Skills development is the process of (1) identifying your skill gaps, and (2) developing and honing these skills. It is important because your skills determine your ability to execute your plans with success.
Imagine a carpenter trying to build a house. He has the raw materials but lacks good wood working tools. He has, however, a flimsy hammer and a small screwdriver. Without the right tools like a hand saw, he can’t turn these raw materials into house building pieces.
It’s the same with goal achievement. In goal achievement, your skills are your tools. The house is your goal. Just as you need the right tools to build a house, you need the right skills to build your goal. Without the right skills, you will only frustrate yourself, waste your time, and spend a lot of time dealing with rudimentary issues caused by the lack of knowledge or lack of skills, as opposed to progressing in your goal. While difficulty and struggle is part and parcel of any goal pursuit, without the right skills, you find yourself struggling more than necessary. Worse still, this struggle is unconstructive and doesn’t help you move forward.
Why Skills Development is Neglected
Yet, why is skills development neglected?
There are 2 big reasons:
Firstly, people are often impressed by what others have accomplished without realizing what they went through to get there. We see their accolades and victories, and make gross assumptions about what it takes to succeed. Then we become disappointed when we attempt the goal, only to find out that it’s not as easy as it seems.
This is very common in blogging. People see big name internet “gurus” making 6–7 figure income from blogging. Thinking that it’s easy, and perhaps perpetuated by the claims of said gurus who happen to sell you courses claiming to help you do the same, these folks start blogging as well, expecting to achieve the same results in a short period of time. They become rudely awakened when they don’t even get a trickle of traffic after a few months, much less earn an income. Some press on; many give up.
Secondly, some of us can be heavily self-critical. We look at how successful others are — the top coaches, internet gurus, award-winning performers, winners of the society — and conclude that we can never achieve the same. We feel that these people are somehow blessed with some special power that we don’t have. I often have clients who say they want to achieve XYZ goal, but after seeing very established folks in the field, feel unconfident about their abilities. They then wonder, “What makes me think that I can succeed? I should just give up because these people are already so good and experienced. Who am I to compete?”
Yet, it’s about skills development. When we see others’ successes, what we don’t see are the countless hours they spent behind the scenes, honing their craft, and building their skills. What we see as “talent” in others is the result of their 10,000 hours of hard work where raw passion and human potential are turned into hard skills. Skills development is where we turn from beginner to novice, to intermediate, to senior, to expert. And henceforth, having the ability to conquer our goal.
