10 skills that are hard to learn but pay off forever. ( Business
Insider)
Important Life Skills
Important Life Skills
What are the hardest and most useful skills to
learn?
1. TIME MANAGEMENT
Effective time
management is one of the most highly valued skills by employers. While
there is no one right way, it's important to find a system that works for
you and stick to it, Alina Grzegorzewska explains.
"The hardest thing
to learn for me was how to plan," she writes. "Not to execute
what I have planned, but to make so epic a to-do list and to schedule it so
thoroughly that I'm really capable of completing all the tasks on the scheduled
date."
2. EMPATHY
"You can be the
most disciplined, brilliant, and even wealthy individual in the world, but if
you don't care for or empathize with other people, then you are basically
nothing but a sociopath," writes Kamia Taylor.
Empathy, as business
owner Jane Wurdwand
explains, is a fundamental human ability
that has too readily been forsworn by modern business.
"Empathy — the
ability to feel what others feel — is what makes good sales and service people
truly great. Empathy as in team spirit — esprit d'corps — motivates people to
try harder. Empathy drives employees to push beyond their own apathy, to go
bigger, because they feel something bigger than just a paycheck," she
writes.
3. MASTERING YOUR SLEEP
There are so many
prescribed sleep hacks out there it's often hard to keep track. But regardless
of what you choose, establishing a
ritual can help ensure you have restful nights.
Numerous studies show
that being consistent with your sleep schedule makes it easier to fall asleep
and wake up, and it helps promote better sleep in general.
20-minute power naps can
give your brain a much-needed boost.
4. POSITIVE SELF-TALK
"Ultimately it
doesn't matter what others think of you," writes Shobhit Singhal, "but what you think of yourself certainly does,
and it takes time to build that level of confidence and ability to believe in
yourself when nobody else does."
On the other side of
positive self-talk is negative self-talk, which Betsy Myers, founding director
of The Center for
Women and Business at Bentley University, believes can
slowly chip away at your confidence.
5.
CONSISTENCY
Whether you're trying a
new exercise routine, studying for the LSATs, or working on an important
project, Khaleel Syed writes that consistency
is vital to maintaining any kind of success.
People often stop
working hard when they reach the top, he explains, but to maintain that top
position, they have to work harder and be more consistent in their work.
6. ASKING FOR HELP
"I once was told in
a job interview, 'You can't have this job if you can't ask for help when you
need it,'" Louise Christy writes. "Naturally, I said I could.
Later, I found out that the previous person with that job had screwed up big-time
because he was in over his head but couldn't admit it and didn't ask for
help."
She explains that
knowing when you need help and then asking for it is surprisingly difficult to
learn and do because no one wants to be perceived as weak or incompetent.
But a recent study
from the Harvard Business School suggests doing
so makes you look more, not less, capable. According to the study authors, when
you ask people for advice, you validate their intelligence or expertise, which
makes you more likely to win them over.
7. KNOWING WHEN TO SHUT UP - AND ACTUALLY DOING IT
"You can't go
around whining about every other thing that seems not-so-right to you in this
world," writes Roshna Nazir. "Sometimes you just need to shut up."
There are many instances
when keeping to yourself is the best course. "When we are angry, upset,
agitated, or vexed," writes Anwesha Jana, "we blurt out anything and everything that
comes to our mind." And later, you tend to regret it.
Keeping your mouth shut
when you're agitated is one of the most valuable skills to learn, and of
course, one of the most difficult.
Natalia
Budantseva-Strelka Institute/flickr: The
first step to listening: stop talking.
8. LISTENING
Along with shutting up
comes listening, says Richard Careaga.
"Most of us in the
workplace are so overwhelmed with things to do — instant messaging, phones
ringing. I mean, our brain can only tolerate so much information before it
snaps," Nicole Lipkin, author of "What Keeps Leaders Up At Night," previously told
Business Insider.
One tip for active
listening is repeating back what you heard to the other person. "It makes
things so much easier when everyone is on the same page," she said.
9. MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
"It takes ages to
learn and master this," writes Aarushi Ruddra.
Sticking your nose into
other people's work isn't helpful and wastes time and resources, she says.
"You have no right to put forth your two or four cents, even if you are
the last righteous person standing."
10. MASTERING YOUR THOUGHTS
To do what you want to
do and accomplish what you want to accomplish, you need to consciously direct
your thinking, writes Mark Givert.
"The challenge is
that we are the product of our past experience and all of our thinking is the
result of this," he says. "However, the past does not equal the
future."
Enjoy your day!
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