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30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal

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A few days ago, Reddit user Abject_Analysis_8602 asked everyone on the platform to list the life skills they believe people should know by the time they're 30, and it immediately went viral. From setting healthy boundaries to basic home maintenance, continue scrolling to check out the most popular replies out of the thousands that poured in.

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#1

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Cooking basic meals. It’s not just about impressing friends; it’s essential for survival and saving money. Plus, nothing beats the satisfaction of not having to rely on takeout every night.

spicykittycutie , Ketut Subiyanto Report

63points

Bay Bo 1 week ago

Thank goodness my 13 yr old boy thinks he's getting out of school (homeschooling). He's like I'm going to make banana muffins, 5x the recipe....heeheehee he's doing fractions n multiplying n reading n cooking.

14points

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#2

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to thank others when appropriate and how to apologize when appropriate.

chunkyasparagus , Thirdman Report

49points

Rahul Pawa 1 week ago

Most people are terrible at apologizing.

5points

StumblingThroughLife 1 week ago

The more you do it, the easier it is - and being a Brit, it's almost as natural as my breathing, ;-)

1point

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Robert T 1 week ago

And to own up to your mistakes. People are a lot more understanding if you come out and say "I screwed up, but I'm fixing it".

2points

pep Ito 1 week ago

Always say thank you, not just when it is “appropriate”.

2points

madeleine f 1 week ago

To be able to apologise properly is a sign of strength. Far too many see it a weakness and refuse blankly it's ok to be and do wrong as long as you acknowledge that.

1point

MotherRobinson 1 week ago

Same scenario in the movie Unhinged with Russell Crowe.

0points

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Lene 5 days ago

That handshake looks super weak! Lol. As a woman I must say that a firm handshake can win you respect from a lot of people (men) who otherwise ridicule women. Perhaps even more when you are in academia and shake hands with someone who has a more hands-on work (handymen, mechanics and that sort). I know it is pretty sexist to say this, but I speak from experience. And I would LOVE for it to not be true. I hope it may only apply for older generations but for me it still applies.

0points

Patricia Steward 1 week ago

Looking back, my family NEVER apologized for anything. It wasn't until I met a new friend who was upfront about apologizing that I realized it was okay to say sorry.

0points

Erick L. 1 week ago

It depend of what you are apologizing for and who.

0points

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#3

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to research topics and vet information sources.

montholdsmegma , Vlada Karpovich Report

46points

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

TIL I learnt the meaning of the word "vet" that has nothing to do with animal doctors :)

7points

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#4

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to accept the word no.

I have worked in customer care, all my adult life and entitlement can be seen at all ends of the spectrum. However, the wealthiest people seem to struggle the most with a two letter word.

teachmeyourstory , Keira Burton Report

43points

Ellinor 1 week ago

And remember that "no" is a full sentence, sometimes people don't owe you an explanation.

12points

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#5

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal I know this sounds politically charged but by 30, people should be able to still hold a conversation and be respectful while also disagreeing. It's a common thing this era for people to storm off and talk c**p when they disagree. Blocking people, banning people, etc.

The world has over 8 billion people in it. It's pretentious to assume that everyone should always agree with you.

Neat_Economics5190 , Keira Burton Report

42points

Trillian 1 week ago

That depends. If your political "opinion" denies people basic human rights I am done being respectful.

12points

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#6

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Set healthy boundaries. Stop letting people invalidate your worth or push you in a direction you aren’t comfortable going. Don’t be afraid to walk away from people, jobs, or situations that are bad for you.

Daiiga , SHVETS production Report

42points

Traveling Lady Railfan 1 week ago

This is so important! Learning your worth, learning how to say no and not feel bad about it, learn to set personal boundaries and don't feel guilty, these are all things that you're told, but you have to learn them before the lesson sticks. I didn't learn these by the time I was 30, but thankfully, I'm learning these things now. And I got to say, it can be really hard to learn to step away from something that you know that you could fix that you know that you could take care of, but just learning how to step away from doing it? Letting other people do it or let it not get done at all, man that is really hard for someone like me who likes to see things done well.

5points

#7

How to be alone. Sometimes it’s good to just be by yourself.

mikeyfireman Report

39points

Michael None 1 week ago

I learned long ago that other people are the source of many of my problems. Disconnect and have a few friends it's a better life.

5points

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#8

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to choose good fruit, and vegetables at the grocery store!

Narrow_Tonight3369 , Jack Sparrow Report

37points

Trillian 1 week ago

Without squeezing the hell out of every piece of fruit on display please.

