There are certain life skills that can’t be taught in a school or college. You learn them by yourself in your home as you grow.
In this article we will talk about 20 such skills that you need in your life. If you have these 20 life skills in your life then it will be very easy for you to find a job or build a career or even help you in many of the situations in day to day life.
Most of the life skills mentioned below can’t be acquired in just one day or a week. You need to start working on them right now.
It takes years of learning and patience to learn these skills. As time passes you will evolve and acquire these skills. It is not necessary that you need to have all of the 20 skills but you must have few of them because they are very important and everyone needs in his or her life.
Let us learn about them.
1. Engaging Someone in a Conversation
The first life skill that you learn is engaging someone in a conversation. How do you talk to someone you don’t know? 
Engaging someone in a conversation and taking it forward is one of the most important skills that you will learn in your life.
No school or college can teach this skill. If you can talk to someone then your life is all set. You can find any job you like.
2. Listening is More Important than Speaking
Listening skills are more important than speaking. Someone said it takes more courage to sit and listen than to stand and speak. 
So if you have listening skills then you will have a developed personality. A well developed personality can do wonders for you especially if you want to build a career.
For having good listening skills you need to have patience and it starts from your home. So learn how to listen.
3. Art of Convincing Someone
If you are able to engage someone in a conversation and listen to him then you have learned art of convincing others. 
You must know how you can convince someone you are talking to. The guy you are talking to is a random guy and you have never met him before but you must be able to persuade him in the very first conversation you are having.
You will learn the importance of this life skill when you will be appearing for interviews.
4. How to Handle Criticism
This is one the most important skills that you are going to learn in your life. If you want to excel in your life then you need to learn handling criticism. 
You can’t evolve if you don’t learn from criticism. If you can’t take criticism in your stride then you can’t achieve something big in your life.
You need to learn how to take a criticism positively and amend mistakes so that you grow even saner.
5. Anger Management
Anger is very bad. Your temperament must be positive if you want to be anything in your life. 
You need to learn how to control your anger. If you can control your anger then you not only excel in your career but also in your personal life.
Unfortunately no one teaches it in schools so you have to learn by yourself because in home also you can’t find any help in this department.
6. Controlling All Emotions
If you learn all the above mentioned five life skills then you have learned to control your emotions. If you can control hate, fear, greed, anger, lust etc then you have achieved nirvana. 
No one will tell you how to control your emotions. No college or even your parents can teach about controlling your emotions.
You will be happier for rest of your life.
7. Making Money from Money
Now we shall talk about some real things. You have to learn how to make money from money very early on in your life. 
Making money from money means how you invest your money rightly so you get best out of your investment. You have to deal with debt related issues very early and later on when you retire you must be left with some money.
So you have to learn how to save money and also how to invest so that it grows with time as you grow older.
8. Buying More Stuff For Less Money
This point is extension of my previous point. We buy stuffs daily like our clothes, grocery and other accessories. 
And we don’t know how to spend money wisely. You need to know how you can save money daily. You are wasting your money if you don’t know how to save it.
You need to use coupon, buy on holidays or festival seasons etc. Look out for bulk deals where you can save money. Saving money is an important skill that you are going to learn in your life.
9. Using Google Efficiently
This is very technical. But it is not that difficult. 
Now internet has become a reality. So you need to learn how to use Google. If you want to search anything, want to do some research or find out anything then you must know how to use Google.
You can’t become an expert on Google but you must have basic knowledge about the search engine.
You need to learn some tricks that are very basic.
10. How to Handle Government Authorities
What do you mean by handling government authorities? Well at times you have to deal with government official in some or other way. 
Suppose you have issue with RTO then you need to know how to talk to officials there. Similarly you need ration card or voter id then you have to engage with government official.
Government officials are bit different than others because they are tough to negotiate with. So you must know how to deal with them.
11. Learning As Many As Languages
You must learn as many as languages in your life. It is always good to have knowledge of other languages. 
You can talk to a guy in a language he speaks then you have a great future ahead of you. You find jobs easily where multilingual candidates are required.
Learning different languages also helps you to know about other cultures around the world. You can become an interpolator or a translator.
12. Solving Aptitude and Reasoning Questions
Everywhere you go for a job you will be given a paper full of questions related to aptitude and reasoning. You need to master how to solve these problems.
You will be asked these questions in every job or interview you appear. Buy a book and practice these questions, if you do then your life would be easy. You could easily be hired by any organization.
13. Computer Basics & MS Office
Another life skill that you must know is MS Office and basics of computer. If you know MS office then that is enough. You need to know
how to work with MS Word and MS Excel.
Excel is more important than Word. You need to learn Excel not just for getting job but also for doing our daily chore. If you know Excel then you can solve many problems.
14. English and Basic Math
Both English and Math are important, especially math. You must develop your skills when it comes to speaking in English and learning basic Math. 
Without good communication in English you can’t enter the work force. On the other hand Math is great for creating a level playing field. Even if you are poor then also you can aim high if you are good at Math.
So learn both skills.
15. Fixing Ceiling , Your Computer, Sewing, Hemming, Laundry, Toilet etc
This point is very general. But it is very important to learn. You must be able to do the entire chore like fixing your ceiling fan & electricity fuse, fixing computer, sewing, hemming, laundry and even cleaning your toilet. 
You must be able to do all your chores. Whether you are a boy or a girl, man or woman you need to learn these skills in your life.
Obviously these skills are not going to give job but certainly it will make your life easy.
16. How to Cook Almost Everything
Cooking is also a great skill to acquire. Could you believe it? 
Yes if you have passion for cooking then your hobby could be turned into a profession. You could be a great chef or even start your own restaurant.
But apart from a job you have to learn this life skill so you don’t have to eat food from a hotel.
17. Babysitting
Babysitting you need to learn as you grow older. You may not feel learning this skill when you are young while you are still in college. 
But when you grow up, start looking up for a job and finally decide to settle down and then have babies so you must know how to raise kids.
If you are out of job and your spouse is not in home and you need to take care of the baby then you definitely require babysitting skills.
18. Driving a Four Wheeler
Riding a bike or driving a four wheeler is not a difficult thing but you must know because it will make your life a lot easier. 
Many people don’t know how to drive a four wheeler and some don’t know even how to ride a bike. So driving skill is another important life skill that you are going to learn in your life.
19. Making Friends Wisely and Ability to say NO
Perhaps I should have mentioned this very early in this article. You must need to learn how to make friends that are honest and can help you when you are in need. 
You also need to learn to say NO to those friends that are just mooching you off. You have to spot the difference and make a wise decision.
20. Self Defense for Ladies
Finally this is for ladies. You got to learn how to defend yourself. Just carrying pepper spray in your bag is not enough.
You need to learn martial arts and even know how to shoot. Even men can learn.
So these were 20 life skills that everyone should have. You must try to acquire most of them. If you do then your life would be a lot happier & easier.
