What life skills should every adult have?

[Minibit]

Stuff that can either save your life or just make it way simpler. Necessary shit.

I think every adult should be able to

• Read a map
• Make fire
• Find North without a compass
• Drive a car
• Change a tire
• Check all their car fluids
• Use a dictionary
• Spell/Use grammar correctly
• Create a trim résumé
• Cook a full and nutritious meal
• Read a nutrition label
• Understand the care instruction label on clothing
• Wash laundry by hand
• Wash laundry in a machine
• Use a basic toolbox (drill, screwdriver, ratchet, etc)
• Use a first aid kit
• Recognize a stroke
• Recognize a heart attack
• Recognize a seizure
• Understand what clothing is appropriate for a situation
• (For ladies) know how to stand/sit/ walk in a dress or skirt

 

[Lady Sabine]

• Know how to hold/handle a gun. At least to the extent that you can recognize an idiot who is going to accidentally discharge it, know not to point it at anyone, and how to unload it.
• How to apologize. ESPECIALLY if you don't think you actually did anything wrong.
• How to give a good handshake. And a hug.
• How to use Google. There really aren't many questions you can't answer this way.
• Maintaining eye contact without it being creepy.
• How to keep clean. Some hints- Ladies: wipe front to back. Gentlemen: wash your hands. Before AND after, if necessary.
• Both: pee after sex. Prevents UTIs.
• How to say "thank you" in every language you're likely to need.
• Deal with an infection without broad spectrum antibiotics. Related: how to FINISH the damn course of antibiotics and stop breeding superbugs.
• How to read for: 1. content 2. tone 3. errors.
• Recognize bugs that can actually hurt you and stop screaming about all of them.
• Pick up a snake without getting bitten. The snake doesn't deserve to die because you're the one who can't handle the situation.
• Properly clean/care for cats and dogs. You'll probably be either a pet-owner or pet-sitter at least once in your life; learn how to do it right.
• How to use a plunger.
• How to turn off the utilities to your home.
• How to brush & floss. You only need to take care of the teeth you want to keep.
• Recognize when someone is attracted to you.
• Recognize when someone hates you.
• Knowing how to talk with your grandparents/old farts in general is a nice bonus. Hint: most of them have pretty good senses of humor.
• Knowing the difference between peer-reviewed, scientifically sound studies and studies that find whatever they want to find is a good one, too.

 

[Fijoli]

I don't want to write a list so I chose Two things I think every adult should have skill-wise;

Common sense
And
Common courteousy

...Because they are two things
You can only learn with either age
Or
Life experience and I consider them both an important skill to hone.​

 

[Ochalla]

Balance a checkbook/budget!

 

[LogicfromLogic]

-Patience
-Learning to laugh at yourself
-Cooking
-Cleaning
-Learn the bus system
-Balancing finances



Most important, the urge to curb that need to beat someone with a broom. That's a skill most never learn...

 

[Kooriryu]

Balance a checkbook/budget!

And on a related note, surprisingly unmentioned right after the deadline in the U.S.:

LEARN HOW TO GODDAMN FILE YOUR FUCKING TAXES.

Deductibles, man. Learn them shits. F'real.

 

[heliacalRebirth]

- Learn to tolerate small children (you or your friends or even your neighbors might have those devilish creatures)
- Learn how much alcohol you can handle- trying to outdrink your friends and getting hammered; that stuff should all be gone after your early 20s

 

[Diana]

EMERGENCY PLANNING.

Because you never know when something bad might happen. >> That can be anything from carrying bandaids in your purse, to knowing where to go during a tornado, to how to collect water if you get lost in a forest, to HOW TO SURVIVE DURING THE APOCALYPSE.


Do you know what local plants are safe for you to eat?
Do you know what BUGS you can eat? Animals?
Do you have a basic knowledge of how to garden?
Do you know how to build a simple shelter, or ways to keep dry and warm?
Do you know the basic rules of cooking?
Sewing is a good thing to know not just for mending clothes, but for mending PEOPLES!

