Each of us has unique skills and abilities to contribute to humanity. Despite knowing this, it can be difficult to realize what those skills are and how to use them well. Whether you’re a numbers whiz, you do embroidery, or you excel socially, there are ways to put your skills to use and improve them along the way!
Recognize your skills. You can
have many types of skills and not even know it. Skills aren’t just knowledge,
but are ways of relating to information and people. Skill types can include technical,
transferable, and personal skills. Technical skills are the “how-to’s”, such as
fixing or creating things, and administering or following protocols, such as being
a mechanic, nurse, artist, or racecar driver. Transferable skills are skills
that can help in many situations, such as organization, customer service,
teamwork, and leadership, and can be helpful across many professions or
activities. Personal skills include being reliable, having initiative,
listening to your gut/intuition, and being self-motivated.
- Reflect on your skills and recognize that you have many skills. Remember how your skills have helped you in the past (like planning a wedding or doing well in interviews) and brainstorm ways to use your skills in the future.
Reflect on what makes you happy.
There’s no use using and improving skills you don’t enjoy. Even if you have
skills you excel in, don’t waste your time doing things that you don’t find
fun. Remember that money cannot buy happiness. Instead, think about things that
make you happy.
- Perhaps you get along with everyone, are naturally charismatic, and love to make friends. You may want to work in sales or do activities that involve lots of people, like coordinating volunteer opportunities. Or perhaps you enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together. Maybe you want to be a mechanic or have a hobby fixing old toys. These are skills you can use! By knowing what makes you happy, you can pursue areas in your life to activate your skills and be happy while doing it.
Create goals. People who are goal-oriented tend
to be happier and achieve more. Think about what you want to develop and what
fuels you to want to improve these skills. When creating goals, make sure they
are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and timely.
- If your goal is to run, make it more specific by determining to run your first half marathon. Avoid general goals and be as specific as possible.
- Make your goal measurable by setting dates and creating a timeframe. Pick a half marathon race in the future that will allow you to train and prepare for the race. Then create a training plan.
- An achievable goal is one that challenges you, but is still within your grasp. Being the first person on Mars may be a bit of a stretch, but learning how to ride a motorcycle may be doable, even if you feel fearful.
- By focusing on the result, you can stay motivated throughout the process. Think about the benefits of meeting your goal, and focus on the outcome of this goal.
- A timely goal has an end date in mind. Instead of “I will hike”, a time-bound goal has an end date in mind, creating some sense of urgency, such as “I will hike to the top of Mount Timpanogos by August 16.”
Pursue an education. A formal
university education is well-respected by many and serves to give credibility
in many fields. If you’d like to use and improve your skills in engineering,
computers, foreign language, psychology, etc., obtaining formal education is a
beneficial route to take, especially if you’d like to hold a job in one of
these fields.
- If you’re interested in pursuing knowledge and not a career, community colleges offer more affordable options and offer classes for many interests.
- You can apprentice someone to learn specialized skills. You may want to be surf instructor but not know how to teach surfing. By apprenticing a surf teacher, you can learn the skills to teach.
Make friends/network.
Networking can be a beneficial business and personal skill. By having a
network, you open yourself up to information, people, and power. Find ways to
meet other people in your field of interest, whether it be events, social
media, or through friends of friends.
- Join interest clubs or professional societies to help you meet people with similar interests or career paths.
- Take advantage of any opportunity to meet others who share your interest. Ask them questions about how they improved their skills, how they achieved success, and any things to avoid or re-consider.
- If you want to learn a skill, such as welding, take a class. A class offers an environment to meet other people with similar interests, and it may open doors to pursue more ways to improve this skill.
