NEW YORK–The best things in life may indeed be free, but that doesn’t mean they won't take time, sweat, and perseverance to acquire, and that’s especially true when it comes to learning important life skills, according to one person.
Writing on BusinessInsider.com, Rachel Gillett synopsized reader feedback on Quora after one person asked, “What are the hardest and most useful skills to learn?"
Here are some of the most important takeaways, according to Gillett:
Mastering Your Sleep
There are so many prescribed sleep hacks out there it's often hard to keep track, observed Gillett. But regardless of what you choose, establishing a ritual can help ensure you have restful nights.
“Numerous studies show that being consistent with your sleep schedule makes it easier to fall asleep and wake up, and it helps promote better sleep in general,” Gillett wrote.
Empathy
"You can be the most disciplined, brilliant, and even wealthy individual in the world, but if you don't care for or empathize with other people, then you are basically nothing but a sociopath," observed one Quora readers.
Business owner Jane Wurdwind offered this thought: “Empathy -- the ability to feel what others feel -- is what makes good sales and service people truly great. Empathy as in team spirit -- esprit d'corps -- motivates people to try harder. Empathy drives employees to push beyond their own apathy, to go bigger, because they feel something bigger than just a paycheck.”
Time Management
Effective time management is one of the most highly valued skills by employers, noted Gillett. As one Quora reader related, “The hardest thing to learn for me was how to plan. Not to execute what I have planned, but to make so epic a to-do list and to schedule it so thoroughly that I'm really capable of completing all the tasks on the scheduled date."
Asking for Help
Another reader shared this: "I once was told in a job interview, 'You can't have this job if you can't ask for help when you need it.’ Naturally, I said I could. Later, I found out that the previous person with that job had screwed up big-time because he was in over his head but couldn't admit it and didn't ask for help."
The reader further shared that knowing when you need help and then asking for it is surprisingly difficult to learn and do because no one wants to be perceived as weak or incompetent.
But as Gillett noted, a recent study from the Harvard Business School suggests doing so makes you look more, not less, capable. According to the study authors, when you ask people for advice, you validate their intelligence or expertise, which makes you more likely to win them over.
Consistency
Whether you're trying a new exercise routine, studying for the LSATs, or working on an important project,another person observed consistency is vital to maintaining any kind of success. “People often stop working hard when they reach the top. But to maintain that top position, they have to work harder and be more consistent in their work.”
Positive Self-Talk
"Ultimately it doesn't matter what others think of you," stated one person, "but what you think of yourself certainly does, and it takes time to build that level of confidence and ability to believe in yourself when nobody else does."
Knowing When to Shut Up -- and Actually Doing It
"You can't go around whining about every other thing that seems not-so-right to you in this world," wrote one Quorum reader. "Sometimes you just need to shut up."
Keeping your mouth shut when you're agitated is one of the most valuable skills to learn, and of course, one of the most difficult, added Gillett.
Listening
Along with shutting up comes listening, pointed out another person. "Most of us in the workplace are so overwhelmed with things to do–instant messaging, phones ringing. I mean, our brain can only tolerate so much information before it snaps," Nicole Lipkin, author of “What Keeps Leaders Up at Night,” told Business Insider.
One tip for active listening is repeating back what you heard to the other person. "It makes things so much easier when everyone is on the same page," Lipkin said.
Minding Your Business
According to another person, learning to mind one’s business “takes ages to learn and master this.
Sticking your nose into other people's work isn't helpful and wastes time and resources, the reader stated. "You have no right to put forth your two or four cents, even if you are the last righteous person standing."
Resisting Gossip
"The most important thing in life to me is relationships," stated another commenter. "And the most important thing about building and keeping good relationships is trust."
One of the easiest ways to lose trust, the person continued, is to gossip about people behind their back. The commenter said learning not to gossip was hard to do because it meant missing out on possibly important conversations, distancing himself from influential people, and awkwardly having to tell people, "Hey, sorry to interrupt but I really don't need to know that, could we talk about something else?"
“But press on and you will get your priceless reward. Trust," he stated.
Mastering Your Thoughts
To do what you want to do and accomplish what you want to accomplish, you need to consciously direct your thinking, another person advised. "The challenge is that we are the product of our past experience and all of our thinking is the result of this. However, the past does not equal the future."
Staying Present in the Moment
According to happiness researcher Matt Killingsworth, wrote Gillett, “We tend not to be very good at staying present in the moment: he says that 47% of the time, people are thinking about something other than what they're currently doing. And this is hurting our happiness.”
"People are less happy when they're mind-wandering no matter what they're doing. For example, people don't really like commuting to work very much. It's one of their least enjoyable activities, and yet they are substantially happier when they're focused only on their commute than when their mind is going off to something else. It's amazing."
Speaking Up
Speaking up in public can be so hard for many of us to do. Even the American business magnate Warren Buffett said that he was once so terrified of speaking in public that he would throw up, related Gillett.
It took practicing giving speeches numerous time in front of his Dale Carnegie speaking course classmates to finally conquer his fear.
"Some of it is just practice -- just doing it and practicing," Buffett said. "And it worked. That's the most important degree I have."