Just Another Tool

By day, I am a contractor, mostly painting, but I tackle other projects as well, and as with most contractors out there, I have a plethora of tools at my disposal. Some I use all the time, others I purchased for a very specific purpose that rears its head every few years if that often. I have large tools and small ones, each has their place and their purpose, some serving more than one purpose depending on the circumstance. And as with most everyone’s tools, you can tell which ones are used most by the wear and tear exhibited on their handles or teeth or jaws or bristles or any other mechanism. I know many homeowners who aren’t contractors that have a multitude of tools as well, why? Because if you live in a house, something is going to break and is going to need fixing. Or, because that daring homeowner wants to take on a larger project and improve the quality and/or look of their home. If we are so eager and ready to buy the physical tools necessary to perform jobs more efficiently and with ease, then why are we so hesitant as we get older to accumulate tools of a nondescript nature, those that pertain to knowledge and wisdom? These tools, as with physical ones, might be used every day or be called upon only in certain situations, but they, as with physical tools, are valuable.

Years ago, I used to think that any “training” associated with a job or organization was a waste of my time. Why should I get involved in participating in more training when I already knew so much? There was no way I could gain anything from the training. Why learn something new when everything is working just fine right now? Well, as I got older, I began to see the benefit of always participating in training, or picking up a book to learn something new, or tackling a problem that requires a new set of skills that I’d have to learn. While training and gaining knowledge may seem cumbersome, a drain on the precious little time we already have in a day, the rewards we get from adding another tool to our mental toolbox is invaluable. Every mental tool we add, whatever form of knowledge it gives us, builds on what we already have inside of us. Even if we are going through a training multiple times or re-reading a book again and again, there is always some new bit of knowledge that we missed previously that we can now add and learn. Its the same reason people go to see a good movie multiple times, because you can’t absorb all the information the first time. Sometimes it takes multiple viewings, or attending multiple trainings, or re-taking a class every few years for us to learn and absorb as much as possible. For example, I am a member of a networking organization and for a few year in a row as I held a spot on the leadership team, I would have to attend a training every year. Every time I got something new out of it. Sure, some of it was repetitive, but there was always something new to learn as well, something to improve my own performance and that of my group. So as I grow older, I am making a concerted effort to keep on learning, to keep on admitting I don’t know it all, to constantly ask more questions, to probe about the things I want to learn.

So what am I doing now? What tools am I adding to my toolbox? Well, its not just one thing or one skill. I have always been a lover of philosophy, of learning about how and why things are the way they are but also delving into who I am and how I can be a better person. This past spring I read through a 4 book series on the cardinal virtues of Stoicism (by Ryan Holiday) and was hooked. I am more eager to learn now than I have been in a long time. The books were invigorating and big part of why I decided to start writing my blog again. In addition to adding philosophical tools to my toolbox, over the past few years I have been taking more outdoor training courses, the first one being Wilderness First Aid as well as CPR classes and coming up this winter, a Cold Weather Leader Training to become proficient in outdoor survival during the cold winter months up north. What will I do with these outdoor training tools? Well, to start, they will aid me in offering more high adventure opportunities to scouts, but beyond that, I can utilize them in my own life as I embark on more outdoor adventures. I am an avid outdoorsman and will do anything I can to add to my toolbox those tools that will help me survive outside and thrive while doing so. So what new tools are you adding to your toolbox? What are you learning that will build on your knowledge base and make you more valuable? What do you want to learn that you just haven’t started yet?

(Check out the cool praying mantis below, saw him on a roof as I was painting the other day.)