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Self improvement is one hot industry! It seems that just about everyone wants to become the very best person that they can become, and are always searching for new ways to improve on aspects of themselves that they consider to be lacking. The problem is that so many of us make the excuse that we don’t have the time or the energy to bother with self improvement. We have jobs that get in the way, and we don’t want to spend what little time we have left continuing to “work” do we? No, we want to enjoy our time away from “work”. So what is one to do?
I have a solution to this problem that may work for you! Now logically, if you consider self improvement to be a form of work, then wouldn’t it be better to be able to do it while you are at “work”? Of course it would! So that’s exactly what my proposed idea is to do, use work as a form of self improvement, not just as a means to collect a paycheck. Now, of course, this will work a lot better in a healthy local job market, and for people who don’t have a predetermined career path planned out. For these people, I want you to keep an open mind!
The Overall Idea
The thing about self improvement is that in order to improve on any skill that you have, then you need to practice that skill and eventually apply it to your muscle memory, so that you can concentrate on finding better ways to do it. This isn’t always easy for a variety or reasons. However, working at a job is almost always repetitive in nature, and will allow you to practice what you do for a living over and over again until you become awesome at it! The idea is that you should seek out a job that will allow you to improve on a skill that you want to improve on.
Cooking Skills
Let’s say that you want to improve on your skills in the kitchen. Then look for a job at a restaurant. Any restaurant at all, as long as they serve real food and are not simply warming up frozen processed foods. (I.E. most every Fast Food restaurant) Trust me, if you go to work in the kitchen of a restaurant that does even remotely decent business, your cooking skills will increase at an unbelievably pace.
Math Skills
Any job where you handle money on a daily basis will help you to refine your math skills. Not only will you be forced to deal with math every time you give change, but at the end of the day when you need to count down your drawer, you’ll need to use a calculator to make sure that every cent is accounted for. Doing this every day will help you to feel more comfortable with numbers.
There’s also carpentry. Anyone who is a handyman (or woman) will need to deal with fractions and numbers on a daily basis. You’ll need to get really good at math and with numbers in order to do this, so this is a good way to perfect your math skills.
Social Skills
Maybe you’re like me, and you feel like your social skills need some practice. Well, there are plenty of jobs where you must interact with people, and this is a good way to refine your social skills, because for the most part, these people aren’t going to pretend that you’re charming if you’re not.
Companies are always looking for sales people. The type of people who can push their products on the public. If you’re social skills are something that you’re looking to improve, you’ll find them getting better in no time when your paycheck depends on it! Then again, just about any customer service job will help you to interact with people as long as you do it on a daily basis.
Get In Better Shape
This technique has worked wonders for me. Back in 2003, I was in, by far, the best shape of my life, because of the job that I was working at. Can you guess what my job was? It wasn’t a factory job where I was lifting heavy loads repetitively. I wasn’t building houses or anything like that. I wasn’t doing hard work or even breaking a sweat for that matter.
I was stocking shelves at a grocery store. The simple fact that I was on my feet for six to eight hours a day, and walking around was enough exercise for me to lose twenty pounds in the course of six months.
In 2009, I decided that after being at least fifty pounds over my ideal weight, that I would seek another job where I could lose weight while I worked, and that’s what I’m doing now. I am a waiter at a Mexican restaurant, and over the course of three to seven hours a day, I get in a lot of walking time. And in the last four months, I’ve lost twenty pounds.
Just Keep In Mind…
Of course, there are hurdles, such as the fact that employers like to hire people with experience, instead of people who are wanting to learn the craft. However, most employers understand that it’s better to hire someone with no skills who has a better attitude than it is to hire a skilled worker with a lousy attitude. You can explain this in your job interview, and tell them that you are eager to learn a new skill and try to convince them that once you learn that skill, you will be pleasant to work with.
Also, I must remind you that you will almost always be starting at the entry level of your new job when you go this route, since you will be entering a new profession without any skills. This is all right! In fact, this is what the idea is all about. You are, in essence, a lump of clay that is ready to be molded into form, and a blank slate in which you can learn your new skill. It’s only logical that you will start out at the bottom of the ladder when you enter a new field. This is why this form of self improvement works better for young people than for older.
