Soft Skills Essential For Success in Life
By Priyasha Bansal
Founder of Buzzing Spot, Author, Blogger, Youtuber
Sonipat, India
Introduction by Venkat
Success is multidimensional in nature as there are multiple components to it and many times involves the collaboration of people working together towards it. Ever since eukaryotic cells came into being, as multi-cellular organisms with multiple organ systems coordinating within us, we as humans are among the best real life example of success. Every moment we breathe is the live experience of a phenomenal bio-chemical success happening as a human being.
The measure of success in our activities is the compound effect of intention, application of skill, material benefits of the produce/creation and the corresponding value generated in terms of experience. The application of skill has several subcomponents to it such as knowledge, skill related experience, creativity, problem-solving experience and the important one called ‘soft skills’. With the understanding of success involving the function of various engaged components, it is clear that there must be ways to manage through uncertainties, depletion of resources, variability in skill level, diversities, variable socio-economic background of people, variances in age and experience within team and the willingness to cooperate and coordinate. This becomes essential because progress never happens in a linear or obstruction-free fashion. This is where ‘soft-skills’ play a vital role and are undoubtedly essential to learn early because these can be imbibed even at a young age.
Ms. Priyasha, in this article writes the various skills that come under this critical component of success, the soft-skills. The six skills mentioned by her are indeed essential and there are more that could be added. A conversation was run based on this topic in the AI Publications group and there were multiple inputs received. Thanks to Ms. Priyasha for triggering the conversation and engagement in the group. With this article now published, I am sure it will be relished and appreciated in a deeper manner by the group.
Soft Skills Essential For Success in Life
To be successful in life, certain set of skills is required. True success cannot be achieved only through acquiring ‘hard skills’, rather ‘soft skills’ are equally important for it. ‘Hard skills’ are the technical skills required to do a certain job. These are abilities learned through education and experience. Whereas ‘soft skills’ are the interpersonal skills a person has. These are also known as ‘power skills’.
Soft skills are no longer related to success only in personal life of an individual rather they shape the success in professional life as well. Gone are the days when only hard skills were enough to be a winner at the workplace.
Let us look into soft skills essential for an individual:
Patience
In life, sometimes we come across nasty, intolerable people. Or there are situations which test our spirit. In both cases, it is patience which can save us. It is patience through which we can come out as a winner while dealing with difficult situations or people.
Empathy
It is good to show sympathy to a sad person or to bandage his/her emotional wound. But it is equally important to have empathy for those whom we come in contact with in our daily lives. What I mean is putting ourselves in others shoes and then feeling their pain is a skill which can win hearts.
Listening
Usually hearing is taken as a synonym for listening. However, there is a difference between the two. All of us hear something or the other every time but few of us pay attention to it that is actually listen to it. Hence it is really important to develop the listening skill. It can be a real game changer in personal relationships.
Optimism
You might be wondering how optimism can be a skill. Well, it is. It may be natural to some to stay positive, at all times even in worst times. And some are prone to be pessimistic even if the situation is in their favor! But if you try hard and train your mind to remain optimistic in all situations, it can do miracles for your well being.
Persistence
They say “persistence is a key to success” and it is true too. The quality of never giving up on what you aim for either in professional life or in personal life will never fail you. It may involve a delayed success but a sure one.
Emotional Intelligence
One may have a high IQ (mental ability) but low EQ (emotional ability). Studies have shown that the chances of such persons having success are low. Having emotional quotient is one of the desired and expected traits in both personal and professional life. The ability to understand, use and manage not only your own emotions but others’ as well gives you an extra edge in life.
Here ends the list. If you think there are any other important soft skills required to be successful in life, do share.
By Priyasha Bansal
Founder of Buzzing Spot, Author, Blogger, Youtuber
Sonipat, India
Priyasha Bansal is a founder of Buzzing Spot an interactive digital platform on which she shares her views and opinion about life experiences , fitness , and travel. She is an author of ‘Whistling Breeze – Collection of Poems for which she was awarded with Tagore Award.
She is also a blogger and a youtuber. She has had an artistic orientation which was manifested in her stage performances of singing and drama during her school and college days. She volunteered as a radio jockey for a community radio in her college years. She is a theatre enthusiast and after a short stint in corporate world she joined theatre as performer.