The Skill Tree Series
The Tenets to Growing a Skill Tree
To grow a tree, the right preparation and soil are required
A flourishing tree and a blossoming flower do not happen by mistake. It requires the right conditions to germinate and steadily grow.
The factors that contribute to successful growth can be adapted to our skill tree. As part of my skill tree series, I explore the lessons I have learnt from games and they can help us develop and meet our goals.
In this third entry, I explore what it means to grow a tree, and the lessons that I apply to my life. Hopefully from this post you can takeaway a few points that can help you in your journey.
To Grow a Skill Tree:
- A porous soil — Creating a healthy foundation and acquiring necessary prerequisites
- Light and temperature — Monitoring and tracking your skills
- Access to water and nutrition — Resources needed to attain a skill
- Organic growth — No shortcuts to attaining skills
- Sufficient time— Consistency over intensity when developing skills
A Porous Soil
For any skill/goal, a healthy foundation is needed. A healthy foundation involves a good headspace. If your mental well-being is not in a good condition, your willpower to pursue your aspirations will be a significant restraint.
It could be that one of your goals is to enter a positive headspace, and therefore using a skill tree will help you to do so. Whether you have good or bad mental health, acknowledging that this is the first prerequisite needed for subsequent skills is paramount.
Being able to identify and regulate my emotions is a skill that I am constantly developing. Needless to say, physical health is crucial to the improvement of character. I am not saying you have to look like the next Dwayne Johnson, but mental and physical health go hand in hand, and so both need attention
Betterhelp and Headspace are two online services that provide mental therapy. Formal therapy may not be for everyone, so speaking to a trusted family member or friend is also a suggested option.
When catering to physical health there will be a mountain of resources. Though, a helpful mindset that I follow is to keep a conscious track of what I am eating and how often I exercise. I have set a limit of 1 takeaway and a minimum of 3 exercises a week.
A Suitable Amount of Light and Temperature
A tenet in self improvement is monitoring the progress you have made. It is important to track how far you have developed and identify the next steps needed to increase the proficiency of a skill or move on to a subsequent skill.
When thinking about the growth of a tree, consider how you may track the level of light and temperature it receives.
Working too hard may cause burnout. Working too little may result in goals never being met creating frustration.
The value of a skill tree stems from its ability to map out different skills and its interconnectedness. By using a skill tree, we can reflect on our progress and decide whether we are making steady growth.
In tracking my development, I try to be intentional with my actions and conscious of how much effort I am putting into different areas of my life. A skill tree helps me visualise where I may be lacking and succeeding. Currently, my focus has been spent on finding a job, which has distracted the development of my writing. As a response, I am conscious of this happening and therefore planning ahead of the changes that need to be made.
Access to Water and Nutrition
Access to appropriate resources is vital of a skill tree. Without suitable means of water and nutrition, a tree will not grow. Likewise to personal development, the lack of networks and time will prevent a person from fulfilling their goals.
Time being the most important asset, it is essential to allocate dedicated time to developing a skill.
The frequency is up to you, it could be 30 mins every 2 days, or 2 hours every week. Keeping to this routine is paramount. Unfortunately, for many people around the world access to resources is severely restricted, and out of their control. When time is restricted an option could be to lean on the efforts of others. Grow a network of people and leverage their expertise to support you.
Organic Growth. Ignore the Fertilisers
There are no shortcuts to self improvement, so dispel the belief that you can get a toned body in 3 weeks. Those guides that supposedly sell you the secret recipe to unlock your true self only to tell you the information you already know but haven’t executed on. Except for this guide. My guide. So a simple purchase of $129 (Paypal accepted), will turn you into the person you hate to be. The person who got scammed.
No, but seriously, organic growth is the best type of growth. We have all heard the stories of overnight successes turning out to be a total mess in a couple of years. Organic personal development means none of the juicers. It means you followed a tried and tested approach, that being failure is inevitable.
Being organic requires more resilience. Without the over supplementation of antibiotics, you instead develop your antibodies. When you grow organically, your goals and skills are more rewarding. You also have a stronger level of proficiency, giving you easier access to neighbouring skills. Organic is the way. Don’t take it from me, take it from those gluten free sucking vampires.
Sufficient Time
In the case of wanting to be better and successful, we constantly forget how far we have come. There is a phrase that says, the person you are now, is what your younger self aspired to be. It all boils down to gratitude, being able to realise that though you still have a way to go, you have also made great strides in coming so far.
Remember these moments, the small wins, since it reinforces a positive growth mindset to keep on going despite the tenuous, difficult and long journey. Valuing consistency over intensity are the bones that make personal development successful.
This idea highlights the importance of not exposing yourself to too much. It is acknowledging that rest is as important as work. Taking the foot off the pedal will be necessary, especially if you’re steering into the wrong lane, about to crash.
Final Thoughts
When I am impatient at my lack of progress, I look towards the outdoors. In my blissful gaze, I ground and remind myself that beautiful things take time to grow.
For me, organic growth and sufficient time are the two primary drivers to growing a successful skill tree. Without these two factors, my skill tree will remain a humble seedling.