However, you’re never too old to learn something new. In fact, I have a saying that goes “You’re not old until you stop trying to learn new things”.
So if you’re ready to try something new in your career, or you just want to refine your skills in an area that you may feel weak in, maybe it’s time for a new job?
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Do you agree? Disagree? Would you like to take your day to day frustrations out on a total stranger who writes on a blog? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes” then by all means, leave a reply!
Also, read up on my other Self Improvement articles, such as “30 Days To Self Improvement” and “Eliminate Failure From Your Vocabulary“!
And go ahead and check out our exclusive interview with underground rap artist, V-Sinizter. It will change your life, for the better!
And don’t forget to check out Swollen Thumb Entertainment on Twitter and MySpace!
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With blogging such a big big part of the self-help industry I am amazed people still write and read those kinds of books, yet they do. Blogs are such awesome ways for authors to promote their books.
I really really love Liara Covert’s Self-Disclosure book, and her DreamBuildersAustralia blog. Top notch for improvement — which all comes down to just accepting yourself and loving you just for being alive and part of the one Great Love we were all created from.
Social skills?? We’re all working on different stages of them, (nme too!) and if we’re not, we’re probably too full of ego and should be working on them!
.-= Jannie Funster´s last blog ..Funny Typos, “Like A Bord on A Wire,” 14 =-.
The thing about self improvement is not to read about it but to get out and do something about it.
I agree with what you’ve said Trey, and in regards to the math section, I can do the 16 times table because I have to deal with it daily. The problem with a lot of people, in regards to math, is that they rely on calculators, you take that away from them and they would be lost.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Dragons Creatures Of Mystery =-.
I agree with you fully most of my most marketable skills currently come from getting stuck in at work and normally on matters outside my job description. Attitude has a lot to do with succes in personal development. The first change you need to to make is to change your mind and decide to do it for yourself. Every job has opportunities for you to better yourself if you look hard enough.
.-= Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 1 – Collection =-.
@ Jannie
I make a trip to the bookstore once every few weeks, and I can vouch that the bookstores aren’t dying yet. However, with so many sources of FREE info on the net, the printing industry be wise to start offering cheaper books if they want to compete.
I’m familiar with Liara Covert’s work, and I do think highly of her. She’s a guru who doesn’t talk down to you, and in the self improvement industry, that’s a rare thing.
@ Sire
You’re 100% right. You’ll NEVER improve on yourself unless you’re acting. Sure, you can read stuff to hone your techniques and such, but don’t wait to start self improvement. After all, you have the rest of your life to improve. You don’t have to do it all in a month!
As far as math skills go. My opinion is that while you should have a basic idea of how math works, it’s becoming less necessary to be good at it, because it’s something that computers do so much better than humans can. Computers can’t think creatively though, and that’s something that people need to improve on… creativity.
@ Michael
That’s true. You can turn any job into an outlet for self improvement. I’ve become better at keeping my house neat and tidy, because my current job involves that I do a bit of cleaning before I leave. Thus, I’m learning to not leave the kitchen a mess after I’m done in there and such. Thanks for your contribution!
The problem with computers and calculators is that they don’t always work. I had to wait for what seemed like ages for this guy to work out my change because there was a power outage and the register wouldn’t work. He had to get out a pen and notepaper.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..The Difference Between Flexibility And FlexSqueeze =-.
That’s crazy. And to me, that’s basic math. Everyone should learn how to count change in high school, because that’s a skill everyone should learn, instead of trig and algebra and that stuff.
So yeah, I agree with you on that part. My opinion is just that it’s becoming less and less necessary for humans to possess such left brain skills like advanced math, because computers can kick our asses at left brain skills. But we should still at least have FUNCTIONING left brains, right?
The problem is that a lot of kids aren’t getting basic math. Don’t know what it’s like over there but here kids are being passed onto the next grade, wherein my day we failed and had to repeat the year, because these morons think it would be mentally or psychologically harmful to fail them.
There was even one school wanting to ban using red pens when marking papers. Dogooders, they’re stuffing it up for everyone.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Where The Bloody Hell Are You……. =-.