There will come a time in your life that you will thirst for something better, more challenging, or more exciting things. At some point, you will also feel that colleagues are starting to take over you in terms of successes. And somehow when you reflect, you realize you are afloat in that sea called “mediocrity”.

Mediocrity is that state wherein activities become mundane and your career does not excite you as much as it does. You tend to lose that vigor to pursue excellence. You only see yourself as a survivor instead of a victor.

Entering this stage in your life prompts many to feel empty; like there is something that is missing. Some people develop fear because of uncertainty. But then hope starts after the question, “What’s in it for me next?”.

Are You Looking for Promotion?

At work, promotion does not happen automatically. We should seek it. We should prepare for it. And we must prove ourselves worthy for it.

The problem with people in the workplace is that they don’t ask for a promotion. There are many reasons for their hesitations, but it shouldn’t keep you from asking. But of course, before you ask, you must be ready to answer “Why do you find yourself worthy for the promotion?”.

At this point in your life, you have to undergo skills development.

What is Skills Development?

The debate is still on for the topic “quality vs quantity”. Some people tend to respond with “it depends”, but I think that more often, focusing on the former results in a better latter. That is, if you hone your skills, you’ll be more efficient in producing more and better outputs.

And that is basically what skills development is all about.

As we grow older, we move on to learning more complex skills, either by choice or through survival. Either way is beneficial, and the more we give importance to our skills development, we increase our chances of being successful in our endeavors.

Another perspective to consider when illustrating skills development is looking at it as a means to,

• Fulfill skills gap. You will realize this when you are aiming for a promotion and you are looking at your competitor. The same goes for when you check the skills the position requires.
• Elevate your current skills. You will realize this when you feel you are stuck on doing mundane tasks and would like to explore other opportunities.
• Increase your outputs. You want to become more efficient in carrying your tasks so you will be able to produce more.

What are the Skills I Can Develop?

Skills development is a multi-faceted journey; I’d like to call it that way because the skills you target branch out to more as you go about the hurdles and challenges that come along. Sometimes, it may even involve your character; it helps you become more mature and your goals more solid, therefore defining your outlook towards life.

I’ll categorize the skills into two:

Hard skills

These include practical skills that directly contribute to your career objectives. With me, as a writer, I look at improving on my content ideas and mind-mapping skills. I also want to work on broadening my audience by reading and researching other topics outside my industry. I also look forward to more immersive experiences like traveling and cross-cultural socialization to provide more depth in my articles.

Soft skills

These skills are inclined to relevant skills that will help boost your marketability, appeal, and stature in the industry. Aside from general soft skills like,

• Critical-thinking
• Decision making
• Team playing
• Leadership
• Communication

It is also critical to your success to develop

• Marketing
• Pitching
• Empathy
• Insightfulness
• Relevance
• Persuasion

Am I Ready for Skills Development?

To set a clearer direction, skills development is gearing to add relevant skills to what talent, passion, or interest you may already have. Now is not the time to explore your options and choose as you go about each. It is not only counter-productive but also defeats the purpose of mastering and focusing on specific skillsets faster.

Therefore, I advise that early in life, you try to be observant of the things that interest you most. This sets the path towards how you want to spend your time with. As young as you are, let your dreams fuel your decisions. And even some practical choices might deter you from it, see to it that you won’t at least let the fire die down.

Deciding on skills development requires an open but resilient mind. Remember that the world will not stop as you work on developing your skills. Alongside, you still have to go to school or report to work. You may still have mouths to feed or work for someone who does not encourage you anymore. But, setting your mind about the better days coming can inspire you to continue moving forward.