Why is Learning New Skills Important?

Part of my journey to financial freedom is to build up my career. I need a career that can boost my earnings so that I'm able to invest more and increase my monthly spending budget. I can't rely just on the wage I'm receiving from working in my dad's company. I know it's considered a lot in Indonesia; however, if I compare it to the United States wage, it's considered very little. This is the reason why I'm trying a lot of things at once. 

During the process, I discovered that learning new skills is essential to building my career. Learning new skills is essential to advancing my career. Having new skills I can acquire, I can do more things that can potentially help my career. It might sound unimportant; however, the more things I can do, the more value I can offer. This is why I am always trying to learn something new to do more things by myself. New skills diversify your job options and help you develop new techniques to keep up with the fast changing world. In this article, I will explain why learning new skills are essential to building your career life. Moreover, I will discuss the skills I want to learn and why it is vital for me.

Sense of Achievement and Pride.

When you are learning new skills, you can adapt yourself to any situation. This gives you a sense of accomplishment. Along with you, know your worth and the works you can do. It feels great when you can do something by yourself. Learning new skills enables you to do something that can offer value to society.

 

During my journey to building my career, I learn many things that make me the person I am today. Do not stop yourself from learning something new. You want always to keep learning as long as you are alive. I was curious how my dad was able to become the successful businessman he is today. After working with him for several years, I discovered that he is always trying to learn something new all the time. He does not stop even till today. By always opening yourself to new challenges, you experience something new all the time. It feels great when you learn something new since you feel a sense of achievement.

 

While working in my dad's company, I discovered I learn a lot of new skills. I receive much free time working in my dad's company. I used this free times always to learn something new. It might sound unimportant initially; however, you will discover that you gain a lot of new knowledge after a long time. When I moved back to Jakarta, Indonesia, to work in my dad's company, I did not know how to do many things. Years pass by, and I realized that I learned many things that made me the person I am today. I feel good about having new skills that I can use during my journey to financial freedom. For example, a skill I learned during my career working in my dad's company is web design and development. I know building a website is not essential; however, I gained this skill when trying to build a business independently. I made several websites on my own, and I feel great about being able to do this.

Open New Opportunities.

When you learn something new, you open yourself to new opportunities. When you learn how to design websites, write essays, or perform virtual secretary skills, you become eligible for part-time freelance opportunities. Whichever new skill you acquire, a new door of opportunity will always open for you. I did not know about this benefit until I went through the process myself. For example, I self-taught myself to developing and designing a website of my own. Because I learned these new skills, I can make a website when I feel like it. 

One opportunity that came back was building a website for my dad's yacht chartering business. I was able to build the company website by myself without having to hire someone to do them. Moreover, I can always make a new website for a new business that I want to open in the future. It's enjoyable to have this skill because once you gain this knowledge, you will keep it in you forever.

 

My recommendation is not to focus on how much money you can make by learning this new skill. Do not worry about the money, but what value you can offer when you learn this new skill. I used to be lazy to learn something new when I was younger. However, I found out the benefits of having many skills. I realize the more skills I have, the more things I can create on my own. This is why I am forcing myself to learn how to do video editing on my own. Yes, I can hire a video editor anytime, but when you can do this on your own, it feels great.

 

I did some essential learning how to edit videos. I am still in the process to keep learning more about it. I am already able to help my friend edit his YouTube video to make it more desirable. Because I have some basic video editing skills, I can start a YouTube channel with my friends. This is why I still want to learn more video editing skills to produce professional videos on my own. I found out that the more skills I have, the more things I can create. I do not have to rely on someone if I can do it by myself. 

 

Also, because I have these new skills, I can place my achievements in my work resume. If you take a look at my resume, I mentioned all the skills I can offer. I have been working in my dad's company for quite some time already. I never work outside my dad's company since I moved back to Jakarta, Indonesia. While working in my dad's company, I did create many side businesses on my own. Because of this, I was able to write my accomplishment on my work resume. If I had to work outside my dad's company, I could offer many of my skills to be used. The more things I can do, the more likely a company will hire me. This is why I want to keep learning something new. I believe by having many skills, I can do many things.

Stay Relevant.

Continuing your learning and professional development in your career keeps you up to date with advances and changes in new technology. This means you will not get left behind as innovation changes your ways of working. You will stay relevant in a changing landscape as the economy evolves and technology improves.

 

Without becoming a learning junkie and attending everything possible, it is highly advisable to think about your current and future learning and help you achieve your career goals and stay ahead of your

competitors.

 

Remember, when I talk about learning, I do not just mean going on a course! We are fundamentally the same as children; we learn most through experience or experiential learning. This applies in my life. I am writing blog content as a blogger now; however, people prefer watching YouTube videos more than reading a blog. This is why I need to learn how to produce my own YouTube video content to stay relevant to the current situation.

Keeps You Healthy.

Learning keeps your mind engaged and body active. It helps you get new and knowledge-based perspectives on the world around you. It helps you gain new experiences, trains your brain to handle a wide range of challenges, and keeps your neural pathways active. All these factors combine to keep you healthy. Take, for example, a cooking class. Cooking nutritious food for your household can improve your (and your family's) health. And because a healthy person is a productive person, the class will have helped you increase your work productivity.

 

Learning is also exciting and rewarding, so it can be therapeutic for a troubled mind. It helps discover your unknown potentials, so you stop beating yourself up for failing in one career path. Growing your skillset helps you realize how useful you are to lots of people, making you happy and mentally healthy. I believe this applies to my father because, despite his old age, he is still very fit and healthy. I think this is the reason why my father is not stopping to learn something new. He wants to keep himself productive so that he can feel good about himself and stay healthy.

Bottom Line

These days, expanding your knowledge and skill base is more a requirement than a choice. If you do not know what to study or which learning opportunities are at your disposal, try looking into the things you are curious about. Ask yourself, "What have I been interested in or passionate about since childhood?" Answer that, and you will discover the learning journey you should pursue. You will also discover immeasurable satisfaction in learning. Whether for hobby or career purposes, learning brings joy and satisfaction, regardless of age or professional standing. 

 

I hope this article can inspire you to learn something new. In my journey to financial freedom, I am now forcing myself to learn something new. As for now, I am in the process of learning video editing. I believe having this skill enables me to produce my own YouTube video content. As a content creator, I can't just rely on writing blog content. I need to keep upgrading myself to be able to do more things. Now you know the benefits of learning something new, start learning something new from now. Don't worry about the money, but the value you can offer to society. Trust me; you won't regret it.