Whether for personal or professional growth, working on developing new skills is always a good idea, be it communication and other soft skills or sewing, for that matter. But not all people are equally interested in developing a certain skill set, even if they know how beneficial it could be.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed the advantages of learning certain skills after one user started a thread about it – they asked fellow netizens what is a skill that the whole world would benefit from if everyone mastered it. Redditors’ answers covered all sorts of soft and hard skills, so if you’re curious to learn which ones they believed to be the most useful on a global scale, scroll down to find them on the list below and make sure to upvote the ones you agree with the most.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with Dr. John Corlett, a professor in the Faculty of Health and Community Studies at MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, who was kind enough to share what he considers to be the skill that the world would benefit from the most if all were to master it.
#1
Empathy.
Image source: Mrs-Manz, Mental Health America (MHA) / Pexels
#2
Critical thinking.
Image source: treywarp, freepik
#3
Learning when to shut the f*** up.
Image source: SelfishMentor, freepik
#4
Listening! – Listening to understand, and not just to reply.
Image source: JeF4y, fauxels / Pexels
#5
Picking up after yourself.
Image source: BottleTemple, Marta Ortigosa / Pexels
#6
Making someone feel valued as a person.
So that front desk worker who is struggling, because it’s a holiday weekend, and they’re swamped, and there’s no extra help, and they’re looking more than a little panicked, but they’re holding it together and still being professional:
When it’s my turn in line I say, “Hey, how’s it going?” it snaps them out of whatever mindset they were in the middle of. “Looks a little crazy here today. Long day?” and they’ll open up a bit. It literally gives them a minute to catch their breath, and be a human again, rather than an over-worked service.
I might even ask them if they have plans for the holiday weekend, or what they are going to do to unwind after the day. Anything. Be friendly.
The goal there is to get a smile. They might not say thank you, but you can see it in their eyes.
It matters. We’re all here doing our thing, but we can also treat our fellow people decently along the way.
Image source: 4th_chakra, Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
#7
Kindness.
Image source: CaPhir, Betül Balcı / Pexels
#8
Reading comprehension.
Image source: SkinkAttendant, John Ray Ebora / Pexels
#9
How has nobody mentioned patience yet?
Image source: laziokid, Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels
#10
Swimming/treading water- would save tens of thousands of lives each year.
Image source: Wooden_Reflection927, mali maeder / Pexels
#11
Admit if you’re wrong.
Image source: Beneficial_Music_441, Suzy Hazelwood / Pexels
#12
Using a blinker.
Image source: Bill_Belamy, Mathias Reding / Pexels
#13
Common sense and being rational.
Image source: SlumpGaud, jcomp / Freepik
#14
Processing emotions without projecting them onto others.
Image source: SaltySugar86, stefamerpik / Freepik
#15
De-escalation.
Imagine everyone being able to stay calm and level headed while resolving disputes.
Image source: Ineedyoursway, yanalya / Freepik
#16
I think manners, so underrated in our society.
Image source: Previous_Pick6487, Karolina Kaboompics / Pexels
#17
This…
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal.
Image source: Money_Tower1884, karlyukav / Freepik
#18
Not taking things personally. Very few things in life are personal.
Image source: anon, Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
#19
Leaving people the f**k alone.
Image source: unsmartkid
#20
Effective communication.
Image source: springreturning, Buro Millennial / Pexels
#21
Logic.
Image source: Upstairs_Wolf5751
#22
Keeping it in their pants.
Image source: SisterCyrene, Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels
#23
Civility.
Image source: ToYourCredit, Mark Dalton / Pexels
#24
Being nice to each other.
Image source: NineWetGiraffes, Amina Filkins / Pexels
#25
If everyone driving knew how to drive it would be awesome. If we add driving defensively and courteously then it would make a huge difference.
Image source: Kriskao, Lisa Fotios / Pexels
#26
Budgeting.
Image source: Psyco_diver
#27
Conflict resolution.
Image source: EnvironmentalGap2098, Diva Plavalaguna / Pexels
#28
1. Empathy
2. Kindness
3. Gratitude
4. Effective Communication Skills
5. Genuineness (is that a word).
Image source: FunctionConfident296
#29
Not to get too woo woo, but I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, so: meditation.
Image source: Electric-Sheepskin, Prasanth Inturi / Pexels
#30
Gardening.
Image source: Hot-Butterscotch127, cottonbro studio / Pexels
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