4 Reasons Why You Should Have a Mentor

4 Reasons Why You Should Have a Mentor

Growing up, I didn’t want help; I knew what I was doing and when I didn’t, I faked it [I’m still guilty of this on occasion].  It wasn’t really until college that I truly understood the benefits of other people’s influence in my life.  It wasn’t that I had a major epiphany— it was more so that I finally trusted that people around me cared about me and wanted to make an impact on me.  I knew this all along, but college was the beginning of me opening up my eyes and seeing that other people really can help me become a “better me.”  Over the last three years, I’ve had four or five mentors and I am eternally grateful for all of them.  I’ve learned more about myself, people, and the world around me in the last three years than I did in my first 18 years on earth.  This list isn’t exhaustive by any means, but here are four reasons why I believe everyone can gain from having a mentor.

The “Been there, done that” Idea

We’ve all heard it, over and over again.  We’ve all heard the saying because there’s a whole lot of truth in it.  Whatever stage you're in right now— be it middle school, high school, graduation, marriage, parenthood, mid-life— this is as far as you’ve been in life.  A mentor has been farther.  A mentor has experienced the entire stage and now sits on the other side of it.  They possess attitudes and approaches that we can learn from as we go through each stage of life.

Perspective

My perspective is my perspective and your perspective is your perspective.  These are almost fully molded by our upbringing and surroundings and it is really hard to see other sides of issues sometimes.  A mentor can potentially provide you with another set of eyes with which to see something. A mentor may be able to give to you a different mentality about an issue in which you had never thought of before.  At the very least, a mentor can be someone to discuss perspectives with and possibly even disagree with you about perspectives.  No matter the scenario, you are able to learn more about yourself and do so with a trustworthy person who wants to see you succeed.

Networks

Mentors can be a link to a whole new network to you.  Simply put, relationships drive the world.  More often than not, people get jobs based on who they know rather than what they know or how many times they submit an application.  I am not suggesting that you seek out mentors simply for who they know, but I am suggesting that you use your mentor as a resource.  One of my current mentors is helping me in my quest to land the right job coming out of college.  He has given me people to contact, recommendations, and insights I would otherwise not know. 

Self-Awareness & Accountability

It is said that the things that you don’t know about yourself are some of your most identifiable traits (good or bad).  You need someone who can call you out on things and help you to improve yourself.  Trust me when I say that I am not one to take criticism well.  Why?  Because it’s hard for me to admit that I’m wrong about most anything.  At the end of the day though, I am super appreciative of someone who challenges me and constructively criticizes me in a way that is honest but not demeaning or ugly.  Because if you can’t see your flaws and you’re not willing to let someone tell you about them, how are you ever going to mature or develop further as a person?  Accountability essentially goes hand in hand with self-awareness: it’s all about trusting someone that knows you and sees all of the potential in you.

I can’t tell my mentors enough how impactful they’ve been on my life.  In the same regards, I can’t tell you enough how impactful a mentor may be on your life.  It’s just one of those things that you have to first believe that you need.  The person you are today is great, but the person you can be tomorrow has the potential to be greater than today.