Our current standard of living and the demands to which the environment subjects us every day force us to develop different types of skills in order to be able to adapt to the environment. Both in the working world and in everyday life, there are a number of skills that are very useful for this, both on a social and cultural level, as well as on a psycho-physiological and psychological level.

With regard to the latter, which are applied to almost all areas of life, we present a series of 35 psychological competencies that should be enhanced due to their high level of usefulness in various areas of life.

What is a competition?

Being competent in something means having the ability to efficiently carry out the required action, whether we are talking about actions on a physical or mental level.

There are many different types of psychological competences that we develop to a greater or lesser extent during our personal growth . In this article we will look at the main ones

35 psychological competencies to be reinforced

Detecting personal weaknesses and improving them through the enhancement of psychological skills is a good way to improve both our quality of life and our work performance simply by introducing some habits into our daily lives . Choose the ones you think are best suited to your case.

1. Empathy

Being competent to put oneself in the other’s place is fundamental when it comes to establishing effective coexistence. This allows us to take into account how others see the world and to be able to act according to this perception.

2. Analysis capacity

Understanding the different events and phenomena is the first step to be able to establish different strategies and ways to respond to them. To do this, it is very useful to be able to break down each problem into the different elements that make it up , especially when dealing with complex problems.

3. Synthesis capacity

Once each component of a problem is analysed it is essential to be able to reintegrate all the information available on a topic . This is the ability to link related ideas.

4. Self-motivation capacity

Human psychological functioning is largely influenced by the ability to remain activated and interested in what we do . That is why it is very useful to promote the capacity to be self-motivated and to establish goals and objectives that excite us.

5. Emotional Awareness

Emotions are an integral part of the human being that has great importance in explaining his behavior and influences his well-being to a great extent. The ability to identify what we feel and what causes it allows us to better understand ourselves and adjust our behaviour and attitudes to reality.

6. Self-management or emotional regulation

Being able to manage them, put them in perspective or adapt them to the context in which we are, is a great advantage.

7. Emotional autonomy

It is understood as the capacity to feel and take into account one’s own and other people’s emotions by oneself, without depending on external influences . The subject is responsible for his/her own emotions.

8. Teamwork

We live in society. At practically any time we are in some way in contact with someone directly or indirectly, and each of our actions can affect different people. Being able to join forces with others can enable us to achieve different objectives more easily, by taking advantage of the personal resources and skills of each individual.

9. Stress management and psychological resistance

We are in a time characterized by a stressful lifestyle full of commitments and competitiveness. Being able to manage situations in which we are under strong pressure is something that is very much required at the work level, while at the same time helping us to be able to overcome the various circumstances in which we live and react in an adaptive manner.

10. Mental flexibility

A psychological competence of great importance for our correct adaptation is the ability to have a certain level of mental flexibility. This means being able to grasp other points of view, thoughts and ways of doing things, and accept them as valid. It is about being able to value other perspectives apart from one’s own and to be able to introduce changes in our way of seeing the world without closing in on our original ideas.

11. Communication skills

We can know many things, but in a social entity such as the human being it can be very important to be able to express oneself. In this way, other people can be aware of what we are trying to transmit and act accordingly . Training this type of skills involves improving our social skills.

12. Creativity and lateral thinking

Establishing new ways of acting when faced with specific problems, without depending on pre-established options, means the possibility of obtaining new results while allowing us to develop as individuals and even as a species. Developing creativity and being competent in creating new strategies is therefore very useful.

13. Decision-making capacity

In life we must make decisions and avoid being blocked by doubt . Although we have to try to take into account the different perspectives and options, in the end we have to act. The capacity to make decisions is an essential element in our daily life, although for some people it can be somewhat complex. But like all previous and subsequent skills, it can be trained and optimised with practice.

14. Planning skills and vision

Every act has its consequences, and being able to visualize the effects of both our behaviors and environmental phenomena will allow us to begin to elaborate preventive action strategies .

15. Improvisation skills

Although in the previous competition we talked about the importance of being able to prevent different aspects of reality, we cannot always be prepared for what is going to happen to us. That is why it is necessary to be able to quickly work out some course of action in the face of unexpected events, improvising in order to get away with surprising or novel phenomena.

16. Information selection capacity

Today we have practically any type of information within reach of a single click. We can access numerous sources of knowledge, some of which are not entirely reliable or even offer information that may be contradictory. This is why being able to select information is very useful .

17. Assertiveness

When certain things happen to us or conflicts break out between people, it is possible to react in different ways. A conformist passivity or an imposition of one’s own will may not only not solve the current problem but may exacerbate it or even generate others in the future. One of the attitudes that will help us the most on most occasions is assertiveness, which allows us to defend our rights and opinions in a clear and efficient way without violating the rights or integrity of others.