9points

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#9

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Basic financial literacy.

Shouldn't need to come to reddit to ask if it's better to pay down your mortgage or the micro loan you took out from the Albanian mafia.

Live_2_win_ , Photo By:Kaboompics.com Report

36points

Orysha 1 week ago

You don't want to mess with the Albanian mafia. In my country they are more into selling d***s.

4points

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#10

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to make a decision based on facts and objective evidence from credible sources.

1ksassa , Ron Lach Report

33points

N G 1 week ago

Some people of a voting age need this skill

11points

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#11

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Basic car maintenance/knowledge. i.e., changing a tire, checking oil levels, adding oil if needed, changing windshield wipers. A little of preventative maintenance goes a long way.

vasedans , Ron Lach Report

30points

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

This is getting harder though with "smart" designs.

10points

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#12

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Listening. Everything doesn’t have to be about you, and you don’t have to have all the answers, sometimes just listening to someone is all they need.

shhh-dolly , Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 Report

29points

Julia Ford 1 week ago

This is so important.

3points

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#13

As a chef I’ve got to go with basic food hygiene. Learning how to store your food properly, knowing temperature danger zones, cross contamination & basic COSHH.

The amount of times I’ve had to bite my tongue seeing p**s poor standards in friends & family’s kitchens makes me anxious to eat there.

RushExisting Report

29points

Pandemonium 1 week ago

TIL: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

9points

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#14

Household budgeting.

LucyVialli Report

28points

pfeils wife 1 week ago

How to pay a bill FFS. Taxes? Mortgage interest? Credit card dangers? Credit card interest? They don't even teach kids in school how to balance a checkbook. They should be teaching some type of financial responsibility at least... but THIS... this is what's important in Louisiana: "Louisiana is the first state to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in all public school classrooms, beginning in 2025" Yeahhh, cuz that's what the next generation will need to survive.

10points

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#15

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal CPR.

It's one day out of your life in exchange for all the rest of the days of someone else's.

GaidinBDJ , Raven Domingo Report

28points

Traveling Lady Railfan 1 week ago

I do a refresher course every 3 years, to redo my certification. It's never been required for my work, it's always been a bonus that I bring to the workplace, but I figure, how horrible will I feel if a loved one ever has an emergency and I'm just standing there and the only thing I can do is try to call an ambulance while they're dying? Taking a CPR course, taking a first aid course, it takes a day. You can save a life.

3points

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#16

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Swim. Amazing how many people don't know how to swim, go in the water.

im-buster , Kindel Media Report

27points

Robert T 1 week ago

Also, knowing where not to swim, even if you can. Old quarries, places where there are rip currents etc.

5points

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#17

Being on time. Being late for everything is not an adult activity.

Turdulator Report

26points

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

See above, "time management"

1point

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#18

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to have uncomfortable conversations about feelings and defining boundaries. People who don’t have these skills cause more problems than they’re worth.

theharmlessshark , Agustina Tolosa Report

25points

StumblingThroughLife 1 week ago

It also 50% depends on the person you're discussing it with. There's a reason so many peeps just bite their tongues and inwardly deal with it - esp if you're introverted or are not a voluble peep.

4points

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#19

How to read a map.

wildinshanghai Report

25points

Geoffrey Scott 1 week ago

Or, as REM advised, "Stand in the place where you are, now face north"

4points

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#20

Do laundry.

VelvetGoddessDoll Report

24points

madeleine f 1 week ago

Never mix your undies with your kitchen towels. 😬

3points

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#21

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal Saying no. Get really good at saying yes in your 20s. It opens lots of doors and teaches you to get outside of your comfort zone to grow. By 30, be ruthless with your time and get good at saying no thoughtfully, politely, and firmly.

thisisaredditacct , Monstera Production Report

23points

#22

Stop buying things on credit

Stop speeding in parking lots

Be nice to others

Realize you aren’t as smart as you think you are. Learn from other people

It’s OK to put your phone down and experience and enjoy the world

No one thinks you are cool because they can hear your car stereo…when your windows are rolled down

Again. Being nice and kind to people will help make the world a better place .

FoxBeach Report

21points

Dzessa Golden 1 week ago

Your car horn is not a door bell.

9points

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#23

Time management.

Moon_Jewel90 Report

20points

#24

Tell time on an analog clock.

BigWave360 Report

20points

mehPS 1 week ago

Learn to read cursive. Then when you are in DC you can read the original Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.

