It’s so true that this life thing can be tricky, but there are certain tricks to get around it.
Ironically, most of us spend at least 12 to 16 years of our lives in school yet, we don’t learn much about real life during our time there.
After school, we’re thrown in the black hole called life where all the quadratic and simultaneous equations learned won’t do sh** to help you. Amirite?
If you’re lucky, like I was, you’d have one or two lecturers who take their time to include hints on how this life-after-school thing works during lectures.
I rolled my eyes each time Prof. Elegbeleye advised us to learn skills outside the four walls of the classroom. I didn’t know it was the voice of the gods at the time. Lol.
The first few months outta school made my closure move so far back, everyone thought it was a ponytail.
Anyway, these are 5 life skills that have helped me stay grounded.
1. Focus Distractions will come at you like the harmattan wind on a January morning. You need to be selfish about what you give attention and spend your time on. You won’t get an extension on this 24hrs we’re all trying to work with. Stay focused.
2. Communication Skills People won’t read your mind to know your thoughts. You owe it to yourself to be heard. Learn to communicate your intentions, value, and worth well. You could take this short quiz to find out how good you are at communicating and know where to improve.
3. Emotional Intelligence Even at PhD level, nobody will teach you not to have the attitude of a caveman. It’s necessary to apply common sense to our dealings with emotions. Try to know what emotions you’re feeling per time and that of the people around you. Read the room, be guided.
4. Crying Is Therapeutic When that wave of emotions hit you, don’t start forming hard guy. Don’t fight it. Tears are your body’s release valve for stress, sadness, grief, anxiety, and frustration. Studies suggest that crying stimulates the production of endorphins, our body’s natural painkiller, and “feel-good” hormones.
5. Self-love Is Everything Make friends with yourself. Treat yourself like you would treat someone you cherish. We spend far too much time being our own worst enemies. Criticize and condemn yourself less often and improve yourself. Be your number one cheerleader.
Written for ID Africa
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