SKILLS FOR EVER

Skills are learnt through repetitive process and we retain some skills and some of them we do not.  Skills that are learnt and retained for ever are the most useful skills in life.  We learn to do typing (I remember joining for typewriting class as soon as i wrote the Board Exams in 1978) and one can never forget the typewriting skills for life time.  Similarly swimming, car driving, cycling are some of the skills which are very useful and once learnt you will retain these skills for ever.

In the olden days Cycling, Typewriting, Swimming were taught for all children in most families.  The ability to learn skills and retain them is very important trait for success in life.  "Learning to Learn" by itself is a skill as one needs to have the ability to learn new skills as one grows up older.  The skill of knowing how to learn is a must for everybody and is the key to acquiring new skills and sharpening the ability to think through problems. It opens the door to other learning. 

Certain skills are very essential for our day to day life and hence are retained for ever.  However, there are skills which are retained for ever even though we do not practice them on a daily basis.  These are the skills that I classify as "Skills for Ever", viz., Swimming, Cycling, typewriting, Car Driving, etc.  These are technical skills and are needed for day to day living.

There are other skills like Communication Skills, Management Skills, Human Relations and Leadership Skills which are acquired and learnt over a period of time.

At every stage in life it is important for us to take stock of our own skills and see if there is any need for acquiring new skills or sharpening the existing skills.  We are living in a technological world where it is extremely important for us to acquire new skills in order to stay in tune with the current way of living.  I have seen some old people learn computer skills and thanks to Steve Jobs they are able to use the iPAD conveniently for their chatting, emails and other requirements.

"Ability to adapt" and "learning to learn" are the two essential qualities required for learning new skills and retaining "skills for ever".  Skills help us to live smarter in this world and hence acquiring and retaining skills is very essential and important.

T.P.Anand
Chennai
19th August 2012