What’s the most underrated life skill?
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As I get older, more and more people seem unaware of how to use critical thinking to solve problems in their lives. I don’t mean to denigrate people, and obviously the people I work with are in school and still learning how to problem-solve. However, based on my time in customer service and hospitality, it is ridiculous to be an adult with all the technology and information in the world and still act helpless.
This statement has obvious problematic implications, so let me add some caveats: of course, it is okay to ask for help, especially if you need it. My issue comes from people who cannot problem-solve, but then get mad and abusive towards the people who are trying to help them. I see it at the store: some people treat retail workers like dirt for the crime of not using their brains to do basic thinking that would save all of us trouble.
I worked at a hotel, and a long-term guest clogged her toilet. The hotel was a I was 19 or 20 at the time, so I rushed over after she called the front desk asking for a plunger. I had her the plunger, and she told me she didn’t know how to use it. Now, I was a front desk attendant, not maintenance, but I didn’t mind doing stuff outside of my work duties since I was young and dumb. But what did she mean, she didn’t know how to use a plunger? Had she never clogged a toilet before? I did what she asked, but it never made sense to me.
