Keep reaching ahead – challenge yourself!

One thing of great value in this ever-changing world is the ability to continue to learn and grow.  Anyone with children can understand this – especially when you look at your child quickly mastering a game system or finishing tasks on the internet.  It is amazing how quickly one can fall behind and not be able to do what others might consider to be the simplest tasks.

During my job search, I learned many new things including how to set up this blog, web site design, marketing myself, using the social media, and the most effective ways of networking.  I remember thinking very early on that I had no desire whatsoever to do a blog or put together a web site.  To me, this was taking me out of my comfort zone BIG TIME because now I would be putting more info about myself out on the web.  Plus, I was already stressed about having to find a job.  Now I was going to have to figure out how to do these things without the support system of a company IT person.

So, I “changed gears” and took a chance.  I may still not be as proficient as other professionals who do this constantly, but in the process I now can say I understand the concepts and can perform them to some extent.

But I did not stop there.  I dove into Twitter and had many questions.  How does it work?  How do you use it to search subjects, get your message out there, find followers or follow someone?  What do all the terms like hashtag and other things mean?  I also found that by using social media like Twitter, the world opened up to me.  Other people were sharing information that became quite useful.

I continue this growth today as an employed individual.  I have been learning about mail merges and how to use it to drum up interest from customers.  I am also using the skills I learned while out of work to apply to my job today.  This is just another reason that it is important to stretch yourself, take chances, and continue to grow.  For those of you who are out of work, try to learn new skills and also do not be afraid to take a job in which you will be challenged to learn new skills.

All of this makes you a sharper and more interesting individual.  Plus you may have some clue as to what your children are discussing.  The interesting and valuable person/employee is the one who continues to reach upward and grow.  Plus, think how satisfying it is to attempt a hard task and to succeed.  Not much different from when I am on a bicycle ride and I know the route is tough or includes tough sections.  While on the trek, I am stretched and may grumble at what I am facing.  At the end though, when I have finished it is the greatest satisfaction in knowing that I made it.  The challenge is what makes life more exciting and interesting.  So go for it – reach ahead and challenge yourself!

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