5 Important skills you probably were'nt taught in school

It was Mark Twain that said: “don’t allow schooling interfere with your education” which is very much true.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m an advocate of formal education but I make bold to say that school is not where education ends.

The best you could get from the university is a degree, few connections and maybe a little exposure. In fact, you could be an expert in your chosen major, get a nice job and start raising a family shortly after.

But how do you handle real life issues like emotional strain, psychological trauma, and other unforeseen challenges?

These are important life issues that you get to learn outside the four walls of a university through your daily struggles. There are no lesson notes; no professor; no lecturers; just practical experiences.

I’ll share with you 5 valuable skills you probably weren't taught in school that'll make you a better person.

1. Blogging

If there’s one thing students should learn to do while in school, it should be blogging. This is because blogging helps you to improve your writing skills, share knowledge, express yourself, promote a cause and become a better person.

It also makes you more creative not just that you get to meet people from all over the world and build quality relationships that'll help you through life.

2. Personality building

Personality building has to do with developing unique qualities that distinguish you from every other person. A great personality allows people to form a good perception about you. And once that’s done, you’ll be highly revered and have great influence on the people around you.

Building an awesome personality involves having self-discipline, high moral values and self-confidence.

3. Effective Communication

Good communication is a social necessity. It’s crucial to our success in life, work, and relationships since we need it to get through with our friends, loved ones, colleagues, and to conduct businesses successfully.

For communication to be effective there should be a feedback between the source and the receiver. That’s why it’s important to learn all its elements such as speaking, listening and writing, and how you can use them to achieve great results.

4. Entrepreneurship skills

Like many people, You probably never gave entrepreneurship a serious thought while in school. All you wanted was to graduate, get a good job, and start raising your family.

Being an entrepreneur makes you creative, you also realize that you could make as much money as you want. You can create opportunities, stand up for what you believe in and be your own boss.

There’s really no limit to what you can achieve as compared with being in a 9 to 5 job. All this no professor will tell you in school.

5. Emotional Intelligence

Nobody teaches how to handle the emotional breakdown in the university. Even if you read tons of essays on emotional intelligence, only a practical experience can give a clearer picture. 

For example, how do you handle cases of stress, workplace harassment, divorce , exam failure, and a crumbling career?

You could only handle those through your ability to identify, control and evaluate your emotions. Essentially, emotional intelligence involves creating a positive environment around you, being focused, having empathy, and taking responsibility for your behaviours. This is the easiest path to being emotionally intelligent.

In the end, you’ll realize that education is a lifelong process and there’s a lot more to learn outside of school. Look closely at real life occurrences around you and see what insights you could glean from them.

If you’re still in school, you have to think beyond your degree and develop yourself with valuable skills. That’s the only way to key into the dynamic world out there. 

Remember- "Formal education will make you a living but Self education will make you a fortune" 

-Ephraim Davies