Training - Why Bother?
Dr. Michel Classe

To understand the benefits of a good training program, we must first define what training is: the dictionary defines training as "any activity leading to skilled behavior." That broad description could cover everything from a physical conditioning program to learning a new task at work to understanding new life-coping skills.

Let~s examine both sides of this issue. While training of any kind certainly does take some time - is it really a waste of time? Whether it~s a physical training program, or a class on how to manage your money, or learning a new software system at work, training will certainly take time out of your day that you could have spent doing something else. But are you getting value for the time invested in that training?

Surprisingly, there are many people who feel that training is an utter waste of time - no matter the subject. Perhaps these people feel that they already know everything they need to know to deal with life and work. Perhaps they~ve reached a plateau in their professional life where they are completely comfortable with their skills, and believe that they can remain in their current position until they reach retirement without any further growth or development. Try to imagine the owner or manager of a company attempting to decide which of two employees is more deserving of a promotion and a raise. The employer compares the two employees: one is eager to learn new ways to do things, streamline the company~s operations and improve the corporate profit structure. The other employee is stagnant, hasn~t learned a new approach in years, and is basically treading water until he is eligible for his pension. Which employee do you think will get the promotion?

Training offers far more than increased knowledge. It offers the opportunity to keep your mind motivated and energized - creating a climate of life-long learning that can continually open new doors and present you with new opportunities. Training also adds value to your marketability; as you add knowledge and skills you~re also adding additional productivity and dollar value to your profile. The greater perception others in your field have of your skill set, the more monetary value you will have in that field.

They say knowledge is power - and a good training program puts knowledge in the hands of those who most need it - from someone recovering from an illness who needs a way to build strength and flexibility, to employees of a corporation who must implement new cost-cutting strategies, to people rebuilding their personal lives after a momentous change - a training program can be adapted to help people in each of these situations.

A good training program can expand your mind, heal your physical complaints or re-direct your life~s options. Yet there are those who persist in refusing to see the value in training - seeming to fear the process or feel that training is a waste of time. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

So why bother to implement a life-long training program in all aspects of your life? Because it can impart wisdom in many forms, and we call all use more wisdom in our lives.

Those who are resistant to training are frequently resistant to change - and change is one of the immutable laws of life. Life is not a moment caught in time - it is an ever-moving, constantly-in-motion evolutionary process. Those who cannot adapt to the changing conditions will drown in the torrent - and those who train hard will be able to make the adjustments necessary to succeed in life.

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