It’s a hard knock life for us. We shuffle from schools to training to classes to become the best that we can be. But the truth is that sometimes the best lessons are all around you. The best professional development institute you could ever attend is the one called life. And this post will cover who those teachers are and the lessons they preach.
I love taking classes and I adore reflecting on my own life. And there’s one thing school could never give me and it’s the relationships that teach me something special. Every connection is an opportunity to bloom in a new and shiny way.
After reading this post you’ll see that there’s a professional opportunity available for you with every turn that you make.
This post is all about the professional development institute of life and the marvelous things you learn.
The Professional Development Institute Cast of Characters
1) Family = Work Ethic
There are a ton of things that you can learn from your family. Obviously. But the one that takes the cake is your work ethic.
Your parents unintentionally train you to view work ethic in a very specific way. Through their own personal struggles, you learn how to confront your own issues. You’ll either solve or run away from a problem based on what you saw growing up.
Unfortunately, sometimes we don’t learn the value of hard work through our parents and this is something that we have to come to terms with in life. Or we see how it negatively affected our parents and we decide to break the chain.
Nonetheless, this is one lesson your family teaches you and it can either make or break you.
2) Friends = Loyalty & Trust
A solid working relationship is based on trust and loyalty, and who better to teach you this lesson than your friends?
Only through friendship do you mutually start relying on others when it comes to similar interests. You also begin confiding in others and telling them your secrets. Without these kinds of interactions, you’ll never learn how to build intimacy with others. You’re born into this level of intimacy thanks to your parents but you’re friends don’t owe you anything. You have to earn their loyalty and trust.
So make sure to be social, get some friends, and learn how to build solid relationships. Besides building solid relationships, your friends will train you how to be cool. They’ll let you know when you’re wrong, you don’t make sense, or what they need from you. It’s a great practice for life.
3) Teachers = Discipline & authority
Teachers are really the first authority figures that come into your life. You find yourself in an environment where a group of people are being supervised and managed by an authority figure. And you need to answer to this figure and abide by their requests.
This is the perfect time to work hard and prove yourself not only to your teacher but to yourself. Learning how to provide a service or submit work to your teacher provides you with real-world practice. No matter where you end up working, where you’re working, or what your dream job is, you need to provide for someone outside of yourself.
Bam and that’s how teachers train you how to create a level of discipline and how to work with authority figures.
4) Classmates = Networking
Classmates are people that are everywhere you turn. Maybe they’ll be your friend, maybe they won’t. Either way, it’s definitely awkward to spend so much of your life around people that aren’t necessarily friend status…but it doesn’t have to be.
Small talk is so incredibly important in life. It’s not always the most entertaining but being able to small talk allows you to be perceived as more personable and opens you up to a world of opportunities.
So who is the best person to learn how to small talk with? Maybe it’s the people that are floating around you? Talk about the weather, your day, and your favorite dinosaur. Literally the more random the topic the better.
5) Pets = Responsibilities
Having a pet is the best way to learn about the horrible world of adulting and responsibilities. Pets force you to be the best version of yourself. You learn that what you do impacts another beautiful life. So don’t even think about being selfish.
For example, we have all seen people walk their dogs in the cold, rain, and snow. I used to be one of those people that said “Oh I would never get a dog and walk him through these torturest conditions during ungodly hours.”
Welp, I’m that person now and it’s not that bad. In fact, I look forward to doing it, because I know how important it is to our family dog. And the look of love that they share with you afterward makes the whole act completely worth it.
6) Children = Purpose
Disclaimer: I have no babies. But I have nannied and I have super duper loving parents, so this option has been inspired by them.
Children make you reconnect with the desires and wishes you had long ago. They’re driven by curiosity and excitement and everything just becomes way more magical. And all you want to do is protect and support them.
Children give you purpose and if you’re like me with no babies, other children matter just as much. We want to create a better world for future children. Not just our ancestors but the children of the world. Everyone deserves the best and it’s a beautiful thing.
7) Boss = Negotiation & Partnership
We all have or will have a job at some point in our lives. When this happens you’ll find yourself with a boss. The one person in your life who has some financial power over you. I mean they are the ones who control your salary and livelihood.
So where does this lead to? Conversations where you have to talk about how valuable you are. Moments where you need to stick up for yourself and negotiate. Opportunities to create a partnership with your boss and knowledge on how to make all of this happen.
8) Coworkers = Collaboration
You won’t always be working on something alone. Sometimes you have to work with others that are above, under, or at your level of seniority and accolades. Whatever the class distinction, this is your moment to collaborate.
Where individual parties come together and contribute equally in the pursuit of a goal. This will happen many times in your life and it never becomes easier. It just becomes more manageable as you become better at communicating and pinpointing individual strengths.
The better you can work with others towards a similar goal, the more successful you’ll be in life and the greater the impact you create. Without collaboration and working with others you’ll never be able to lead.
9) Customer Service = Hospitality
Who needs to be a good host? Absolutely everyone. The greatest hosts are the greatest leaders.
A great host is someone who is attentive, detail orientated, empathetic, has strong emotional intelligence, and is able to make people feel well taken care of. Unfortunately, not everyone gets the opportunity to work in hospitality and I think it’s a missed opportunity.
Only after working as a cashier, barista, receptionist, hostess, server, or any other front-facing client service position are you able to practice and conquer these skills.
I can’t tell you the number of geniuses I have come across in corporate America that are barely able to say hi. All the brilliance in the world will not help you if you do not know how to be hospitable.
10) Medical Professionals = Care & Attention to Detail
The relationship you have with a medical professional is completely different from all of the other relationships you have in your life. This individual has knowledge. The knowledge that can make you very vulnerable in life. Your health is a big deal after all.
They tell you what’s good and bad about you without getting personal. Leading you to a very vulnerable but impersonal relationship. This relationship teaches you to focus on the end result. It forces you to become disciplined about your actions and doesn’t question your personality or heart.
This cold-like scenario teaches you how to compartmentalize information so that you know how to operate in the long run.
11) Yourself = Faith & Belief (The spiritual professional development institute of life)
There is no greater relationship you’ll have in this world than the one you have with yourself and if applicable with your faith. Love is all around but if you have no love for yourself then everything outside of you is just noise.
Take the time to get to know yourself. Discover what you like and journal about all the thoughts that cross your mind. Doing this will lead you to discover things about yourself. Discoveries that will help you regain composure when you’re caught off guard. And strengthen you when you’re dealing with something difficult.
Also, your life is literally what you experience and if you have rose-colored glasses or the color in the world in your life is faded, then it’s time to do some soul-searching. Only then will you be able to have all of the other relationships that have been mentioned on this list.
This post was all about the professional development institute of life.
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