I too often find myself wondering how other people seem to have life all figured out. Social media shows us a carefully crafted highlights reel of the wonderful lives all our friends and acquaintances are having, from the great food they cooked last night, to the fantastic promotion they just got at work (forgetting to mention the extra hours and responsibility said promotion entails).

It must be pretty obvious by now that the people around us lead average, regular lives just like us, but - just as the news shows us all the negativity happening in the world around us, and forgets to mention all the wonderful people and selfless acts that are happening on a daily basis - so too people prefer to present a bright, colorful view of their world to others.

If you're really interested in bettering your life, start by working on improving skills that will help you on your path to success - at home as well as at work. This list of independent living skills will help keep your brain active and even give you a leg up in the professional world. These skills will help you stand out from the crowd, enabling you to achieve more and impress those in your personal and business circles. All the skills highlighted today can easily be self-taught online.