Are you happy with where you are? Are you comfortable with the skills that you have? It is absolutely ok to be happy with your growth and acquired skills however to be comfortable is a sin in this land. It is important for you to find ways to be better than you were yesterday, you are your own competition. Challenge yourself, believe me, it is the best thing you could ever do for yourself. Here are a few things that I do to improve myself, you may emulate or get ideas.
READING OTHER PEOPLE’S BLOG POSTS
As a blogger, I like to stay connected with those in the same field. You will not believe the number of times I have learnt something from reading someone else’s blog. I have left their websites with a brand new idea because their words triggered something in me. It has helped me to grow as a writer.
Reading, in general, is a great tool for anyone’s growth. So read far and wide in your area of expertise, you will definitely learn more. Your competition isn’t a competition it is your learning ground, so instead of looking from afar and hating to be a part of their brand pick up the mistakes and correct them. A recipe for a W.
LEARNING FROM OTHER PEOPLE
I like talking to people in the same industries that I dabble in and I prefer listening than talking. As they talk I take something home with me, sometimes I have people come with advice because they saw something that was not quite right with my work. In most cases when we are faced with criticism we tend to take offence, if I am being honest I do too sometimes. I wake up the following day and look at what they told me and chances are they are right, I fix it. A lesson would have been learnt.
Do not close yourself off, try and be at the events, network and listen to what other people are saying. Yes, not all criticism is constructive but listen none the less and assess. Take what you need and trash the trash (this always depends on your beliefs).
USE THE INTERNET
There is so much information and data ready for you to just feed off of on the internet. From YouTube videos to pdfs to blogs (wink wink). If I tell you that some of my blog post topics come from twitter, just scrolling on that platform, reading people’s thoughts and interacting with them.
Take advantage of the information that is available to you.
ONLINE COURSES
This is a tool that I have not completely taken advantage of, but it really is a great way to challenge yourself. There are many platforms that have emerged that provide this service for free and they even certify you when you are done. Eliminate school fees and enhance your skills from the comfort of your home, you are welcome!
This is what I do, I am keen to hear what you do. I could easily be missing something that could help me too, let us learn from each other, right here on the web. CIAO!