When you were a child, you learn from the people around you especially your parents, as you grow up, you start learning mathematics, science, history, and other languages, and then you step outside of your home to face real life: the apprenticeship phase when you enter a new career, a new job, and you have no idea how things work, and you just marvel at everything. You just wonder how your mind expands and find answers to mysterious questions when you are involved in fields you love. Time passes so quickly, and you do not want to waste a second of your life since learning is fun, and you are enjoying it. Your childhood plays a key role in apprenticeship, if you were raised as a timid and suppressed person, you would doubt your abilities and skills and would miss a lot of opportunities. If you were morals were high and had confidence, you would boldly confront problems and would not hesitate to make critical decisions. You can make wise decisions when you have your fears controlled. A foggy mind always makes useless decisions that lead to a catastrophic end.
“After your formal education, you enter the most critical phase in your life—a second, practical education known as The Apprenticeship. Every time you change careers or acquire new skills, you reenter this phase of life. The dangers are many. If you are not careful, you will succumb to insecurities, and become embroiled in emotional issues and conflicts that will dominate your thoughts; will develop fears and learning disabilities that you will carry with you throughout your life. Before it is too late you must learn the lessons and follow the path established by the greatest Masters, past and present—a kind of Ideal Apprenticeship that transcends all fields. In the process, you will master the necessary skills, discipline your mind, and transform yourself into an independent thinker, prepared for the creative challenges on the way to mastery.”
Makes you an independent person:
You were born as a dependent being, in your childhood, you were dependent on your parents. Later, your dependency grows on parents friends, and other people in your surroundings whose worlds feel real to you, and gradually your personality gets molded; you see yourself through their lens which suppresses your uniqueness and sublime qualities. You feel lost until you enter the apprenticeship; you face life; you face new people; you get aware of your weaknesses. What you had heard about yourself now feels unreal since you are dealing with different people who look at you through a different lens. You gradually fit the pieces together to understand your true identity. You let go of past convictions and old ways of life that no longer fit in the new circumstances, you begin to transform yourself from a dependent person to an independent person while going through dark days; accepting harsh criticisms; bearing hardships; indulging in arguments; adapting yourself to a new way of life. The beginning is hard, but as time passes by, you get used to it, and now you are less inclined to depend on other people; you do not let their words shape you into someone that is not you. Now, you have developed a set of skills, and people around you depend on you since you are unique with skills and knowledge.
“Still uncertain as to our identity, we think that what matters in the work world is gaining attention and making friends. And these misconceptions and naïveté are brutally exposed in the light of the real world.”
The transformation of your mind and character:
The beauty of apprenticeship is you improve from time to time since you are thrust into the real world, and you have no option but to live with wolves and get adjusted. You are no longer in the protection of your parents and friends, you are dealing with people who are more skilled and qualified than you in your respective field. You make mistakes and you keep learning; your mind expands; your character changes, and you emerge as a new person. You expose your work to public scrutiny; you make bold moves; you begin to believe in yourself after attempting difficult problems on your own that boost your confidence and energy.
“In the process you will transform yourself from someone who is impatient and scattered into someone who is disciplined and focused, with a mind that can handle complexity. In the end, you will master yourself and all of your weaknesses.”
Move toward challenges:
When you choose an easy apprenticeship for yourself, you hardly learn new things since you face fewer challenges and problems. Facing challenges and complicated problems that you have not faced before makes you strong and prepared for upcoming problems. When you enter a tough apprenticeship, you come out as a great person who can face any sort of problem in the future. You happily move toward challenges; you accept them, and you emerge victorious and indispensable. At the outset, things look gloomy and difficult, but once you taste the sweetness of your labor, you crave more arduous problems that sharpen your skills and enhance your creativity and mind flexibility.
“This has a simple consequence: you must choose places of work and positions that offer the greatest possibilities for learning. Practical knowledge is the ultimate commodity, and is what will pay you dividends for decades to come —far more than the paltry increase in pay you might receive at some seemingly lucrative position that offers fewer learning opportunities.”
Disciplined and focused:
The beauty of apprenticeship is it makes you disciplined and focused since you are in the competitive world now, and everything depends on speed and accuracy which comes from discipline. Once you know that you are on your own and the people around you in your field are getting ahead, you become cautious of your time and actions. Once you solve a problem, you feel more confident and energetic and are prepared for the next problem. Discipline comes automatically when you are assigned a task that needs to be finished by a specific deadline, in such situations, you do not have an option, but to speed up and finish the task in the time allocated.
“In the process you will transform yourself from someone who is impatient and scattered into someone who is disciplined and focused, with a mind that can handle complexity. In the end, you will master yourself and all of your weaknesses.”
Craft your own future:
When you enter an apprenticeship, you find your life’s task and pursue your career while going through challenges and accepting negative feedback and criticisms that improve the quality of your work and your patience to accept diverse views. You craft your future step by step, end each step gives you energy and freedom. You become more creative in life, and hone your skills to get ahead in your field.
“You are finally on your own, on a voyage in which you will craft your own future. It is the time of youth and adventure—of exploring the world with an open mind and spirit.”
References:
- Greene, R. (2013). Mastery. Penguin.