Whether for personal or professional growth, working on developing new skills is always a good idea, be it communication and other soft skills or sewing, for that matter. But not all people are equally interested in developing a certain skill set, even if they know how beneficial it could be.

Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed the advantages of learning certain skills after one user started a thread about it – they asked fellow netizens what is a skill that the whole world would benefit from if everyone mastered it. Redditors’ answers covered all sorts of soft and hard skills, so if you’re curious to learn which ones they believed to be the most useful on a global scale, scroll down to find them on the list below and make sure to upvote the ones you agree with the most.

#1

Processing emotions without projecting them onto others.

Image credits: SaltySugar86

#2

Learning when to shut the f*** up.

Image credits: SelfishMentor

#3

Critical thinking.

Image credits: treywarp

#4

Empathy.

Image credits: Mrs-Manz

#5

Reading comprehension.

Image credits: SkinkAttendant

#6

Making someone feel valued as a person.

So that front desk worker who is struggling, because it's a holiday weekend, and they're swamped, and there's no extra help, and they're looking more than a little panicked, but they're holding it together and still being professional:

When it's my turn in line I say, "Hey, how's it going?" it snaps them out of whatever mindset they were in the middle of. "Looks a little crazy here today. Long day?" and they'll open up a bit. It literally gives them a minute to catch their breath, and be a human again, rather than an over-worked service.

I might even ask them if they have plans for the holiday weekend, or what they are going to do to unwind after the day. Anything. Be friendly.

The goal there is to get a smile. They might not say thank you, but you can see it in their eyes.

It matters. We're all here doing our thing, but we can also treat our fellow people decently along the way.

Image credits: 4th_chakra

#7

"How to bullseye womp rats in a T-16"

#8

De-escalation.

Imagine everyone being able to stay calm and level headed while resolving disputes.

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#9

Effective communication.

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#10

Being nice to each other.

Image credits: NineWetGiraffes

#11

Self-awareness.

Image credits: AdmiralBarackAdama

#12

Common sense and being rational.

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#13

Listening! - Listening to understand, and not just to reply.

Image credits: JeF4y

#14

Conflict resolution.

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#15

Gardening.

Image credits: Hot-Butterscotch127

#16

How has nobody mentioned Patience yet?

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#17

Not to get too woo woo, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so: meditation.

Image credits: Electric-Sheepskin

#18

Using a blinker.

Image credits: Bill_Belamy

#19

Focused attention on command.

It's the number one under valued commodity.

Focused human attention gives us everything we value in society and it's the solution to all of our problems if implemented at scale.

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#20

This…

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal.

Image credits: Money_Tower1884

#21

Not taking things personally. Very few things in life are personal.

Image credits: anon

#22

1. Empathy
2. Kindness
3. Gratitude
4. Effective Communication Skills
5. Genuineness (is that a word).

#23

Budgeting.

#24

Civility.

#25

Cooking.

#26

Pausing and thinking before responding. .

#27

Swimming/treading water- would save tens of thousands of lives each year.

#28

Learning not to externalize costs but be responsible for the effects of your own actions.

#29

Being able to self sooth,.

#30

Unlearning hate.

#31

Admit if you're wrong.

#32

Knowing what neurosis is and the types, knowing what psychosis is and the types. Being able to read the signs of both and understanding there is more beyond. These two will do for the desired effect.

#33

If everyone driving knew how to drive it would be awesome. If we add driving defensively and courteously then it would make a huge difference.

#34

Calisthenics. There’d certainly be no obesity and a severe drop in health problems. Also exercise does wonders for mental health so that would certainly be on the decrease. Also exercise helps you think better, so people may get a little smarter.

Common sense and critical thinking are my #2 and #3.

#35

I think manners, so underrated in our society.

#36

Logic.

#37

Compassion.

#38

Being honest.

#39

Kindness.

#40

Recognizing misinformation.

#41

Perspective.

Someone already said Empathy which is a similar skill, but more broadly, perspective for relating circumstances in both logical and emotional ways.

#42

Keeping it in their pants.

#43

Leaving people the f**k alone.

#44

Media literacy.

#45

Picking up after yourself.