Teentalk

Humans are social animals- our lives as humans revolve around how we interact and deal with people in our society. And this basically means that we are somewhat dependent on other people for our functioning. These people come together in times when we’re happy and also when we are in grief, they provide support and help in thick and thin of life alike.

These activities have always made us think that having friends or family together is the norm and staying alone can be regarded as something out of the ordinary. But is it really so? Not really. One can truly lead a life living alone and still being very happy. They can very well be self-dependent for everything and still feel content.

When you think about such a life, it surely feels odd- if you’re used to the ‘normal’ life that people follow. However, in case you are wondering if you wanted to lead such a life, you very well can, by following a few guidelines to prepare your mind.

Alone vs lonely

While you may think that both the words alone and lonely can be used synonymously, they, in fact, have two varied meanings. A person is alone when he is by himself. On the other hand, a person is lonely when he feels abandoned or sad due to isolation. Get it? A lonely person is someone who feels that he is left out or isolated from society. But if you take being lonely positively- you learn to be happy alone.

Love yourself

Here what is crucial is that you should make your mind understand that in this world, there are only a few people who can truly love you for the way you are, without pretending, without showing off. However, no one from these few people can love you more than yourself.

Removing expectations from the equation

Being lonely only hurts when you expect someone to do things a certain way- and when those certain things don’t happen, they lead to disappointment, regret, resentment, among other emotions. But if you remove expectations out of the equation, you’ll feel self-sustained, without feeling negative.

Learning to live alone with positivity

Leading a life alone isn’t an easy task, but what makes the whole experience easier is when you have things that make you feel happy, and happiness equals positivity. Whether it is finding a passion like music, dancing, or hobbies like arts and crafts, or something simple as going for walks or long drives. You can enjoy such experiences alone, feel happy and have an optimistic outlook.

Farewell season is around us, and as social media will flood with photos of students and proud parents, the time has come for teens to tackle the question “What’s next?” (Because you already know you would be asked that many times over the next few months.) Many will find difficult to answer. You may have a good diploma in hand, but the working world is totally different.  And while many students think they have the skills needed to succeed in the “real world,” less than a third of employers agree with them. The fact is, there are some professional skills which a classroom doesn’t teach you.

Below are some skills valued in the workplace, across a range of roles and industries:

1. Network building: Networking, in a nutshell, is meeting new people in a professional context, building those relationships over time, and adding value to each other. This skill is important because 85% of a person’s success is due to “human engineering”—your personality, communication ability and emotional intelligence.

2. Realistic goal setting: Setting goals, with realistic deadlines, is a must have skill for any job where you don’t have someone clearly telling you what to do. Goal-setting also helps for personal development and growth. Think about the big picture like where you want to be in five years and break down that challenging goal into smaller pieces, making it easier to overcome.

3. Prioritizing your to do list: The ability to evaluate each of your tasks and rank them in order of priority is a skill that can set you apart in the workplace. Related to that, learning how to say “no”. As you grow in your career, an inflow of opportunities will come your way, all placing demands on your time. You’ll need to order what matters most, put some on the back burner, and decline others altogether.

4. Leading a team:  The meaning of leadership involves knowing who you are and what you stand for, being able to delegate wisely, maintaining integrity, and having the ability to listen to and work alongside others. Just because they weren’t taught inside the college classroom doesn’t mean you can’t practice these career-boosting skills. And once you do, you’ll do well in your career—no matter what industry you’ve chosen.

5. Selling and negotiation: How to sell your ideas and yourself is something not taught in college, but you’ll miss great opportunities if you lack the skills and confidence to put yourself out there. You may get that dream job by selling yourself to a hiring manager. You can get startup investors by selling your vision. You can negotiate a raise by selling yourself to a higher-up.  

6. You are responsible for your actions and words: Take pride in your work, think out of the box, do the work well and learn from mistakes. The consequences of each action and decision are your responsibility and the sooner we understand that, the more pride we can take in our ownership and individuality.

7. Finding a fulfilling work: You probably come out of school with at least a vague sense of what career you wanted to pursue, but for all but a small, lucky minority, those ideas quickly smack up against the realities of a tough job market and dull day-to-day reality. The primary step to figuring out what to do next is accepting this sort of quarter-life crisis is entirely normal. Then stop idly pondering what your passion might be, and start asking smarter questions and conducting small experiments. Nobody ever found their dream job by sitting on the couch stressing out! 

These skills can help anyone get ahead in practically any field, from running a company to running a startup. Obviously, there are certain skills specific to each field as well – but with the skills that translate across disciplines, are the ones that can be learned by anyone in any position