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European exteriors

Brussels looks

(Diana Musee Oldmasters)

pretty round foods from my Europe journey

Rose hip pistachio tart: London

Spinach Cheese Knodel: Vienna

When I first go to Seventh Generation’s website, I see that it’s pretty attractive and it has an endorsement with Maya Rudolph which is pretty impressive. I thought they were a smaller brand than that. They have a hashtag on the front page that says #ComeClean. Their corporate consciousness report is on the front page and it says they are creating 0 waste and 100% recyclable or biodegradable products. At the bottom they have a cool widget to connect with them on their other social media. They have a blog that posts articles relevant to their brand. There’s a little box to sign up for an email list so I did. They also have some sort of community where you can sign up for it called Generation Good? It says it’s for parents and it seems fun but a little unclear. https://www.seventhgeneration.com/generationgood

When I go on twitter the #comeclean doesn’t come up with anything related to them. Otherwise their social media is pretty cute. I’d like to see what they’re doing for their community on the front page and some volunteer efforts. If they’re gonna include the hashtag so prominently they should make an effort to use it.

I remember the first time I filled out a job application, there was a section that requested I list my special skills. Looking over my shoulder, my mom suggested, “Write that you have good people skills.” I wrote that down, but looking back, what does “people skills” even mean? And why did I need good people skills to sell uniforms to people who already needed them?

I have to assume that “people skills” mean skills in dealing with other human beings. In a professional environment, even one that isn’t customer service based, there are many “people” one has to deal with on a regular basis: an employer, a manager, employees, clients, and coworkers, to name a few. There are slight differences in your relationships between these people, like if you’re allowed to joke with them about your personal life or keep it strictly to the weather, for example. But every person in a professional environment needs to be treated with a certain level of respect and affability that isn’t compromised no matter what the situation. Good people skills means that when the customer looks confused or angry, you move towards them patiently and ready to help. Good people skills also means that you work hard as a team with your coworkers or employees and deal with problems with grace and a cool head. Even when you aren’t in a work environment, you can use good people skills to negotiate, make friends, or get along with a new roommate.

People skills can make or break any environment, and even when other people are awkward or even barbaric in relationships, your own flexibility and patience can diffuse a tense situation in an instant. Someone I know who has good people skills is my mother; even when working in a tense workplace full of loud and angry people, she lets negativity roll off her back and asks, “How can I help?” Instead of escalating the situation, she can ease tension by helping solve the problem that was causing it in the first place. Another example of why people skills are important can be seen in places where people have no skills in coexisting with others; for example, having a roommate that is loud, dirty, or disrespectful of shared spaces can make a person dread coming home. I bet if you think of a situation involving others that has been very easy or very difficult in your life, people skills were a factor in its outcome.

Now that all this emphasis has been put on having these mystical “people skills,” maybe you’re wondering, “Do I have people skills?” The good news is that anybody can develop these skills at any time. At a point in my life I was insecure about whether people liked me, and if I was enjoyable to be around. I decided a way to make sure that I was pleasant to hang out with is to make sure I practiced a few key people skills: listening attentively, asking questions, and being honest. After a few years of checking these off my list during interactions, it became second nature to me, and I rarely wonder if people secretly dislike me, because I know I haven’t given them a reason to dislike me.

Listening attentively is, in my opinion, the single most important aspect of any relationship, whether it be personal or professional. Simply hearing is not listening, and simply listening is not listening attentively. Attentive listening means that you are actively thinking about the information given to you by the speaker. Making sure your brain isn’t wandering into space during a conversation is critical, or else you might miss key information, revealing that you weren’t actually listening. This leads directly into my second favorite skill: asking questions. Asking questions in a conversation, whether it be about somebody’s day or about a partner’s hurt feelings, will show that you are not only listening to the other party, but that you care about their thoughts. Fun fact: asking questions can even help you retain information, which is helpful if you’re subpar at remembering names or other details about the people you meet. The last of my favorite skills is the most difficult, and something I’ll probably be working on for the rest of my life. Often times I see relationships of any kind suffering from a bloating of feelings that are being suppressed. Even in my own friendships I’ve had people become distant from me for unknown reasons, only to found out later that I’d injured them emotionally. When they finally tell me, we get the chance to make apologies and work it out, but time was wasted in the middle just by being silently bitter. I can barely blame anyone for it however, because of the difficulty I have in being honest. It can be seriously scary to confront somebody, in work or in life, to tell them that you are uncomfortable in some way. I promise you though, that the effects are rewarding. The liberating feeling you will get from expressing your feelings is irreplacable, and if your friends or coworkers are worth their salt, they will appreciate your honesty.

It’s not easy to implant these changes into your life instantly, but trust me, you will never escape the need for these skills. If you start practicing early, by the time you’re older they will be so natural to you that you won’t believe you ever acted another way. Plus, when you write on your application that you have “good people skills,” you’ll know it’s the truth!