One thing you quickly learn in business is that you can never afford to rest on your laurels. It’s essential to always be moving forward, because if you’re just standing still then you’re being left behind. Just as growth and progress is the lifeblood of any company, so you as an individual also need to keep growing and improving your skills.
Every day is a school day, and every day at work should be an opportunity to learn new skills. The people who are truly successful in their careers are those who relish a challenge and are never happy with an easy life, just going through the motions. In fact, the moment your job begins to feel too easy and comfortable is the moment you should be thinking about moving on.
Learn from your mistakes
In some ways this is the easiest way to learn and in other ways it’s the hardest. If we’re working at the limit of our capabilities and challenging ourselves all the time, then it’s inevitable that we’ll make mistakes. The trick is in seeing these as opportunities that teach us how to do better next time.
Stay up to date
The business world is constantly changing, and that means new ways of doing things and new skill sets are appearing all the time. As we get older we can become stuck in our ways and even resentful of change. Unfortunately, this is the surest way to ensure our own obsolescence. Read relevant publications, listen to what younger people have to say, and be prepared to retrain if necessary.
Take a course that meets your needs
Not everything you need to know in business can be taught in schools or universities, but there are plenty of resources out there to help you overcome specific obstacles. Whether you want help dealing with stress, building confidence, time management or better people skills, there are online training courses from Unchain Your Brain that use the latest scientific and psychological research to provide practical help and advice via a series of comprehensive video tutorials.
Switch roles
If we’ve been doing the same job for a long time it can help to switch to a different role in order to learn a new set of skills. That might be something you can do while still remaining in your current position or it could be something you do outside of your main employment. Voluntary or part-time work can be a way to develop valuable new skills or simply to get a different perspective than the one you’ve grown used to.
Exercise your body and mind
The business world is increasingly waking up to the fact that the skills taught by alternative health practitioners are eminently transferable to the workplace. Accordingly, taking a course in yoga, meditation or mindfulness could help you develop those skills of empathy, concentration, focus and discipline that are so valuable in the office or on the shop floor. At the very least, these classes will help you to unwind and de-stress after work.
Continual self-development will help you to progress in your career and find greater job satisfaction. Unlocking your true potential is a gradual process and one that becomes more rewarding the further you go. So don’t get stuck in a rut: keep growing and meeting new challenges and you’ll stay productive, happy and engaged.