Life is so unpredictable that it’s imperative to know some of its secrets just so you can get through the twists and turns it has to offer. Just because you’re out of college it doesn’t mean you have it all figured out.
There are a lot of skills that you must possess to go through various life hacks and no school or education will teach you these skills, well not all of them at least.
Your biggest teacher will always remain ‘experience’ and what you learn from it will definitely change your life around.
In your twenties, you learn to recognise the ways of life and the knowledge stays on with you forever, since your twenties is when you start to define life and its purpose.
So here are some important life skills every twenty-something should master to become a better man as you grow older.
1. How to be honest
Honesty is crucial in your formative years as it helps you become the bigger person and you would need that kind of learning when you reach your thirties and forties. When you’re late to an appointment, it’s easy to pin the blame on traffic and other factors. Instead, start by apologising for being late in the first place and accept your mistake graciously. It’s something you have to learn in order to not risk your integrity.
2. How to start an interesting conversation
Making or building a conversation is considered as a highly underrated skill. But it’s a great skill-set to enhance networking and confidence. If you dare to start up a conversation with a random person, you’ll probably end up with some great and helpful networking, a new friend and an insight into something important.
3. How to communicate effectively
It doesn’t matter what career path you’ve chosen for yourself but it matters how effectively you communicate through written word or verbosity. Most successful men ace the skill of communicating efficiently, and with much conviction.
4. How to take criticism
If it’s constructive and healthy criticism, it’s bound to help you in your growth. It’s absolutely alright to get feedback for something that will inevitably help you in your growth, in your formative years. In order to be successful in life, it’s important to take in all the necessary criticism that will help you. If the criticism is not helpful or counter-productive then it’s best to ignore it and not pay much heed to it.
5. How to ask for what you want
If you’re confident and assertive about what you want, you’ll always achieve it. But the question lies in how to ask for what you want, since it’s the most underutilised skill to be successful. The answer to that is courage and confidence. If you deserve a promotion or a raise or even an expectation from someone, all you need to do is ask clearly and confidently about what you want.
6. How to keep promises
keeping promises is a way of showing respect towards other people. If you’ve made a commitment somewhere, don’t backtrack on it later. If you’ve told a friend you will be there for their birthday, show up. Keeping promises help you understand the concept of commitment and that’s where you gain most of the respect from people.
7. How to be resilient
If you strengthen your might to be resilient at an early age, there is nothing that can deter your spirit later in life. Resilience is the key towards withstanding any test in life. Your 20s are when you’re relatively free of responsibilities, unlike your 30s and 40s. So it’s a good time to test extremes and if you fail, bounce back up and show resilience.
8. How to let go of anger
There is a way to channelize your rage and frustration in a more positive manner than a negative one. You can use the anger towards channelizing a good amount of creativity. It’s a great tool to let go of anything negative. And if you learn how to do it at an earlier age, patience will come naturally to you, later in life.
9. How to face rejection
In your 20s you face a lot of things. New jobs, relationships and experiences and not all of them turn out to be as you expect them to. It’s absolutely okay to let go of some expectations and face rejection. It’s only then you learn to face what life has to offer. Life is not always kind and the sooner you learn that, the better you deal with it.
