calm, they will show you calmness. If you approach them with too much bad energy, they will move away... They make you aware of what you are in?that particular moment because they become what you are. They teach you how to control your energy, because in the end, if you want to control theirs, you have to deal with yourself first. They teach you how to lead without words, just with energy and behavior, because they will follow you without any ropes if you approach them in the right way – i.e. if you LEAD them like a leader should. They let you make mistakes, but teach you not to dwell on the past. They don’t hold grudges – they forgive, and let you repeat what you just did and they comment silently every step of the way.? ? ??

Therefore, I know that honest feedback - when it’s given with the intention to help - is a good thing, regardless if I like what I am hearing or not. In the end, it can help me be more aware of myself. I also know that leadership is not about telling people what to do but about influencing them with who and what you are and expressing the energy, you want them to mirror. This is why I do not tell my juniors how to do things, I let them figure it out on their own and make mistakes and correct them on their own. They know that if they need help, I am always there, patiently waiting to step in if my presence is needed.????

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I could go on, but no one will read more, so I am going to leave it there.?:)??

Do you need some?kind of a skill for your current job or maybe your dream job? Analyze what your hobbies taught you, maybe you already got it. It might need some fine tuning, but maybe you just have to tap into this ability and unlock it on another level.?

Should your job be your hobby then? Well, it could, but I am not so sure it is the best way to go, because if you do more versatile stuff, if you expand your horizons, by doing various things besides your day-to-day paid work, your skill set expands beyond anything you could ever acquire on the job itself. Notice how hobby can boost your confidence in facing day-to-day challenges and how it can help you navigate the corporate chaos. And last but not least, notice how all the skills that I talked about are soft skills - those, which, theoretically are harder to learn and master. You can acquire them by doing what you love the most.

I am curious about your passions and about connections you see between the skills that you developed through your hobbies and how they can extrapolate to your day-to-day job activities.???

Please share your examples in the comments below.???

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