I’m concerned as to how teenagers and adults can lose themselves or get stressed in the digital age.
There isn’t a magic wand to become more confident and successful in an unknown future.
But with a better understanding of the world we live in, we can make more informed decisions and get unstuck in life.
With over 20 years managing innovative projects, I’m fascinated by what human beings can create with technology.
However, I also witness how a program can create addiction, stress, and loss of meaningful connections.
After observing how people navigate through changes, I identified three common characteristics of thriving individuals who never feel like victims, regardless of what happens in their life.
Before we dive in those common traits, let’s see first current challenges we are facing.
The gap in our education system
We live in a fast-changing world, where instant access to information and being permanently connected to the internet have become a standard.
One would think that thanks to the internet it’s easier than ever to find answers to problems we encounter in our everyday life.
I would argue that it has never been so challenging to filter the data that we receive and to find meaningful answers to our questions.
The same tools that are supposed to help us feel connected to the rest of the world can also distract and overwhelm us with meaningless floods of information.
Our education system didn’t prepare us to live in this world.
We went to school to learn how to climb the ladders of an evolving corporate world.
Our work environment is no longer the same than the one our parents knew.
Innovative professionals in the education field are working together to promote STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics), teach entrepreneurship and to integrate soft skills as part of the future of education.
However, not all schools are equal.
It will take time until all children are prepared to navigate a more complex and rapidly changing world.
Besides, until then, as adults, we also need to learn how to be more confident and live a more fulfilled life in an unknown future.
Educating ourselves will not only help us become better humans. We will also contribute to making a positive impact on future generations.
I wish there were a global education system for adults to grow in this century, but for the most part, we are on our own.
Although, we are not hopeless.
We can learn with each other and from the younger generations.
Below, I have listed what I believe are the fundamental skills that will enable us to thrive in a rapidly changing future and to become change-makers.
Get unstuck with creative problem-solving skills
Everything that we do can be considered as a more or less complex problem to solve.
Learning how to become a more creative problem solver will help us get unstuck in all types of situation in life.
For instance, if you have a business, having a methodology to improve the solutions you offer or to generate new ideas will help you get noticed and keep innovating for your company.
However, having excellent problem-solving skills aren’t only for entrepreneurs.
Companies also expect their employees to keep up with changes, new objectives, new functions, and responsibilities. They look for critical thinkers and problem solvers.
In our personal lives, being a great problem solver helps us approach problems with a more confident mindset.
Whether we have to find more creative ideas for our business, re-invent ourself at work or shake up our daily routine, developing our creative problem-solving skills will help us move forward in life.
Become a lifelong learner
Being a lifelong learner cultivates our curiosity and nurtures a growth mindset.
It’s not only about growing professional skills.
It’s also about personal growth.
To become more confident in what we do or want to become.
To not live on regrets.
Avid learners equip themselves with the necessary confidence to become and achieve anything they want in life.
Focus on what matters
Nowadays, sitting under a tree to reflect on what matters and what we want to do in life is a luxury.
If we want to become better thinkers, we need to find the time to learn and develop our skills.
Our modern world comes with many tools to help us save time, be more productive, learn more of the latest trends.
The faster we want to swim with the waves of new technology, the more we drown in stress and burnout.
We will never win the race of doing more things as fast as possible.
A fulfilled life is not about using more tools or adding more apps to our phone.
However, without focus, being a great problem solver and learning new skills aren’t sufficient to live a happy life.
We need to spend our energy wisely and intentionally, and not run into all directions.
Personally, I find that focus is the most challenging thinking skill to teach and learn.
Strengthening our focus involves some awareness about ourselves. We learn how our brain is wired, how our emotions are triggered and what motivates us.
Focus also requires the courage to resist external pressures.
Growing our thinking skills is not a comfortable journey, but the transformation we get is worth the journey.
5 different ways to improve your thinking skills
Imagine how your life could be if you believed in yourself more?
If you had a process to handle everyday situations?
Fortunately, creative problem solving, becoming a better learner and focusing on things that matter are skills that we can learn.
As long as we keep an open mind, there is a way to improve our thinking skills in our everyday life, with or without technology.
Here are a few examples of how to grow your those skills:
- The magic way: if you have children around you, let them ask you questions and help them find possible answers. Children have access to poetic and entertaining resources to stimulate their brain development. Don’t underestimate what you can learn with children.
- The researcher way: go to libraries or find books online to develop your thinking skills. If you have books you would like to recommend, feel free to mention them in the comments below.
- The student way: learn from online courses and online experts.
- The practice way: real life situations are great opportunities to grow. Each time you make a decision or face a challenge, see if you could come up with other solutions or options than the first thing that comes to your mind.
- The community way: I hope this website will be your companion on your journey of self-growth. I would love for us to connect so we could share our lessons learned.