There are skills that you can learn in school or under some form of training. For such all it takes is enrolling on relevant educational programmes. There are then skills that for the most part require you to teach yourself. Yes, you might be taught but it takes more of you acclimatizing yourself to assimilate them. This is especially so when it comes to some personal skills. There are so many of them but I shall look at just 8 of them. These are personal skills you must teach yourself and practise daily.
Positive Mindedness
You always hear people saying you must be positive-minded. Well, it might sound cliché but you have to be. Your life experiences are shaped by your mindset. Mindset simply means what your mind is set on. It is your way of thinking; an attitude or opinion, especially a habitual one. You see, it is a daily experience that happens whilst you are aware or unaware. We live in a world that is riddled with so much negativity. That calls upon you to teach yourself to be positive-minded. You can do everything you can think of but if your mindset is corrupted you will be wasting your time. Transformation comes by actively and daily renewing or changing the way you think.
Having Personal Talking Sessions
I like to refer to it like that but many of you might know it as self-talk sessions. You can do it as sessions i.e. daily times you set aside for doing that. However, more importantly, you must do this any time, even if it is brief. The whole concept here is to say positive affirmations. Quick examples of positive affirmations you can make:
I have a sound mind!
I have all that I need!
I am valued, appreciated, and recognized!
You can do this any time you want – the more frequent the better. I recommend you also do it to counter negative thoughts or words that might be thrown at you. Someone can say you are useless, you counter that by saying, ‘I am highly useful!’ A negative thought of inadequacy can come but rather you say, ‘I am more than enough.’ This done daily can revolutionize your life in ways you never imagined. The overall principle is this: every day deliberately say what you want to see or experience. Do not speak in line with undesirable present circumstances. Another thing, do not emptily say what you say, there must be corresponding belief and conviction in your heart as you say it. Your life is designed to gravitate towards what you say, positive or negative. Be wise and settle for what is positive.
Consistency
Consistency speaks of many amazing attributes. It speaks of local coherence, correspondence or compatibility. It speaks of reliability or uniformity. I also like an obsolete definition of the term which says firmness of constitution or character. It can also be defined in terms of substantiality, durability, and persistency. In everything you do daily, you must teach yourself to be consistent. If there are daily routines you have, which you must have, you must cultivate consistency. It could be studying, reading, working out, writing, and so on – be consistent. The trajectory of your life is discernible in what you do daily. In one of my articles, I discussed the importance of habit formation. The key to that is the quality of being consistent.
Being Empathetic
Empathy is identification with or understanding the thoughts, feelings, or emotional state of another person. We are living in a toxic generation where that attribute is seriously lacking in people. Interestingly, the quality of being empathetic is now highly considered by employers globally. One of the best movies I have ever watched, The Exam, is a case in point. The irony is that most educated or skilled people lack empathy and that makes them belittle or mistreat others. True enough being selfish or self-seeking comes more naturally than being empathetic. However, as with all things you can deliberately learn and practise something till you master it. Every day is sensitive to and conscious of those around you. Actively and daily teach yourself to be considerate and not be the reason behind someone else’s pain.
Time Management
I always mention this and with good utility – time is the most precious commodity there is. Laurent Uberti, CEO and Co-Founder of Sitel Group once said, “I truly believe that if one is not in control of their schedule and priorities, then others will determine what it should be and what they decide might not be very pleasant. So, whether it is your meeting calendar, daily or weekly goals, projects, or your weekend plans, if you are not taking charge of them then either you will have to accept what is being planned on your behalf or get frustrated.” Take control of your time every single day. What Mr Uberti said there sums it all – it is either you must or someone else will. I can tell all there is to time management but it boils down to you committing to frugal use of your time.
Other aspects tend to be overlooked e.g. practising honesty with yourself. Another thing is teaching yourself to be here, now. It sounds so simple but very few people have mastered that. It reminds me of my Chemistry teacher in Form 3. Before every lesson, he would tell us to close our eyes and bring to mind everything that was bothering us. Then he would tell us to imagine having a box where we would place those bothers. We would then imagine ourselves putting it away during the lesson period. That would be followed by him telling us to say, ‘I am here, now. It seemed silly at the time but it is a powerful principle that helped us focus. You can teach yourself and practise it daily before doing anything – it works!
