Dig What You Do & Do What You Dig

To be happier, make your interest a vital part of your life

I used to work in the video production industry. As a member of a small production house, I did everything: project management, writing, directing, editing, serving as production staff, and even doing sales. After moving to Japan to teach English, I wanted to find a way to continue using my video production skills. So I took my camera and went out to shoot nature. I edited those clips into mindfulness videos and created a podcast. Then went on to produce it for almost five years. At its high point, Relaxation Media was the #1 wellness video-podcast worldwide on iTunes.

The ancillary skills I learned to support the podcast: creating a website and updating it using a content management system (CMS), writing a blog, and marketing allowed me to do a career switch a few years later, becoming a brand manager for a company in the entertainment industry and marketing some of the biggest pay-per-view events ever. My efforts contributed to the company I worked for earning tens of millions of dollars, and I didn’t do too badly either. What skill do you have or want to learn that can help you to contribute more to your work, community, or the world than you do now?

Become the expert in your network

To create an upward spiral for your life, it is helpful to have an appreciation of something beyond the day-to-day grind. It can be a personal or professional interest. The key is to enjoy it. Having a passion for something allows you to experience struggle without stress, learning without fear of failure, and a whole new perspective that carries over into other aspects of life, too.

A deep dive into developing your abilities will allow you an outlet for your skills and talents that are being underutilized. Continuing to develop those aptitudes will provide you opportunities to stretch your knowledge and try things on the cusp of your abilities. This is a great way to grow.

It used to be that you would go to university or learn a trade, then hunker down in a profession for years at a time. After work and on weekends, you were free to enjoy your time off, and you could do whatever you wanted. When Monday rolled in, it was back to the grind. Today’s working environment is quite different. People are finding ways to turn their interests into side hustles and new occupations. Regardless of your interest, from gamers and coders to spiritualists and artists, there are so many ways to profit from what you love to do, financially or otherwise. That pursuit of your interest and developing specific abilities is easier than ever before.

Here is a professional example from my own life that you can apply to yours as well:

I was introduced to emotional intelligence, EQ, through a unit I taught to an advanced English class a few years ago. This seemed really interesting to me. As a result, I read books, watched videos, and created a learning plan to continue improving my own emotional intelligence. These activities helped me to gain a depth of knowledge, allowing me to pass on my emotional intelligence literacy to others. This is now one of the pillars of my own coaching practice.

Discover

Try those things that pique your interest, even if they seem outside of your realm of usefulness. Those whispers are unlocking doors to a more expansive version of yourself. Immerse yourself in the activity for a time. It may be a few days or a couple of weeks. You could do this by reading some books or articles, watching online videos, or even taking a course or some lessons. Take the time to sample a topic, become familiar with it, and apply some of your learning. This will help you to understand if the subject is something worthy of deeper exploration. You may find that superficial knowledge is sufficient for you today, and that is ok, too. You may also find that by broadening your depth of knowledge you are able to change your future.

Create a Learning Plan

If this is something that lights a fire within, you create a learning plan. You could take a course, join a group, continuing a deeper dive into books, articles, and videos. Whatever you decide to do, commit to it for three to six months. That will give you time to raise your knowledge base past a level of curiosity and achieve a deeper appreciation of the area.

Apply What You have learned

Now that you have a more rounded level of knowledge, you should continue to learn by teaching. Your knowledge is on display when you apply what you know to help another. This solidifies the information in your own mind, too.

When you teach, you need to be able to explain the ideas and concepts in ways that others can understand. This challenges you to think about the topic from all angles. If there is a gap in your knowledge, you will know it. That will help you to continue your development. Likewise, if you can present the information in a useful way, you will know that you have a firm grasp of the foundations of that subject.

Continue to Grow

As you find activities that you can be mentally engaged in and that interest will help you to expand your mind, resulting in increased mental capacity and creativity for handling all sorts of situations. As your toolset grows, you will also be more creative in solving problems and handling conflict. As a result, you should feel less stress and anxiety when you have to cope with dilemmas.

Knowledge is power. Applying your abilities across vastly different situations helps to raise your overall confidence, too. So whether your new talent is a hobby, a professional interest, or a completely new endeavor, study what you love and become skilled enough to apply what you have learned skillfully.

Growing your skills in an area where you have interest also creates freedom to explore and the ability to become an expert. Doing this will also give you a sense of freedom that you can do something that releases. Finally, developing your abilities is an investment in your future. As you learn and apply that knowledge, you are making yourself more valuable in every situation.

End the Imposter Syndrome

We have all felt that we are imposters at one time or another, whether we are being paid too much or teaching someone to do something we are underqualified for. The best remedy for that is to continue building your skills. Developing skills and applying those increases your personal credibility. As you build confidence in yourself, you will unreservedly not feel like an imposter anymore.

My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there.

Charles Kettering

Tying it all together

Growing your skills and appreciation in areas outside of those required in your daily or professional life will expand your consciousness. The development of this knowledge and/or skill will allow you to learn without stress because you find joy in the process.

As you continue to develop your ability, use it to educate someone else. This will test your understanding and raise your confidence. As you share your newfound talents with others, you will validate your knowledge. This will also help to eliminate feelings of being an imposter and replace those with the awareness that you are an expert in your circle. That confidence will then carry over to other aspects of your life too.

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