Valuable skills to develop as early as NOW

It’s never too late--we’ve heard this--and it’s true. It’s never too late. Of course, there are benefits to learning something as early as childhood when lives are not yet bombarded with commitments. However, life has never put a stop sign on learning. This means that whoever is persistent enough to learn will learn. Mastery is another story, but learning is always a good place to start. Here are valuable skills to develop as early as now:

1. Selling

To sell is human. Just ask author Daniel Pink who penned a book with the same title and under the premise that all of us--even little kids--are in the business of selling. We are selling because we request people to move and use their resources. Asking someone for brunch means asking for her time--a resource that she won’t ever get back--and so on. However, not everyone is good at selling, not even the basics of it. Speak up. Master presenting your ideas well. Read up on influencing people. Selling ideas can change the world if you are optimistic and ambitious. Selling products and services can make you money--this one is for sure.

2. Independence

We are social animals. We thrive when we are surrounded by people. However, there is a joy in learning independence especially when it comes to basic life skills. One should learn how to do chores and take care of one’s finances. Even learning how to learn on our own is beneficial. Help is always good, but we should also develop the skills to do things on our own and reserve help for tasks best done with the presence and support of other people.

3. Saying NO

We are a YES society. Sometimes we don’t even know what we are saying yes to. We get ourselves into places physically and virtually without thinking twice about these places and what these bring to the table. We’ve chosen to use social media because we want to be connected. What we’ve failed to realize is that social media also come with negativity, fake news, envy, a constant feeling of overwhelm, lack of productivity, and so much more. Saying NO to such and many other things is a skill with benefits that can be felt in an instant and with an impact that can be seen in the long term.

4. Optimism

Amos Tversky, a renowned psychologist whose work with Daniel Kahneman paved the way for the field of behavioral economics famously said, “When you are a pessimist, and the bad thing happens, you live it twice. Once when you worry about it, and the second time when it happens.” Life is hard, but someone’s gotta do the living, and that’s someone is all of us. While it is challenging to keep a positive outlook, optimism certainly makes life bearable and productive. Plod along and always.

5. Talking and believing in one’s self

Talk to one’s self. Believe in one’s self. No one gets custody of our well-being other than ourselves. As the Stoics emphasized, our very own selves are always within our control while the others are not. Who we are, what we want and need, when we have to act, where we want to be, and how to act--a good grip of these will turn us into our better, reliant, responsible selves.