Cultivating Resourcefulness: A Personal Evolution

But how does one train oneself, especially when my own training seemed to be more of an ‘unbeknownst to me’ process?

About 13 or 15 years ago, an intimate person imparted a piece of wisdom that has stayed with me: resourcefulness is a crucial skill, and being a resourceful individual is a worthy pursuit at any time. He shared this insight with utmost humility, grace, and kindness—a true sign of class, in my opinion. This feedback was in response to my underdeveloped faculties at the time. Honestly, I was not efficient in producing quality work, and to make matters worse, I took longer than reasonably acceptable. In other words, I spent a lot of time developing borderline subpar results. While this feedback wasn’t always top of mind over the years, the message did register somewhere in my brain—parfois on apprend à son insu.

Nearly three years ago, it dawned on me that I had become more adept at producing quality work at a much faster pace. It felt as if I had experienced a sort of intellectual growth and improvement, which I assumed was what he was referring to back then.

Reflecting on this improved efficiency and proficiency, I began to truly appreciate the power and impact of being resourceful. Resourceful individuals seem to resolve issues, find solutions, and think more clearly, even in the face of unwelcome surprises. To use a term I read on LinkedIn some months ago, I honed my ‘figureability’ muscle. This led me to ask myself: Can one train oneself to be resourceful? To that question, I give a resounding ‘Yes!’

But how does one train oneself, especially when my own training seemed to be more of an ‘unbeknownst to me’ process? Since I first received that feedback, I never explicitly set out to read or learn new things to become more resourceful. However, in the years that followed, I became more disciplined and intentional about learning new things. I read and learned voraciously along the way. I opted not to specialize in a single topic but instead pursued an ‘Expert Generalist’ path. Undoubtedly, you’ll find varying definitions of ‘resourceful,’ but in my humble opinion, being resourceful means executing in the face of the unknown with cautious confidence in one’s inner ability to figure it out.

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