The 10 life skills that can change your life

By Haneena Atheeq - August 09, 2020

Photo by Skillscouter on Unsplash
Here's a story to begin with before we understand why life skills are important. Let me introduce you to George and Jeff.
George, a full time employee at an IT firm was confident that he could get a promotion with his analytical skills in the research team. He had a fixed mindset and always had a particular way of dealing without understanding his colleagues and often took decisions single-handedly.

Meanwhile, Jeff, another employee in the same IT firm who works in the product management team had a growth mindset and always tried his best to understand and bring innovative ideas with his team.

Promotion results were announced.

Jeff lands with a promotion while George doesn't.

The results were obvious. Jeff's personality and skills helped him get through challenging problems and offer innovative solutions while George's difficult personality and inability to communicate with his team had restricted him from having a diverse experience.

The difference in the result of the story is due to the approach that George and Jeff practised. And this approach was largely due to their mindsets and skills.

What do you think Jeff had that landed him a promotion?

As humans of the 21st century, we want to be faster, smarter and healthier. But all these goals are just thoughts in our minds until we actually practice it.

The need to have a healthier life has outgrown in demand and become a necessity in these times due to the growing involvement of technology in our daily lives.

Believe it! It's not going to be easy to build a new habit in this era filled with countless distractions. But it has been proved numerous times that a strong desire, discipline and self control can overcome any adversity in life.

Before you get started, make sure you have the 3 constant requirements to learn any skill in the world.
     A strong why / desire
     A plan to follow
     Consistency

Once you have realised the requirements, practice the skills mentioned below.


Why life skills?

When we say 'life skills', there's a huge reason why we call it life skills and not just skills.
The most successful people in the world claim that there are certain habits that they have changed or inculcated which has made a lot of difference in their lives. And these life skills are something that we all can develop inorder to have a successful personal and professional life. These skills can prepare us for all the obstacles that are to come in our journey.


The 10 life skills

1.            Read regularly 

Photo by Bethany Laird on Unsplash

● One of the most successful and popular influencer of all times, Oprah Winfrey says that, "Reading is the strongest signal for success in the future. I have never ever met a person who was a great reader when they were young who was not successful. It is the absolute best foundation ever in life".

● When you read, you're going to develop that level of ideas, understanding and command over any language that very few possess.

● Read anything that interests you. It's a wonder that all the knowledge and ideas of different people in different parts of the world can reach us through books. Books travels through time and survives the stories and ideas even today across generations giving us various lessons without going through those experiences in life.

● Books also helps you manage your stress by preserving your sanity from all sorts of digital life.

2.            Setting goals

Photo by Marcus Winkler on Unsplash

"A man without a purpose is like a train without any destination".

● Have something to look upto everyday.

Find your purpose, Set constant short term goals and make plans to achieve them. Thus, it will give you a sense of achievement when you complete these goals and also make you want to achieve more.

It's a big productivity booster, Most of our procrastination is due to uncertainty and having no plan. Decluttering your brain and organising your plans is the best way for you to start on building a growth mindset.


3.            Maintaining your health.

Photo by Olia Nayda on Unsplash

  ● Most of the stress we face is due to our lifestyle.This is one of the most important skills to reduce all sorts of stress in your life.

● Learning to exercise and meditate regularly will keep you active and self aware.

● Pick up one exercise, do it everyday and see how it changes your wellbeing in just one week.

● Exercising releases Endorphins, which is also known as the 'Happy hormone'. It not just boosts your energy, but also gives you a sense of well-being and positivity in your life.

● Maintaining hygiene and keeping yourself clean is another practice that we all must do regularly. You might have felt the sense of relief and peace instantly after you take a bath.Yeah, that's a solution we all know, but we often think of it as the last resort while handling stress.
● Eat healthy and appetizing food, Diet plans doesn't mean to starve yourself, but to eat nutritious superfoods along with regular meals.

● Do not deprive yourself from the food you love, but make sure you have them in moderate quantities.
● Save your mental space, Mental health is equally important as that of physical health when it comes to well-being

● Understand what's causing you the pain rather than suppressing the negative emotions.