4points

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#25

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to walk away from a situation with escalating tensions. Some guy is getting angrier and angrier for any reason, you need to know how to just raise your hands up, apologize genuinely, back away about 6 feet, and then turn around and walk away. This can save you from getting into a fist fight, to saying something you can't ever take back. You can use this with random people on the street, at bars, or even with friends and family that you might get into it with.

If you want to learn more about deescalating a tense situation, check out Verbal Judo

midnight_reborn , Egor Myznik Report

19points

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

Note to myself: check out Verbal Judo.

3points

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#26

Not everyone can be your friend, learn to walk away from people that threaten your peace of mind.

frydsiken Report

19points

MacClovia Solis 1 week ago

Sounds like giving up on people but it's more about self preservation.

2points

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#27

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How to advocate: for yourself, your children, your loved ones. Especially when it comes to healthcare, the system is broken and you need to be proactive in getting what you need.

infinite_awkward , Pavel Danilyuk Report

18points

#28

Cooking basic meals, budgeting, maintenance (of anything you own that need it), and more importantly, communication.

16points

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

Feels like this sums up about 15 of the previous posts...

5points

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#29

30 Of The Most Essential Life Skills Every Adult Needs Before Life Becomes Brutal How not to think everything revolves around them.

Insight and personal responsibility.

mario454545 , Helena Jankovičová Kováčová Report

16points

pfeils wife 1 week ago

ughhh, FFS. FINE! I won't even say it 🙄

-1point

#30

Being able to express your needs, feelings, and boundaries clearly and respectfully.

Even-Razzmatazz1822 Report

16points

April Pickett 1 week ago

Getting them heard is a different thing.

3points

Note: this post originally had 55 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Dominyka

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

What do you think ?

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

It may be possible to burn this down to 10-20 important things without losing much content. But I may just be over-critical these days.

3points

Huddo's sister 1 week ago

You should have learned most of these by the time you finish school

2points

Panda McPandaface 1 week ago

Sooo many duplicates.

1point

Herringbone 1 week ago (edited)

All those people talking about 'changing a tyre (or tire)' surely mean changing a wheel? Changing a car tyre requires special equipment. I can change a wheel. Maybe they' mean bicycle tyres? I wouldn't know, as I've never owned one.

1point

Papa 1 week ago

They mean taking the tire and wheel off the vehicle and replacing it with another one. It's a commonly used term. I have never heard someone say "I had to change the wheel on my car because I had a flat tire."

0points

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Annik Perrot 1 week ago

I meant changing à wheel. Except that many modern cars, particularly electric or hybrid, don't have spare wheels any more.

0points

Janissary35680 1 week ago

They mean the rubber bit.

0points

K- THULU 1 week ago

I don't know... suppose people mature later these days but had most of these down by the time I was 20....

1point

Zack Terry 1 week ago

Maybe I missed it, but critical thinking should be in this.

0points

A Jones 1 week ago

Grace with folly and taking accountability for mistakes. We're not perfect and try our best to avoid mistakes, but do be honest when a mistake is made and it'll help you prevent future mistakes if you see that a mistake is made. It helps you become a humble adult.

-1point

Rachel Pelz 1 week ago

It may be possible to burn this down to 10-20 important things without losing much content. But I may just be over-critical these days.

3points

Huddo's sister 1 week ago

You should have learned most of these by the time you finish school

2points

Panda McPandaface 1 week ago

Sooo many duplicates.

1point

Herringbone 1 week ago (edited)

All those people talking about 'changing a tyre (or tire)' surely mean changing a wheel? Changing a car tyre requires special equipment. I can change a wheel. Maybe they' mean bicycle tyres? I wouldn't know, as I've never owned one.

1point

Papa 1 week ago

They mean taking the tire and wheel off the vehicle and replacing it with another one. It's a commonly used term. I have never heard someone say "I had to change the wheel on my car because I had a flat tire."

0points

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Annik Perrot 1 week ago

I meant changing à wheel. Except that many modern cars, particularly electric or hybrid, don't have spare wheels any more.

0points

Janissary35680 1 week ago

They mean the rubber bit.

0points

K- THULU 1 week ago

I don't know... suppose people mature later these days but had most of these down by the time I was 20....

1point

Zack Terry 1 week ago

Maybe I missed it, but critical thinking should be in this.

0points

A Jones 1 week ago

Grace with folly and taking accountability for mistakes. We're not perfect and try our best to avoid mistakes, but do be honest when a mistake is made and it'll help you prevent future mistakes if you see that a mistake is made. It helps you become a humble adult.

-1point

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