“I am communicative, flexible-minded, emotionally intelligent, and a quick learner” is the information that applicants fill in the “About Me” section of their resume. It is noteworthy that some employers think this information is nothing (the main thing that professional skills meet the requirements), while others, on the contrary, pay special attention to this point and carefully evaluate soft skills during the interview.
According to research from Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation, and the Stanford Research Center, 85% of professional success depends on the availability of soft skills and only 15% on professional knowledge [National Soft Skills Association, 2015]. It is difficult to argue with this, as well as with the opinion that the development of soft skills requires a lot of effort and regular training. But what if we turn this process into a hobby?
In this article, we will remember what soft skills are and what their value is and tell you what hobbies can help to develop them.
Soft skills — what are they?
In simple words, soft skills are general skills related to a person’s personality traits. They do not refer to professional skills and are not associated with a particular specialty. Soft skills, unlike hard skills (profession-related skills), are challenging to measure. For example, it is difficult to determine a person’s communication skills, but it is easy to decide on their proficiency in a foreign language or a program.
Nevertheless, having paraprofessional skills is a must in any activity. A doctor, of course, must have a medical degree and be able to diagnose a disease and treat it, but imagine a health care provider who does not know ethical standards of communication with patients, has no patience and has no emotional intelligence!
Soft skills are essential not only in professional but also in personal life. Someone who can express his thoughts correctly and interestingly will always be in the center of attention, and the ability to manage your emotions helps you to approach even the most complex issue with a calm mind and stay in a resourceful state. The ability to prioritize, plan and manage time is one of the critical skills of a modern person, which allows you to achieve your goals faster while saving emotional and physical energy.
Exciting activities for the development of soft skills
Most of us have hobbies in addition to our primary occupation. Perhaps you attended sports sections or art clubs at a young age? Hobbies are mostly perceived as things for the soul, but they can not only recharge your energy or refresh your thoughts after a busy day but also pump up your super-professional skills. Isn’t it bliss to improve yourself with something that pleases you? Let’s take a closer look at what hobbies can help with that.
Sports
The current pace of life takes a lot of time and energy. Without it, as you know, sooner or later, even the most beloved work eventually becomes a heavy burden. The ability to maintain a resource state, as well as endurance, can be pumped up through regular physical activity.
Moreover, sport fosters purposefulness and makes a person proactive. It is noteworthy that in many large companies, sports have become an integral part of corporate life, which helps to unite the team and even increase the company’s profits. Sports games teach team building, mutual assistance, discipline, responsibility, follow through, and interpersonal communication. Active joint hobby helps to identify team leaders and initiative employees.
Acting
Indeed among our readers, some enjoy playing on stage and do not miss the opportunity to perform in front of an audience. Some people think that this hobby is the destiny of born actors and acting as a skill is necessary only for those who relate their professional life with the theater or cinema.
The ability to play a specific role and keep in public will be helpful to everyone, regardless of the chosen profession. Acting is not only a talent but also psychology and self-discovery. A person passionate about acting learns to go beyond his behavior and emotions to adjust to different situations.
Those who are into acting know how to control their emotions. Actors are constantly working with texts, so the ability to memorize large amounts of information is one of their primary skills. Moreover, actors work on voice production, proper breathing, trained pronunciation, diction, and root on non-verbal communication. On stage, as in life, non-standard situations happen, so actors need to be able to adjust to them, respond quickly to what is happening, find a solution, and improvise.
Puzzling
Oh, those little pieces of one picture! Some people collect them to kill time, and some have turned assembling puzzles into a hobby, and it’s the right thing to do.
Puzzles activate both hemispheres of the brain. Trying to put the picture together and connect analytically and creative thinking means that this hobby helps to develop the ability to approach problems comprehensively. Collecting puzzles improves short-term memory: a person looking for the right piece remembers what shape and color the other parts of the picture fall into his eyes. In addition, the constant idea of what the image should turn out, in the end, helps to develop spatial and visual thinking.
Writing
How do you imagine being a writer? Most likely as a dreamy, relaxed creator sitting comfortably on the veranda to fix the following thought on paper. But writing is work, which fosters in a person not only the ability to present his ideas competently, present information in an exciting way, and make his reader believe in what is happening, but also discipline and stamina.
Perhaps, at first glance, it seems that writing an article, let alone a book, is easy, but in fact, writing requires a high degree of concentration and dedication. A true professional knows how to manage his time and manage his emotions and mood; it helps him to finish his work just in time. A good writer is prone to introspection and adequately perceives comments because any job always has both admirers and critics.
Another helpful argument in favor of writing — this engaging activity teaches a strategy of small goals. The point of it is to achieve results with small steps.
Writing is a great way to pump creativity, associative thinking, and self-control. And if you, with no experience, really want to make it your hobby and don’t know where to start, Inite is perfect for you.
Inite
Inite is not just a game — it improves users’ cognitive skills and productivity. It has been proven scientifically that an active brain improves longevity and keeps the body busy.
Inite is developed to foster creative and intellectual development for resourceful people through the generation of ideas regularly.
With think2earn mechanics, Inite aims to facilitate a healthier and more intelligent lifestyle to combat cheap, addictive dopamine games. This, in turn, increases the longevity of the game ecosystem and attracts more users to web3 as a whole.
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