When you truly understand the cause of your pain, you learn to face them. Remember, most of our negative emotions and thoughts are held by us.

Learn to overcome them.

4.            Learn to adapt

Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash
● Whether you are a student or a working professional, we need to constantly look for opportunities to learn.

● Be ready to survive anywhere.

● Never settle.
Many at times, we are comfortable being in the same environment working with the people we like. But we need to understand that some of the most real world experiences are earned out of our comfort zones.

● We learn some of the most unexpected knowledge from strangers.

● Always be ready to learn from different environments and people.

● Be curious and ask questions if you want to find these out of the box opportunities.
  

5.            Have meaningful conversations

Photo by Aaron Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash
● The most common problems in almost everybody's life today is the lack of human interaction and one of the reasons for this is our inability to communicate with people effectively. Thus, the growing distance with people reduces or humanly character of being social in the real world.

● One way to communicate better with people is to listen to understand their standpoint on the topic.

● Have deep conversations with people more often. It can be with your friends, family or any colleague. Anybody can teach us something new.

● Stay informed on other's situations and problems.

● Respond positively by putting yourself in their shoes. This doesn't mean you always tell them what they want to hear. Give appropriate feedbacks.

● One way to have longer conversations would be to find an activity to be involved in.

For example, volunteering in a community club can give you amazing insights on different people and their ideas.


6.            Spend money wisely

Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash
● One vice in our behaviour is when we don't track where our money goes.

● The first step to being financially literate is to spend after you save.
● Know your needs. Keep a certain amount of money for your needs and try not to utilise it for any other wants.

● Save frequently.
Even if it's just 10 bucks, save whatever you can everyday. Use this money to spend only on improving your knowledge or any long term dream.

7.            Work on your personality

● Improve your personality constantly. Evaluating yourself helps you understand your limitations and strengths.

● The way you present yourself has a huge role in determining your demeanour and attitude.

● Never talk bad about yourself. Be very careful of what you speak about yourself. Your subconscious mind is an active listener.

● Learn how you can improve your personality by reading this blog on The What,Why and How of Personality development.


8.            Self motivation

● Self motivation can be one of your greatest strengths in your personality.

● We are often going to fail in our lives, so be prepared to take that hit.

● Always predict the worst case scenario and be ready to take the fall when you take a risk and learn from it.

Ultimately, mistakes are unavoidable.

● You should always be your biggest supporter and critic.

● Motivation can have its ups and downs but when it hits its lowest, remember your strong 'why' before you start again and keep hustling for that 'why' because that's your ultimate purpose.


9.            Gratitude and empathy.

● It's a skill that nobody can teach you,but only you can practice it until it becomes a habit

● Empathizing with others is one of the kindest and most human of all personality traits. We can never truly connect with others without having empathy towards them.

● Gratitude is when you truly appreciate all the people and things around you.

● Show gratitude and appreciate the people who add value to your small universe.

10.                           The art of Storytelling

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
● Undeniably, the most underrated of all lifeskills is the art of storytelling which largely has to do with how we convince and negotiate with people.

● In every phase of our life, we are going to sell something or the other. Negotiating plays a huge role in taking any conversation to our advantage.

● The way we interpret a situation and respond in an insightful manner helps us discover a lot of unarticulated details that we quite often overlook.

● The art of convincing by means of storytelling can be developed by a technique called STAR.

● STAR abbreviates to situation, task, action and result. It's a storytelling technique to convey any form of story by explaining about the situation, the task at hand, the action you delivered and the result you obtained. It's quite a useful tool at hand when you have situations like job interviews.

"The future depends on what you do today"
-     Mahatma Gandhi

It's never too late

Some of you might have already acquired these skills while some might have started developing. If you haven't given a thought on these life skills, start today and keep learning . Be actively involved in your present for your tomorrow is always the result of today.
Photo by Ian Stauffer on Unsplash
So coming back to the story, we realise that Jeff was an ultimate winner due to his learning mindset where he learnt from new experiences and worked with different kinds of people thus broadening his experience.

We all have a choice, that is, to remain as George or to become Jeff. The ball is still in your court!

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2 comments

  1. It was very helpful, thank you. :)

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