A few weeks ago I posted an update on Facebook and LinkedIn asking people to complete a sentence. “When I was at school, I wish I was taught how to …………………..”
Just a simple thought provoking question which at the time, I didn’t think that would have much of a response. It wasn’t so much the number of responses that I received that blew me away, but more so by what the responses were.
These ranged from, practical life skills, to how to:
– change a tyre
– start a business
– do a tax return
– do a budget and manage personal finances
Theses are all very important things to learn sooner rather than later (especially how to manage your personal finances). However, the responses which were far more interesting to me were the ones that fall outside of practical life skills, rather into more of life’s emotional skills.
Learning how to:
– accept who you are as a person
– becoming comfortable with yourself
– trust your instincts and follow your dreams
– not listening to other people’s negative thoughts and opinions
– be confident in your own capabilities
– say no, to the things that are not important to you
– become more self-aware
– being responsible for your actions
This is just a handful of responses that I received. This really made it very clear that these important life skills are often not being addressed at either school or at any stage of our life. We are therefore more often than not left to figure these skills out on our own.
I truly believe that if we were taught at a young age just a small amount of these emotional skills, it would solve many of society’s larger issues.
What do you wish you had been shown “how to do” at school?
