The 7 Most Impactful Skills You Can Learn Now To Drastically Improve Your Life

1. Adaptability

1.1. How can it change your life?

1.1.1. It future-proofs you.

1.1.2. You'll never be helpless about your situation, no matter the change.

1.1.3. The more adaptable you are, the less negative stress you’ll feel.

1.1.4. You get used to the uncomfortable.

1.1.5. You lose your fear of the unknown and try things you never thought you could do before.

1.2. How can you learn it?

1.2.1. Stop yourself from using negative words.

1.2.2. In conversions, ask more questions than others (and truly listen).

1.2.3. Set aside time to do important but non-urgent tasks.

1.2.4. Visit locations you’ve never been to before.

1.2.5. Spend time with people who see the world from a different lens.

1.2.6. Take action on something that puts you out of your comfort zone at least once a week.

2. Charisma

2.1. How can it change your life?

2.1.1. A highly charismatic person has a positive influence on other people.

2.1.2. They get people to collaborate with them in win-win situations.

2.1.3. They are selfless and trustworthy.

2.1.4. Others are attracted to them and want to work with them.

2.1.5. They get yes for others easily

2.2. How can you learn it?

2.2.1. Communication

2.2.1.1. Listen more than you talk.

2.2.1.2. Ask questions more than you offer advice.

2.2.1.3. Don’t practice selective hearing.

2.2.1.4. Give your full attention; put your phone away.

2.2.1.5. Praise others more frequently.

2.2.1.6. Don’t gossip about others.

2.2.1.7. Learn to read other people’s emotions and react accordingly.

2.2.1.8. Share stories and anecdotes. Become a better storyteller.

2.2.1.9. Ask rhetorical questions.

2.2.1.10. Use words that people can relate to.

2.2.1.11. Don’t think about what you’re going to respond while the other is talking.

2.2.1.12. Wait 2 seconds before responding.

2.2.2. Mindset

2.2.2.1. Be a giver: give before receiving.

2.2.2.2. Don’t act self-important.

2.2.2.3. Limit “have-to”s. Take responsibility.

2.2.2.4. Be humble. Admit your own failings.

2.2.2.5. Be positive and upbeat.

2.2.2.6. Hum songs that make you happy.

2.2.2.7. Make others laugh and brighten their day.

2.2.2.8. Make others perceive that you are able to make the world move around you.

2.2.3. Body

2.2.3.1. Smile more.

2.2.3.2. Maintain eye contact.

2.2.3.3. Respond non-verbality. Show more facial expressions.

2.2.3.4. Be physically comfortable. Own your style.

2.2.3.5. Avoid fidgeting.

2.2.3.6. Power pose.

2.2.4. A very simple habit you can start doing is smiling on the way to work. Make people think you look happy

3. Forming Good Habits

3.1. How can it change your life?

3.1.1. Habits are powerful

3.1.2. Your habits define who you are.

3.2. How can you learn it?

3.2.1. Track the doing or non-doing of your habits

3.2.1.1. Write down somewhere which habits you’re supposed to do and which ones you’re not supposed to do.

3.2.1.2. Every day, put a checkmark for things you’ve done right.

3.2.1.3. It keeps you accountable

3.2.1.4. For extra accountability, share it with other people.

3.2.2. Know your why

3.2.2.1. Answer this: “Why do you do what you do?”

3.2.2.2. This sounds simple on the surface, but dig deeper. Ask yourself 5–7 layers of “why”.

3.2.2.3. Use fantastic tools like:

3.2.2.3.1. Wheel of Life

3.2.2.3.2. Ikigai

3.2.3. Shape your environment

3.2.3.1. Your environment is the most powerful factor in your success or failure in keeping your habits.

3.2.3.2. Ex: Hide your Nintendo Switch in your mailbox if you're addicted to video games. It works.

3.2.3.3. When you can’t control yourself, let your environment control you.

4. Learning to Learn

4.1. How can it change your life?

4.1.1. Your confidence will increase

4.1.2. It'll accelerate your learning

4.1.3. You'll be able to learn things you never thought you could learn

4.1.4. You'll no longer be afraid to try new, uncomfortable things.

4.1.5. You'll thrive in situations where everything is new or unknown to you

4.2. How can you learn it?

4.2.1. Ask yourself these questions and have clear answers for each:

4.2.1.1. Who is your average of the five people you spend the most time with?

4.2.1.2. Who or what keeps you accountable?

4.2.1.3. Where do you practice?

4.2.1.4. When do you practice?

4.2.1.5. How do you measure your progress?

4.2.1.6. What is your ultimate end goal?

4.2.1.7. How much did you spend learning your new skills?

4.2.1.8. How much research did you do beforehand?

4.2.1.9. What is your morning and evening routine like?

4.2.1.10. Who is learning alongside you?

4.2.2. 8 steps to learn anything:

