In our daily lives we encounter challenges and ask ourselves questions that could be hard to answer. Many people react in different ways, some ignore their curiosity and deny that they need guidance, some search for them on the Internet, and another group of people turn to someone much experienced who they consider inspiring and wise. The person the third group turn to is called a mentor.
A mentor is the person whom you turn to for motivation, inspiration, guidance and clarity. From time to time, we need second opinions on matter going on in our personal lives, in our academics, career path, spiritual journey and so on. That it is what a mentor is for. He/she is not a superhuman or angel from heaven who is going to do miracles for you, not even to solve your problems; but rather to direct you through your path because he or she has been there or knows better. Mentorship is not a formal system, neither a therapy session look-a-like process. It is simply having a personal teacher-learner relationship with someone you trust who is more experienced than you are.
I believe each one of us should have a mentor, or two, or more. But where does one find these people? In my opinion, mentors are all around us, we just have to look carefully to find out who they are. After all we know what is better for ourselves so we would know who fits to lead us in a certain aspect of life. For you to get the right mentor, you have to know what you want first. No matter how scary of far fetched you think it is, if you really want it, declare that you want it and you will do the beat to get it. And that is where a mentor comes in. Approach someone that you trust and believe have knowledge that is useful to you and simply ask them to guide you. It can be your teachers, professors, your boas at work, family member or friends.
Start by trusting yourself and the people around you. It is important to have someone you can call when you are stuck, because in life we are going to get stuck a lot. You do not have to talk to your mentor every day, just once in a while (so you also leave them with time to attend to their other duties).
It is not only good to have a mentor, it’s also great to be someone’s mentor. There is someone who is behind you and looks up to you. You might have gone through more in life, have experience or simply more energy, and that person could use some of your advice. You do not have to wait for people to ask you to guide, often it comes naturally and all you have to do is accept and do it. We can grow and learn from teaching, so you are not only doing the other person a favour but enhancing your knowledge and wisdom.