Cover Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/active-agility-dancer-dancing-415307/
As I frequently write about, I learn 3 new skills every month. It’s a “calculated” approach that helps improve different areas of the brain or body. I strongly encourage you to read it first, or bookmark it if you don’t have time to read it now.
Learning 3 new skills every month completely changed my life for the better. I’m a much better person than I was 5 months ago. And trust me, it’s not as hard as you think it is. In fact, most of us do learn 3 new skills every month without knowing it. Being aware of it makes all the difference.
However, the 3 skills a month approach is not without criticism. I’ve had the same questions multiple times, so I thought it might be interesting to write about. I narrowed it down to one question, which I hope answers all.
Why Are You Learning 3 New Skills Every Month?
Because They Are Useful
I will start by saying there are (almost) no useless skills.
Everything I aim to learn has a purpose. The first skills I chose were: classifying documents using Machine Learning, Drawing using Photoshop and Learning The Past and Future Tenses In Spanish.
In one of the current startups I’m working on right now requires my acquired ML skills.
When working on my game, I can now draw decent enough sketches/drafts for my artists to understand my vision.
I moved to Spain 2 months after learning the past and future tenses. I had no idea I would go to Spain at the time.
I use and improve these skills pretty much every day now. The progress has become organic.
I picked up storytelling, public speaking, conversational Spanish, bodybuilding for an ectomorph, dropshipping for eCommerce, investing smartly, photography, non-fiction writing, meditation, and more.
I’m currently working on Podcasting, Social Media Marketing, Learning Norwegian and Journaling.
In total, 20 new skills in 5 months.
Because I Build Stronger Connections
I work in co-working spaces. I work with people from all over the globe with different backgrounds. As such, it’s not always easy to have deep conversations if you have nothing in common.
By learning so many skills, there’s a much higher chance that I’m going to find something that unites me with another person.
I’ve connected with people I would never connect with normally, and these connections ended up being some of my strongest connections.
Because I Discover Hidden Talents Or Passions
I didn’t aim to write. I didn’t aim to take photos.
Yet I’m now getting paid to do both.
If I didn’t try them as new skills, I would never have known that 1. I’d be good enough at them, and 2. I’d really grow to like them.
As I mention in the other story, we pigeonhole ourselves into specific things that we are/do. I’m a software engineer. Most of the skills I learn are counter-intuitive to that.
Because The More You Know The Faster You Learn
I touch a bit on this subject in: this story.
And for me that is the best reason. Learning constantly, at a faster pace. There’s (almost) nothing I enjoy nothing I enjoy more in life than learning. It’s such a great feeling when you reach a level of mastery you never knew you could reach before.
Here are a few powerful quotes on learning:
“The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways.” ― Robert Greene, Mastery
“Approach everything with an open mind, with a learning mind. You will never stop learning as long as you keep the mindset that everything works, because everything does work. There’s a time and a place for every single move. If you work on it enough, it will work.” — Conor McGregor
“The person who can learn from everything will beat out the person who judges harshly who and what to learn from.” — James Altucher
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
Conclusion
I’ve been doing for 5 months now.
I am more skilled;
I have stronger connections;
I have new passions; and
I learn much faster.
You want more skills, stronger connections, discover new talents and learn faster?
I strongly suggest you try the 3 new skills approach.
You’ll see, all aspects of your life will improve. Maybe not the first month, but you’ll build momentum and get there.
You can do this!