4.2.2.1. Just do it

4.2.2.2. Shatter your limiting beliefs

4.2.2.3. Learn to learn

4.2.2.4. Choose the right skills to learn

4.2.2.5. Plan your learning process

4.2.2.6. Be smart in your practice

4.2.2.7. Measure your progress

4.2.2.8. Collect honest and constructive feedback

4.3. Relevant subskills:

4.3.1. Improving your memory (Check out Anthony Metivier)

4.3.2. Improving your sleep hygiene (Check out Nick Wignall)

4.3.3. Making SkillUp Trees

4.3.4. Applying the Spaced Repetition principles

5. Storytelling

5.1. How can it change your life?

5.1.1. It will boost your confidence.

5.1.2. It also helps you with your vocabulary, makes you more interesting, and helps you build influence.

5.1.3. People will listen to you and help you on different projects.

5.2. How can you learn it?

5.2.1. Identify patterns. Think about great storytellers

5.2.1.1. What do they have in common?

5.2.1.2. How do they behave?

5.2.1.3. What kinds of stories do they tell?

5.2.1.4. How do they tell the story?

5.2.1.5. What is their body language?

5.2.2. Grasp these general principles

5.2.2.1. Do and observe.

5.2.2.2. Write and visualize.

5.2.2.3. Tell and Refine.

5.2.3. 7 steps to a good story

5.2.3.1. A character…

5.2.3.2. Has a problem…

5.2.3.3. And meets a Guide…

5.2.3.4. Who gives them a plan…

5.2.3.5. And calls them to action…

5.2.3.6. That helps them avoid failure…

5.2.3.7. And ends in success.

6. Time Management

6.1. How can it change your life?

6.1.1. You get to do more of what matters to you.

6.1.2. Good time management helps you in any way you want it to.

6.2. How can you learn it?

6.2.1. Ask yourself: "Why do you do what you do?"

6.2.2. Ask yourself 5–7 layers of “why” and you’ll see how hard-but-essential it is.

6.2.3. To help you answer it, use:

6.2.3.1. Wheel of Life

6.2.3.2. Ikigai

6.2.4. Once you know your why, place activities on the Eisenhower Matrix.

6.2.5. Do that exercise during a Think Day.

6.2.6. Investigate the general principles:

6.2.6.1. Say no more often

6.2.6.2. Don’t try to change things you can’t change

6.2.6.3. Avoid these 84 productivity killers

6.3. Good time management is not about doing more, it’s about doing less of the non-important stuff and more of the important stuff.

7. Writing

7.1. How can it change your life?

7.1.1. Learning to journal (writing for yourself) helps you verbalize your thinking.

7.1.2. It helps you get clarity on your thoughts, but also to think deeper.

7.1.3. When you put your thoughts on paper, you get to keep your thoughts and ideas for longer.

7.1.4. Learning to write for others (blogging, author) helps you learn new vocabulary and tell better stories.

7.1.5. It also helps you become more selfless.

7.1.6. If you write publicly about what you set out to do, it’s a fantastic tool to keep you accountable.

7.2. How can you learn it?

7.2.1. For both journaling and writing publicly, set a strict time when you’ll write every day.

7.2.2. It doesn’t matter what you write, just that you do write. If it helps, set a minimum number of words you want to write daily.

7.2.3. Journaling

7.2.3.1. Write about whatever comes to mind.

7.2.3.2. Write about:

7.2.3.2.1. Repeating things you learned during the day

7.2.3.2.2. A reflection of the ups and downs for the day

7.2.3.2.3. A bullet list of the highlights for the day

7.2.3.2.4. Being grateful for others

7.2.3.2.5. A to-do list

7.2.3.2.6. A grocery list

7.2.3.2.7. A letter to myself or to someone else

7.2.3.3. Use Benjamin Hardy, PhD’s Journal Mastery Course

7.2.4. Writing publicly

7.2.4.1. Don't overthink what you're going to be writing about.

7.2.4.2. Don't be afraid that people will judge your content negatively.

7.2.4.3. Don't have imposter syndrome, don't think you know nothing.

7.2.4.4. Don't think it doesn’t matter and no one will care for what you write.

7.2.4.5. Unless what you write is unethical, people will not negatively judge your content in your first few articles.

7.2.4.6. There’s 100 percent chance someone else is better than you on what you write about. This means the reverse is also true.

7.2.4.7. There’s 100 percent chance that you are better than someone else.

7.2.4.7.1. Write for these people and they’ll be grateful for your knowledge.

7.2.4.8. If you write for platforms like Medium.com, people will read you, and that’s your opportunity to change someone else’s life.

7.2.4.9. If you want to learn to write better, forget the hacks, write more and eliminate the limiting beliefs above.