1. Stress Relief
Everyone is intimately acquainted with stress. Stress seems to collect as naturally as dust and likewise has an accumulating effect.
The National Institute of Health states that chronic stress can lead to suppressed sleep, decreased immune response, headaches, muscle pain, and much more.
Stress can have a significant toll on you both physically and mentally. While stress is unavoidable, relieving stress is a skill that can be developed.
Stress can be relieved in a variety of ways and figuring out what your stress-relieving methods are can be fun and exciting.
Some stress-relieving methods to try can include exercise, social interaction, reading, music, sleeping, or meditation. Whatever form your stress relief comes in, the key is to understand how that functions in your daily life.
Next, develop the ability to detect when your stress levels are reaching their maximum. Being able to sense when the stress tank is getting full and emptying it before it overflows will help you avoid many unnecessary struggles and hardships. This seemingly little, but actually significant skill, will allow you to avoid a lot of clean up.
2. Self-Motivation
TED Talks are brief 10-20 min videos of expert speakers discussing a variety of topics from a wide range of industries.
These videos are extremely popular due to their motivational and inspiring themes, but these extremal mediums are typically the only catalyst for a brief time, while self-motivation is a skill that can be developed and has a substantially longer-lasting effect.
Self-motivation is a skill that can be developed by identifying your strengths and areas of passion. Focusing and putting your efforts into the areas that you are naturally good at and enjoy creates an environment for consistent success.
Nothing increases self-motivation like consistent success. And knowing that you have the ability to put yourself in a position to have consistent success increases the self-motivating cycle.
3. Receiving Feedback
Feedback is typically from an external source and comes in a variety of forms. Sometimes the feedback is sought, many times it isn’t. Yet the way we receive feedback is a skill that is all about you. There are certain characteristics that come with receiving feedback and it’s these characteristics that can be developed.
Characteristics like: being prepared to receive and expect to receive feedback. Also, being open to and interested in receiving feedback all enhance your ability to benefit from it.
Likewise, our perspective on feedback, is a skill that can be further developed. Feedback is simply information. Information that is processed and sorted into helpful or unhelpful categories.
Perspective allows us to properly view both the good and the bad. Feedback ultimately is like a pair of shoes. If you think the shoe fits, then wear it. If it doesn’t fit, then don’t wear them.
4. Apologizing
“I am sorry,” might be the 3 most difficult words that you will ever have to say. Yet, apologizing is a skill that is all about you. Yes, apologizing helps rectify the situation with the other person, but it not just about them.
Apologizing releases you from any emotional burdens you may be holding onto. Developing this skill can have a greater impact on yourself than those around you.
5. Living A Life Of Gratitude
This last skill might possibly be the most difficult and yet the most critical life skill that is all about you. This is due to the fact that the soil that gratitude works are internal more than external. In order to develop this skill, it requires that you practice it daily and with intention.
Develop this skill by identifying 3 specific things that you are thankful for each day. The key here is to be specific. For example, you might be thankful for your job, but what specifically about your job.
Maybe it’s the flexible hours, or the type of work that you do, or a specific person that you work with. Being specific about your gratitude makes it real and tangible. Performing it every day makes it a lifestyle.
It’s All About You
At times, it may feel uncomfortable to talk about and develop skills that are about you. But there should be no hesitation and difficulty with this because no one is going to put in the work on yourself more than you. So, don’t be hesitant or afraid. But dig-in, achieve and master the 5 skills that are all about you.