Do you know what to do during a mass epidemic?
Do you have a strategy plan for zombies?
Do you know the safest place to be if your country comes under attack?
Do you know where to go during a flood? Hurricane? Tornado? Earthquake?

 

[IceChateau777]

In my opinion, every adult should know how to manage their time.
Role Play becomes less important (or at least, in my mind) when it comes to managing the bills and having children.

Also, don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[NikoMyschaya]

1: Know how to Survive
2: Be able to see what people are actually Capable of
3: Be able to tell what is actually Right and Wrong

 

[Lady Sabine]

3: Be able to tell what is actually Right and Wrong

According to who? Correct/false, moral/immoral, and ethical/unethical are not the same things.

 

[NikoMyschaya]

According to who? Correct/false, moral/immoral, and ethical/unethical are not the same things.

According to what will not result in their being Imprisoned or Shot.
One should only make their Moves when things are precisely Right.
These are usually done in the Shadows of the Night after the last Lamp goes out.

 

[Cerion]

A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

 

[Scrap Iron]

• How to budget -- time, money, and other resources
• How to read (and sign) a contract
• How to haggle
• How to balance a checkbook
• How to get a loan
• How to buy a house/car
• How to fix a leaky faucet
• How to fix running toilet
• When to get a warranty on a purchase
• How to shop around for insurance

 

[RiverNotch]

-How to have and handle children of any age. Because when the poop hits the fan, them children are our future.
-How to pleasure whatever sex the adult is attracted to. Because you can't have children without this.
-How to cook multiple full and nutritious meals, all of which are of varying taste and nutritional value. It's good to be specific.
-How to recognize mistakes.
-How to think about more metaphysical things, like the meaning of life and whatever.
-How to build a house.
-How to make clothes.
-How to communicate (that is, both speak and listen) with clarity to the self.
-How to communicate with clarity to other people.
-How to clean things.
-How to repair living human bodies with pretty much anything.
-How to prepare dead human bodies for afterlife rituals.
-How to make music with at least one instrument. This counts a pen and paper and the human voice.
-How to be exclusive. This maybe somewhat pretentious, but survival necessitates resource management, which means rejecting resource pitfalls like the really sick and whatever.
-How to exclude politics from stuff.
-How to use skills at the appropriate times.

 

[T'Shara]

Learn not to be frustrated with people who take longer than you to understand a concept. You never know, in the next chapter/subject/skill, you might be the "slow" one. This was a hard lesson for me to learn as a tutor, but it has served me well in keeping me humble and realistic about my intelligence and abilities, while giving me the patience to encourage and teach others.

In general, just learn to be patient, with others, and with yourself.

 

[ᴛᴏᴄᴋᴀ]

-How to communicate (that is, both speak and listen) with clarity to the self.
-How to communicate with clarity to other people.

I cannot express how much I agree with that.

 

[Hatsune Candy]

I'm not quite an adult yet, but I've been through so much crap that I might as well be in my 30's.
I think adults should know:

-How to keep up with current events
-How to admit when your wrong
-How to not be judgmental
-How to compromise and not be stubborn
-How to be productive
-How to be a leader
-How to trust people
-How to set good examples for children
-How to accept change or loss
-How to live outside your comfort zone
-How to use moderation with pretty much everything
-How to be realistically optimistic
-How to have self control
-How to live life to the fullest
-How to never say "good enough"
-How to deal with the unexpected
-How to put others first
-How to deal with conflicting emotions
-How to forgive others
-How to forgive yourself
-How to control impulses
-How to respect others and their beliefs, identity, sexuality, gender, etc.

 

[Lady Sabine]

Adding one in there...

• PERSUASION

Life goes better when you know how to get what you want. If you do it and make other people happy as well, you're persuasive. If you hurt or betray other people, you're manipulative. Knowing how to walk the delicate line where you get where you need to be while helping others along the way is VITAL to succeeding.