Gain Experience Through Everyday Life

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This is a guest post by Rebecca Palmer who is a staff writer for NorthOrion.com.

If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guest post guidelines.

The seemingly mundane experiences that make up your everyday life can be transformed into skills that increase your value in the workplace. The same tasks can be transformed from daily bores to steps on your personal path to happiness. The best part is that you don’t have to dramatically increase your workload or pay for specialized training to make it all happen; all it takes is cultivation of a paradigm shift.

I’m talking about viewing every moment as an opportunity to gain experience. For example, imagine a young father of three who is employed as a driver for a rental car company. He picks up and drops off drivers of the rental cars for eight hours a day, five days a week. The man has a high school education and dreams for a yacht and a brand new BMW 7 Series, but no concrete plans for making it happen. During his daily drives, he could talk with his passengers about their businesses, gaining new insight and fresh ideas along the way. Simultaneously, he could be adding efficiency to his work by reducing left-hand turns and avoiding busy intersections. Conversely, the man could turn up his favorite “Top 40” radio station to drown out thoughts about how he should be getting paid more.

If the driver chooses the first option, he will have more and better choices than if he does the second, though the latter may seem more comfortable. One outcome of the first, mindful choice might be to open a business of his own with help from the contacts he met while driving. Alternatively, the man could ask for a raise or earn a promotion because of his increased driving efficiency and his habit of being a good listener.

This same man can gain management experience at his home life, and his family will probably be better off for it. For example, let’s assume that his children have birthday parties. The man can put on parties for his kids that require directing half of the prepubescent guests to one game and the rest to another. He could even practice delegating by teaching one of his older children to run one of the games for a younger child’s party. This type of experience may be unconventional to bring up as part of a resume or advancement opportunity, but it is valuable experience nonetheless.

Furthermore, the driver can enroll in an almost unlimited number of classes to work toward a degree from an online school. Spending just a few hours a day studying and listening to lectures requires more effort than watching television, but the rewards of an online education will provide both knowledge and credibility for his future.

As you go about your own life, I challenge you to recognize its happenings as opportunities to become a better person. Of course, defining “better” will have to be up to you. However, many of the things that would make you a better employee or entrepreneur will also make you happier and more effective on your down time.

One of the key aspects of making this paradigm shift work for you is confidence. To go back to our young father example, it might be true that some people don’t understand how a person can gain efficiency skills by driving around town all day every day or by putting on children’s parties. However, if that dad can take ownership of his upward spiral, he will show his capability in action better than a certificate or letter of recommendation ever could.

Realize that changing how you think about the world can change your place in it. When you take time to be conscious of your own actions and the learning opportunities laid at your feet (or on your computer desktop), your mind will become the best possible tool for finding wealth and happiness.

Rebecca Palmer is a staff writer for NorthOrion.com, a brand new site chock full of information on the training and qualification needed for success in dozens of occupations. Rebecca graduated for Weber State University in Ogden, Utah with a bachelor’s degree in communication and has worked as a professional writer for more than five years. With questions, contact her at rpalmer (at) toptenreviews.com.