Every day presents a new learning opportunity. The day you stop learning is the day you stop growing. In a world where new information keeps being generated at an astounding rate, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. You need only log in to a social media account to be bombarded by so many details. IBM once estimated that in 2020, human knowledge will be doubling every 12 hours. That’s an exciting thought but it can also be scary. How do you continue to gain new skills to ensure you remain relevant in your chosen field?
The traditional education path where you went to a school, acquired some skills and used those skills for life will no longer serve you well in today’s world. Schools are struggling to keep their curriculums fresh and relevant. Overburdened HR departments are no longer providing staff the support they need to keep acquiring new skills.
If you wish to stay relevant in your chosen field, you must be willing to take charge of your own growth. You can no longer rely on someone else to chart a development path for you. It is important that you develop a growth mindset. You must seek to constantly learn new things and gain fresh experience. It’s not about blindly going online to search for random information. Instead, it’s about carefully looking for information in areas of interest that will help you grow.
Ideally, you should be learning something new every day by reading a few pages. I know this is not always possible for many people. At the very least, you should have a learning plan for every quarter. Identify the top skills in your career and make the time to acquire those you lack. An easy way to do this is by taking a short course online. Sites like udemy and linkedin learning have plenty of resources that can help you. Whether you are trying to learn how to use Microsoft excel, build an app or acquire team management skills.
Learning doesn’t only happen in a classroom or through online courses. You can also learn from others. Speak with someone who has a skillset you’d love to acquire. Shadow someone. You’d be surprised what you can pick up by observing. You may not get a certificate for it but the skills you acquire will serve you for life.
