So I have a particular set of skills…
Each of us has a mix of skills acquired over our lives. These skills make us employable, attract people to us, make us interesting and gives us something we can pass on to our offspring. Skills aren’t static, they require ongoing maintenance and upkeep. Skills aren’t inherent, they require learning and effort to acquire and hone them.
The life path and employment track has left both Holly and I with unique skill sets that are somewhat rare. Holly’s personality is more extroverted, mine more introverted (I’m in the middle between extro-and-intro though) and our skills and knowledge acquired over our professional lives make us valuable in our respective industries. It takes a fair amount of effort to keep acquiring new skills related to both employment and personal interests as once you’ve “made it” it is easy to sit on your laurels.
On the personal side of things, the skills we acquire tend to shape not only our own lives, but those of our family. As an example, I taught myself how to play guitar and fought my way through blistered fingers and chord shapes. While I don’t play as much as I’d like, I still hope to impart (at a minimum) appreciation for music to my children and hopefully their own desire to learn to play. Our interest and appreciation for health, fitness and nutrition are also passed down to the next generation as our kids follow our lead which is certainly different than conventional wisdom.
So I continue to acquire skills and learn and will never stop. I’ll be getting back into BJJ this year (after being out for about 18 months) as a friend has a basement setup for friendly rolling. I’ll continue to work on work skills, marriage skills, parenting skills and life skills to be a high quality man as one who leads should be. How are you working to acquire or sharpen your skills?
Girls only want guys who have great skills:
Ian Ironwood says
Outstanding observation. I call them “survival tickets”.