My friend picked a new MacBook recently and the first thing she did was to take Apple Care, to insure the safety of her laptop.
Good foresight and planning.
I’m sure you too would’ve done the same for your expensive gadgets, homes, cars, and even health.
But have you taken similar steps for yourself, and I don’t mean life insurance? What steps have you taken to prepare for the biggest uncertainty of all – yourself?
What I’m referring to isn’t financial but personal. Skills, emotional resilience, improved perspective. These are forms of self-insurance that will support you in ways you don’t expect.
Most often this part is ignored. As if life would continue in the same track. I hope it does, I really do. But what if…?
Being prepared for the ‘what if’ moments is what makes the difference.
The Assets That Never Lose Value
Just look at the way things are going around. Can’t say anything with certainty about anything.
The markets are as unpredictable as the monsoons. Industries are going through changes. Hence, the jobs are equally temperamental. And technology is growing faster than you can say bazinga.
In short, there’s an urgent need to upskill yourself in case you don’t want to be caught unprepared. The skills that helped you until now may become obsolete in the rapidly changing conditions.
What you require are portable assets that will stay with you wherever you go. You can change jobs, locations, profile, online or offline, anything but these assets go with you.
Your qualifications get you noticed by adding theoretical credibility to your resume. What will keep you relevant are your skills.
Competencies like communication, critical thinking, emotional regulation, adaptability, and ability to learn quickly, are all-weather skills.
After spending years in the corporate and watching his life unravel when the axe well, my friend was left looking desperately for ways to get back on his feet.
That’s when he realised the bitter reality that he wasn’t indispensable to the organisation. Just another cog in the big corporate wheel.
But what he had, the knowledge and expertise, was his alone. And that’s what he used to rebuild his life as a consultant. He’s back in action, stronger and more confident.
Lesson: Markets fluctuate but your skills remain to build your character.
Why Young People Delay Investing in Themselves
This is something I learnt during the college workshops. The common concern the institutions had was how to get the students interested in attending these workshops.
It was not because the students were incapable. They were just not interested because they saw no urgency in learning something which they would not need immediately. For them, uncertainty feels too far away.
Graduation felt distant. Jobs and careers were automatic. Opportunities would appear, almost guaranteed.
Their misplaced confidence creates an illusion which becomes difficult to get through.
So when they reach the final year, reality hits them hard. They run out of time, juggling between projects and preparations for job interviews.
They ask us for the magic trick and there’s none that we can offer. You can’t build your personality and skill set over a weekend.
Sadly, the years when they’ve the most time to invest in themselves are the years they value the least.
Self-Investment Is Self-Insurance
What most miss out on acknowledging is that when you learn something, it’s yours for life. You can’t unlearn something valuable.
Reframe your learning so it complements you.
Learn something which will further strengthen your core skill set, help you build on them to make you an expert.
If you focus on learning for the sake of promotions or certifications, then their utility will end with that job.
Your objective for learning is to be prepared for the unpredictable life.
Read books that matter.
Attend workshops that challenge how you think.
Have difficult conversations to develop your mind.
Acquire new skills even if they appear unnecessary right now.
These will quietly build a reserve for you to draw upon when life changes unexpectedly. You’ll never be caught off-guard.
The compound interest on this will become the biggest asset you’ll ever own.
Be the Asset That Appreciates
It’s all so unpredictable right now. You can lose money. Your titles can disappear. The company you’re working in can shut down.
But you’re still you. Those investments in yourself will begin to show their true worth.
The smart investors know that it’s not prudent to put all their wealth into one asset. The same applies to you too.
Why would you put your entire future into a single degree or a single job? Will it suffice the evolving requirements of your employers, present or future?
No.
The best and only way to future-proof yourself is to invest in yourself, the one asset that appreciates no matter where life takes you.
Time to rethink your investment strategy. Treat your skills as your insurance policy.
