The markets have always responded one thing, no matter what the economic situation. Industries have always paid for people who can provide value. Value comes in many forms, but ultimately a valuable person is one that enables people and organisations to get to their desired state. People are always seeking to be enriched and organisations are always seeking to have a competitive advantage, dominate their markets and ultimately secure profit. If you have a distinct set of skills or expertise that enable people and/or organisations to reach their desired state, goals or targets then you will always be in demand - you will be a value provider.
Becoming a value provider means being the best at what you do and the only way to be the best at what you do is to have an incredible sense of self-awareness and to know yourself inside and out. Most of us never seek mastery in our personal or professional lives because we do not look within. We are distracted by little boxes in the form of TV’s, Phones, Tablets and Computers and the average attention span of the modern human is just eight seconds.
In the digital age we have never been so insecure, we are constantly seeking validation in the form of ‘likes’, ‘hearts’, shares and re-tweets. This insecurity and need for constant validation is ingrained within our professional lives. We tick boxes in order to secure promotions instead of mastering our craft in order achieve notoriety.
Here's three reasons of why you should be seeking mastery and not to be promoted:
You Don’t Pigeonhole Yourself
We are living in an age of being niche in your focus but diverse and agile in your skills. This means that mastery requires constantly bettering yourself, constant development, it means always seeking to discover new and better ways of doing things. Many promotions lead down a certain track, these are the tracks that many others have followed previously. Mastery means bettering what others have done and changing the status quo. Mastery mean you achieve more than others have done in those same roles.
All Areas Of Your Life Flourish
Mastery is in many ways an ethos, it is a way of living your life. Mastery is not specific to our professional aspirations nor is it specific to our personal life-goals. Someone who is seeking mastery is fundamentally seeking to become the best possible version of themselves, the best mother/father, the best wife/husband, the best friend, the best volunteer, the best employee, the best daughter/son and this requires that we give every person and every activity 100% of our commitment and attention. A rising tide raises all ships, in other words, when your begin your journey of self mastery; you will find that you will be seeking to enhance every area of your life.
You will be happier, healthier and more confident
Have you ever noticed how successful people walk, talk and act? They have a certain energy about them, right? This is because when we are developing as individuals, when our lives are expanding, when our skills are being perfected and our expertise is deepening we are happier and it has been proven that happier people live healthier lives. Knowledge is ultimately the key to an expansive life, when you have a deep understanding of yourself and your chosen field, your life is not dictated by external validation and you are naturally more confident.
I am in no way disputing the efforts that people invest in seeking promotions, I am saying that if we seek mastery as our primary focus - you will be of more value to organisations (and therefore be promoted faster), the people around you and you will live a more enriching life.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, do you think promotions enable mastery or vice versa? Share this article to help others join the conversation