MENTORSHIP | PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT | GROWTH

This is Why You Need a Mentor More Than You Think.

If you have been thinking about it, go for it. If you are not thinking about it still go for it.

If you were thrown the opportunity to be mentored for free for the next three months, what would you do?

Would you turn down the offer?

Or would you seize the opportunity without thinking twice?

This was a decision I had to make about three weeks ago. I inadvertently joined one successful woman’s channel on WhatsApp only to be met with the opportunity to be her mentee for the next three months.

Petra Aba Asamoah is her name.

Being totally indifferent about the idea of channels on WhatsApp, my navigation towards this channel was quite divine, so to speak.

I recently read a story where the author wrote about how much mentorship changed his life. This was after I submitted the application to be a mentee and got in.

I was convinced that I had just won a jackpot after reading the story.

As if having two technical mentors hasn’t proven to me already that having a mentor is a big advantage.

There are four main kinds of people reading this article right now;

• Those who have mentors and are already reaping the benefits
• Those who don’t have mentors, but appreciate the idea of getting one
• Those who don’t have mentors and clearly don’t want any
• Those who have no idea who a mentor is or what they really do

In very simple terms, a mentor is a guide.

More elaborately, a mentor is a more experienced, knowledgeable person who can advise, assist, and support you on a particular journey be it professional or personal.

Unless you are omniscient (we both know you aren’t), you need a mentor.

I’ll let you in on the benefits of having a mentor very soon but before that let’s delve into the whole idea of mentorship.

Mentorship

The concept of mentorship is quite remarkable because in one way or the other we have been mentored before.

Your high school senior showing you the ropes from time to time as a junior is some form of mentorship.

Your dad helping you get the hang of operating your family business is also some form of mentorship.

The examples go on and on.

Even without the knowledge of the fact that you were being mentored, you’d attest that it impacted your life positively one way or the other.

So what makes intentional mentorship worth it?

Well here are 4 reasons why having a mentor will be beneficial to you:

1. It will save you a lot of time: This is one of the most rewarding benefits of having a mentor. With a mentor’s help, you can easily steer clear of certain challenges— ones that could cost you years of wasted time. By virtue of your mentor’s experience you will not have to make the same mistakes they made.
2. You will learn a lot of things quickly: Mentors are extremely knowledgeable. Just by paying attention to their everyday lives you can pick some learnings that will help you on your journey in life or more specifically, your career. Sometimes, most of the lessons are in the little things. In addition to this, you will have the opportunity to ask questions. No great mentor will hold back valuable information from you.
3. Mentors can be great accountability partners: In an effective mentorship relationship, timelines are golden. You will have targets. Whenever there are targets, there are timelines. And whenever there are timelines, there is the tendency to miss them or completely throw them into the ocean. Normally, it is very easy to fail at meeting your deadlines when there is no-one to hold you accountable. Mentors can be very good at holding their mentees accountable.
4. Self actualization: Mentors are not teachers. They don’t teach you how to reach your goals. This is one mistake people make. They think mentors will teach them how to get a good job or how to build a better career. It’s far from that. The capacity of a mentor pushes you to look within and figure out the best version of you. This version of you knows what it wants and with the appropriate leading, how to get it.

Navigating a path in life is not easy.

In fact, everyone will have to find their path and traverse it.

Also, having a mentor does not guarantee that you’re going to be smooth sailing in the various facets of your life.

However, with a mentor in the picture it becomes much easier because you are not alone.

Thank you so much for reading to the end.

If you found this helpful or can relate in any way do leave some claps or highlight and comment with your thoughts.

Also, if you loved my writing take a look at other stories of mine:

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