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“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers)

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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.

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#1

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Empathy.

Mrs-Manz , Mental Health America (MHA) / Pexels Report

22points

ॐBoyGanesh 6 hours ago

This should be tied at #1 with critical thinking. Maybe add compassion.

4points

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#2

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Critical thinking.

treywarp , freepik Report

21points

ॐBoyGanesh 6 hours ago

This and empathy should be tied for 1st.

7points

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#3

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Learning when to shut the f*** up.

SelfishMentor , freepik Report

18points

Edda Kamphues 3 hours ago

And also when to speak up.

6points

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#4

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) 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.

4th_chakra , Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels Report

16points

Kristy Marion 6 hours ago

This is empathy 101. The ability to step into someone else’s shoes and see a situation from their eyes. An ability slowly being lost in the world of me, me, me.

2points

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#5

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Listening! - Listening to understand, and not just to reply.

JeF4y , fauxels / Pexels Report

16points

Judy Reynolds 8 minutes ago

Which means more than waiting for your turn to talk!

0points

#6

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Processing emotions without projecting them onto others.

SaltySugar86 , stefamerpik / Freepik Report

15points

Sofia 3 hours ago

I will also add let others feel your emotion. So other people can realize when their behaviour make me feel scared or unconfortable. Or on the other side when I like they do something.

0points

#7

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) How has nobody mentioned Patience yet?

laziokid , Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels Report

14points

ॐBoyGanesh 6 hours ago (edited)

Our home has “The Three P’s” as our commandments: Practice Patience: Plan & Prepay; Pay Attention. When our kid was about 5 we needed to come up with a system that could apply to him and us two adults equally, with the same accountability. Paying attention to ourselves, our environment and others overt & subtle behaviors is a golden skill to have. Patience, along with slowing down, is something I continually work on & noticed that my son struggles with it, too. It’s so very valuable, especially when we need to be patient with others.

1point

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#8

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Using a blinker.

Bill_Belamy , Mathias Reding / Pexels Report

14points

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#9

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Reading comprehension.

SkinkAttendant , John Ray Ebora / Pexels Report

13points

#10

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) De-escalation.

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

Ineedyoursway , yanalya / Freepik Report

12points

shivaani 7 hours ago

This would avoid so many war and conflicts

2points

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#11

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Effective communication.

springreturning , Buro Millennial / Pexels Report

11points

Dorothea Lehmann 3 hours ago (edited)

This should be higher.

1point

#12

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Being nice to each other.

NineWetGiraffes , Amina Filkins / Pexels Report

11points

#13

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Admit if you're wrong.

Beneficial_Music_441 , Suzy Hazelwood / Pexels Report

11points

cerinamroth 3 hours ago

But not with a little smiley face on a post-it. That doesn't come across as sincere.

1point

#14

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) I think manners, so underrated in our society.

Previous_Pick6487 , Karolina Kaboompics / Pexels Report

11points

#15

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Common sense and being rational.

SlumpGaud , jcomp / Freepik Report

10points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

Some people, especially those with an excess of testosterone and between the ages of 14 and 25, just have to do stupid risky things.

1point

#16

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Not to get too woo woo, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet, so: meditation.

Electric-Sheepskin , Prasanth Inturi / Pexels Report

10points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

Studies have found some people become mentally worse from meditation.

0points

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#17

Kindness.

10points

Judy Reynolds 5 minutes ago

Something the world needs more of!!

0points

#18

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Not taking things personally. Very few things in life are personal.

anon , Andrea Piacquadio / Pexels Report

10points

G Bono 1 hour ago

I've come to realize most things are inconveniences and not problems. Now when I start to get annoyed, I pause and ask myself if its an inconvenience or a problem. Not having a charged phone is an inconvenience. Its a problem if I need it to report an emergency or be notified of one. I define a problem as something that will be remembered or affected 6+ months later. For everything else will probably be forgotten within minutes or hours and isn't worth getting upset over

0points

#19

Picking up after yourself.

BottleTemple Report

10points

#20

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Gardening.

Hot-Butterscotch127 , cottonbro studio / Pexels Report

9points

Judy Reynolds 3 minutes ago

Brings patience to the fore - gardening is not fast!

0points

#21

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) This…

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

Money_Tower1884 , karlyukav / Freepik Report

9points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

I can do the alone part. But I do have to have a piano in the room.

0points

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#22

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) 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.

Kriskao , Lisa Fotios / Pexels Report

9points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

I rode one time with an acquaintance who was the classic BMW aggressive driver who tailgated everyone, drove 15mph over every speed limit, weaved across traffic and cut people off. He was cursing and swearing at everyone for being a bad driver, It scared the heck out of me to be his passenger.

0points

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#23

Keeping it in their pants.

SisterCyrene Report

9points

Adam Jeff 5 hours ago

...until invited to get it out. Nothing wrong with swinging it around anywhere you want so long as it's consensual.

3points

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#24

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Self-awareness.

AdmiralBarackAdama , Puwadon Sang-ngern / Pexels Report

8points

PattyK 6 hours ago

And awareness of others.

1point

#25

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

Big_blue_392 Report

8points

ॐBoyGanesh 6 hours ago (edited)

It’s instinctive if one has high level of Midi-chloriana.

3points

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#26

Civility.

ToYourCredit Report

8points

#27

Pausing and thinking before responding. .

SomeVelveteenMorning Report

8points

#28

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

FunctionConfident296 Report

7points

G Bono 1 hour ago

Authenticity (?)

2points

#29

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) Conflict resolution.

EnvironmentalGap2098 , Diva Plavalaguna / Pexels Report

7points

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#30

Budgeting.

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7points

#31

Logic.

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7points

#32

Cooking.

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7points

#33

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

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7points

Cee Cee 5 hours ago

Starfish - flat on your back arms out. Recommended by RNLI and life guards here in the UK.

0points

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#34

Recognizing misinformation.

Legendary_Lamb2020 Report

7points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

That gets harder every day. It takes reading multiple news sources to get a balanced view. But learning how to recognize the trigger words that authoritarian leaders use to fire up hate in their followers would be useful.

0points

#35

Being honest.

6points

#36

“What Is A Skill That The Whole World Would Benefit From If Everyone Mastered It?” (45 Answers) 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.

ThailurCorp , Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels Report

6points

Jill Rhodry 2 hours ago

Yeah, the neurospicey community's been trying to figure this one out for quite a while now.

1point

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#37

Perspective.

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

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6points

G Bono 1 hour ago

Wisdom doesn't come with age, but perspective (hopefully) does.

1point

#38

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.

phoenixxl Report

6points

#39

Media literacy.

Little-Bones Report

6points

#40

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.

Redacted_G1iTcH Report

6points

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#41

Compassion.

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5points

#42

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

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5points

#43

Being able to self sooth,.

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5points

keyboardtek 2 hours ago

Long hot bath with epsom salts!

1point

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#44

Unlearning hate.

BxHemi369 Report

5points

ZuriLovesYou 6 hours ago (edited)

Personally, I think it's okay to hate. It's an emotion just like love is. You just have to make sure you don't let that hate consume you.

2points

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#45

Leaving people the f**k alone.

unsmartkid Report

4points

Miglė Miliūtė

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

Mindaugas Balčiauskas

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

I'm a visual editor at Bored Panda. I kickstart my day with a mug of coffee bigger than my head, ready to tackle Photoshop. I navigate through the digital jungle with finesse, fueled by bamboo breaks and caffeine kicks. When the workday winds down, you might catch me devouring bamboo snacks while binging on the latest TV show, gaming or I could be out in nature, soaking up the tranquility and communing with my inner panda.

What do you think ?

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