7 Essential Life Skills Everyone Should Know

I am sure you have asked yourself this question sometime in your life. What is a life skill? What is its importance? Or, if not directly, you could have asked yourself, what can I do to improve myself – as a professional or in my personal life? Do not think for a moment that only kids or students can have such questions in their minds. Sometimes, since our life changes or our life view changes over time, our well-honed life skills also beg for an overhaul.

Life skills can help you become more calm, successful, and fulfilled. Life skills refer to the abilities that enable people to manage their emotions effectively, cope with daily demands, and interact positively with others. In this post, I will explore ten essential life skills and how they can impact your life in a better way.

The Importance of Life Skills

We look at life a lot differently from how our forefathers saw it. Though things have changed and our lives have become supposedly more complex (I beg to differ), one thing has been a constant. Humans have always relied on skills to survive or thrive. Back in the day, a human would need survival skills like how to hunt prey (without getting killed). Today humans need more sophisticated life skills for survival in a hyper-competitive environment.

I like to break down life skills into three buckets – Situations & People (External), Time & Priorities (Managing) and Mind & Body (Psychology). I request you to take a moment and think about it. Everything you do, from the time you open your eyes till the time you go back to bed, is related to these three buckets. Take extra care of them, and you will get unparallel rewards.

Ages ago, not having life skills could put you in grave danger (could get you killed). Today, not having life skills can put you in other forms of trouble. For example, imagine if you did not know how to manage or handle people. Managing people is not only the task of leaders or managers at work. Or you did not know how to manage your time. You would be all over the place and yet stagnated.

I have broken the three buckets into ten essential life skills everyone should know. Without them, you would struggle to no end.

External

As you navigate through life, you will come across a lot of hurdles. Externalities will throw many challenges at you regularly. These could be situations or people. Learn to handle them well, and you will be on your way to success.

Problem-Solving

Look at your everyday life. I am sure you will identify at least a few problems that come your way. These could be as small as resolving a fight between mutual friends or coming up with a creative solution to a product-related issue at work.

Or, it could be creating a go-to-market strategy for your product launch in a new market. Learn to identify the problem and objectively look at ways to solve them. Learning this life skill will take you places.

If you do not already possess this skill, start with what you have. Multiple challenges will come your way if you are a manager at work. Think strategically and try to find out-of-box solutions. In short, push yourself to think better. If you are self-employed, run a business, or even seek to upgrade your personal life, there is hope.

Follow the instructions above, but experiment with newer solutions. For example, you have this habit of not being able to say no, which brings you trouble. You lose money, peace of mind and even sleep. Try alternate solutions next time you urge to say yes to people and things. Write down the pros and cons and access. If you feel the situation demands a strict no, explain it briefly to the party concerned and reject the proposal. (to do whatever). Voila, that is problem-solving at a micro level.

People Skills

I can dedicate an entire article to this topic. If you want to learn more, look at this post from Forbes. It is crucial to have people skills if you wish any success in life (in any field). Generally, as ambitious people begin their careers, they give immense emphasis to their work and goals. They forget the human element. As a result, people with average skills run them over.

From my experience, people skills are a 360-degree approach. I had a colleague with average technical skills (Sales & Business Development). Yet, she always excelled at work, and everybody liked her. When an entire floor of associates supports someone, that person has some crazy skills. Life becomes easy (at least what I saw at work).

If you are a manager, focus on the definition of your position – getting things done. But before you do that, sit with team members over a coffee. Learn more about them, their skills, background, and aspirations, among other things. Remember, the day you get people to do what you want them to do without forcing them, tick off people skills from your bucket list.

Managing

In this day and age, where a thousand things can bog you down, learning to manage yourself can be a lifesaver. Since we have identified that multiple things will surely bog you down, it is also pertinent for you to prioritize your time.

Time Management

Scholars have dedicated their lives to creating models and theories of time management. If you are a reader, look at the Eisenhower Matrix. It breaks incoming tasks into four quadrants – Important, Urgent (Yes/No). You decide the quadrant in which each of your activities should fall. 

I do not follow the above model though it is highly effective. Instead, I create blocks of time for each significant to-do thing. Then I block my calendar accordingly. It gives me a sense of understanding of my focus area. Plus, it helps me prepare for that task in advance. I firmly believe that time management is a life skill for students.

Priorities

Many senior leaders I have worked with always carry a small pocket-sized notepad. They jot down things that matter on a given day. Then they put a number against each item based on their priority. Whatever floats your boat, make sure that you hone this life skill.

Do not expect results overnight if you are starting to practice this essential life skill. Even the most skilled man on the planet (there is none) can struggle with priorities. Do you know why? Because priorities change over time. Or, people stop practising this art every day.

Psychology

If you are familiar with Psychology, you know it deals with the mind and behaviour in general. So, why have I mentioned mind and body a few paragraphs above? The warriors of the 21st century not only need a healthy and thriving mind, but they also need a body that backs them up.  

Mindset

One thing connects all the successful people in the world (please do not say – success). It is called mindset. Contrary to popular belief that only Ivy school graduates or people born with a silver spoon can succeed, everyone can win as long as they develop a champion mindset.

A mindset is so-called so because it comprises many components, for example, your values, principles, outlook towards life in general, and attitude towards things, people and situations. Learn to hone this essential life skill, in education, at work, in relationships and otherwise.

How do you change or polish your mindset to succeed in life? Firstly, shortlist the successful people in the field you wish to excel. Next, study their lives, see what they do, how they do it and most notably, what mindset they carry daily. Even better, follow them on social media and track good habits.

The Mindset Body

If we were born 100 years back and you were reading this article, I would not have included this point as an essential life skill. However, since we are in the 21st century, it is pertinent that your body is an ambassador of your mindset.

Take the maxim – your body is a temple – very seriously. You do not want a fit body but need it! An unhealthy body cannot thrive with a champion mindset. Take anyone you like from the limelight and prove me wrong. A perfect synergy exists between the mind and the body. Both motivate each other on lull days.

Emotional Intelligence

I am sure you have come across people who have an army of people who swear by them. These are influential people not because of their monetary riches but because of the mass support. These people have great Emotional Quotient (EQ).

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand and manage emotions. It involves the capacity to interpret body language, facial expressions and vocal tonality. EQ helps accurately assess the sentiments behind faces.

People with good emotional intelligence can empathize with others, manage stressful situations effectively and maintain constructive relationships. A strong EQ can benefit people in all areas of life, from family relationships to success in the workplace.

Conclusion

Whether you are a student, a fresher or an experienced professional, it is never too late to work on essential life skills to grow and advance as an individual. If you already imbibe the skills I mentioned here, you are on your way to success. My last message here would be – never settle. The moment you feel too comfortable with your skills, shake things up. Add or upgrade your skills that suit your life stage.

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