Skills
Scripture Reading: Proverbs 22:29
Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
You might have seen the movie Napoleon Dynamite. If you have you remember the scene where Napoleon is talking to his friend, Pedro, and bemoaning his lack of a love interest. He attributes this to his lack of skills and says, “I don’t have any skills.”
Pedro asks Napoleon, “What do you mean?’
Napoleon famously replies, “You know, like nunchuck skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills. Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.”
It was a funny and memorable line, and Napoleon may have been on to something. This proverb isn’t about getting a girlfriend, but it is about how skill matters if we are going to advance in life.
How does one develop a skill?
First of all, motivation matters. If you don’t have an interest in something you aren’t likely to be motivated to get better at it. While I think the word “passion” is way overused nowadays, there is something to the idea that we have to be motivated by inner interest if we are going to develop a skill in something. What interests you?
Setting goals helps. Have some way to track your progress.
The old saying, “Practice makes perfect,” is true. If you don’t do it, you won’t become skillful at it.
Get some feedback and find other people who are good at what you are trying to become good at and learn from them.
Stick with it. Since I already used a movie quote, let me throw in another from the classic western, “Outlaw Jose Wales…”
“I will endeavor to persevere.”
I like to watch Indian street food videos on Facebook once in a while. While hygiene isn’t a top priority with many of these food vendors, skill and flair in their preparation and presentation are. But they didn’t just wake up one morning and know how to fling dosa batter around and come out with a perfectly cooked and shaped dosa for their customers. They developed that ability through years of practice. Now, people gather on the streets to watch them do their thing.
Great skill in something, almost anything, will lead to success in life.
Develop a skill. It is the wise thing to do.