18. Reflection capacity

Our impulses are part of us and it is advisable to avoid a total repression of them. However, this does not mean that we should allow ourselves to be continually dragged down by them. We must be able to put a middle ground and act in a way that allows for coexistence with other human beings while seeking the best possible alternative behaviour to achieve adaptation. Training this quality does not imply the repression of instinct, but rather that we are capable of acting rationally.

19. Discipline

Discipline is understood as the establishment of a code of conduct and behaviour that allows us to maintain order and act in an organized and systematic way. Being able to maintain discipline will make us trustworthy people and allow us to achieve more complex objectives .

20. Critical thinking

Each of us has our own agenda, intentions and desires. What others communicate to us or the things we see may be biased by different aspects. Being able to analyze the reasoning that leads to a certain statement allows us to doubt the information we receive and to forge our own idea about reality in a more objective way.

21. Will power and persistence

While it is necessary to be flexible and to take into account different perspectives on the same issue, it is important that if we are clear about our objectives we are able to achieve them. Discipline and self-motivation are aspects that derive from willpower. Being competent in setting and persistently pursuing our goals will help us to achieve our goals and feel more satisfied with ourselves and our lives.

22. Sense of self-efficacy

Believing in one’s own possibilities is necessary in such a competitive world. Expectations about one’s own performance should motivate us to keep going. Perceiving ourselves as ineffective can cause frustration and suffering , as well as diminishing our motivation and performance. In fact, a Pygmalion effect can be generated that causes us to end up having the performance we expected to have.

23. Spontaneity

While being reflective is helpful in many ways, it can sometimes lead us to be overly rigid and to neglect our authentic naturalization. It is necessary to be competent in being ourselves, doing things that we want to do despite the fear of possible consequences.

24. Mental agility

Having an agile thought is fundamental nowadays. Thinking and observing the different parts of a problem with a certain speed facilitates our immediate reactions to environmental stimuli in an adaptive way.

25. Inference capacity

The data we obtain from the environment can be analysed and synthesised with great efficiency, but there is a very important aspect linked to observation that involves a certain level of subjectivity and that allows us to make predictions based on the data . This is the capacity to infer, to link the data and information obtained and synthesised with other aspects of reality with which they are related.

26. Responsibility

Being able to take responsibility for one’s own actions is a basic competence for good functioning. Taking into account the effects of our actions and taking responsibility for the damages they may cause, repairing them and solving them. And responsibility does not only refer to this aspect, but also to knowing what is expected of us based on our role and acting accordingly. It also means being able to recognize one’s own merits.

27. Persuasiveness and influence

Convincing others of one’s vision and causing changes in one’s habitual behaviour is a key type of competence in certain aspects of life. Highly sought after in different market niches , being competent in persuading others also serves us to defend our rights and positions against any kind of external abuse.

28. Leadership

Linked to persuasion, leadership skills involve the ability to take the lead and direct one’s own and others’ behaviour towards a common goal. It is not only about influencing but also about being able to organize, establish objectives and methods to achieve them, motivate others and help solve the doubts that may arise.

29. Setting realistic goals

People need to be motivated in order to make sense of their behaviour. To do this we propose goals or objectives. However, many people have problems when it comes to establishing which goals to set, demanding too much or too little, so that either they cannot achieve them or they do not make much effort and lose their motivational capacity. That is why we must train ourselves to establish goals adjusted to our possibilities , which are an attainable challenge and which can be structured and subdivided into small steps that allow their achievement.

30. Context Assessment

Apart from the handling of the different information that surrounds us, we have to take into account that these are located in a certain context. What happens has a different meaning depending on the place, moment and people who experience it. That is why we must train ourselves in contextualizing any information and situation .

31. Application of knowledge

While theoretical knowledge is important, it is just as important to be able to put that information into practice or apply it in real life. Training this competence means putting theory into practice , discovering or analysing concrete ways in which the same or other knowledge is transformed into different behaviours and actions.

32. Resource management

When it comes to solving problems, we need to consider what we can count on. We must be able to recognize and take advantage of all the elements that are available, improving the chances of success of our company or project .

33. Delegate

We have to be responsible for our own actions, but also we have to be aware of our limitations . In many cases we will have to trust and delegate to other people. Knowing in whom and what specific aspects it can be beneficial for someone else to take over so that the task is carried out successfully can also be trained through practice.

34. Attention and focus capacity

Another key competence is the ability to focus on a particular aspect . This allows us to clearly recognize what our objective is and the means we have to achieve it, ignoring other elements that have no effect on it.

35. Proactivity

Having initiative and forging new objectives and ways of improvement is very important. Linked to creativity and innovation, it helps to stay motivated and enjoy new experiences, always starting from the basis of responsibility for one’s own behaviour and having supplied the basics.