To wonder what random skills you wish you had?

[squashedalmondcroissant]

Not really an AIBU but curious about this and don’t have a large pool to draw from!

What random skills do you wish you had or would like to learn? I’m not talking anything serious or practical in day to day life but just things you think are really cool and would love to be able to do?

For example, I’ve always wanted to be able to make fire using a bow drill (a notoriously difficult thing) and be really good at archery. I also find blacksmithing really interesting and would love to be able to forge my own knife. I am currently good at none of these but would love to learn even though it wouldn’t really benefit me except in very specific circumstances. Anyone else have a skill they’d love to learn?

I would love to be good at playing the cello (the main problem with this is that I don't want to learn the cello, I just want to be magically good at playing it 😆 )

Also carpentry or stonemasonry - crafting properly beautiful things out of lumps of stuff.

I’ve done this since I was about 14. Always taking things up or in as I’m very short!

Get yourself a basic sewing machine and watch some YouTube tutorials. Taking up things like trousers is really simple. Jeans trickier if you want to keep the original washed edge.

Thanks that sounds great

Somersaults and singing beautifully. Maybe too old for somersaults now but i heard learning to sing is a skill?

Singing
You know that classic daydream of doing karaoke and blowing everyone away

Can totally relate to that! I want to be a prodigy at something naturally rather than taking the time to learn and master a skill, which is probably why I’m not particularly good at anything 😂

Stonemasonry/carpentey and just sculpture in general is amazing to me. Being able to turn a random lump of stone or wood into something beautiful is incredible.

I’d love to learn how to swing on aerial silks

to build a device or portal that could be used to slide into different parallel universes but your only in each universe for eg 24 / 48 hours etc before sliding to the next one.

that or build a time travelling machine to keep doing the what if and changing the time lines

Many!
I would love to have an amazing singing voice, that I could make sound like anyone. The sort of voice that would stop people in their tracks. I have no idea why - I've no desire to be on the stage.

Speed read so I could learn loads about history, geography etc.

Would love to be an expert in car mechanics.

I wish I could fish

Definitely this. I would love to have the voice and the confidence to sing a solo .
No problem with languages as I speak four fluently and have B1 level in another four.
I also wish I could play the piano by ear (I manage OK with sheet music, but it's not the same).
And do proper sewing as opposed to mending.

That's mine, too!

I'd like to be able to play any instrument, but piano would be my first choice.

Sing, I’d love to be able to sing along to the radio / karaoke in public. I get so embarrassed at even the thought of it. I’m totally tone deaf and can’t even understand how other people can hear the notes etc.

Billiards and snooker. The good players at any club know where their cue ball is going to be for the next shot much of the time. I have no idea of the angles and so on.

Sing. I’d love to be able to sing. Ideally, I would sound like Nina Simone, but to not sound like a donkey, giving birth without anaesthetic, would be nice.

Remember peoples' names. I try so damn hard and forget every time :( I remember faces though!

Also id love to be able to.get up at 6 and run 5k every day but now I'm 44 that's unlikely to happen!

I would love to be able to dance un-self-consciously while sober. People who can do this have a real gift.

Instead, I stand stiffly, oozing awkwardness and discomfort, until I pass some threshold of inebriation, a switch flips and I fling myself onto the dancefloor, trying to do the worm.

My question to most of you is, what’s stopping you? You might claim it’s not having the time, but here you are on Mumsnet. I learned during Covid that most of the things I claimed I never had time for, were things I still didn’t do when I had the time!

I would also like to do backflips, but I know my mind and body couldn’t do that. I couldn’t even do a cartwheel as a kid! But if I had a hankering to learn a language, Duo Lingo is right there! I wanted to learn sign language so I did a sign language course. We have the most access to these things than we’ve even had.

My husband says to properly stylistically and fashionably and at the envy of everybody be able to roller skate!
I'd like to learn ten songs on the piano that would make everyone sing! Ski and feel free and speak four languages

Singing, playing an instrument and painting are learnable skills. Up to a decent standard. It is only the Solo at The Albert Hall standard that requires that magic of genius.

I'd love to be able to tumble like the gymnasts.
And play the piano but not just playing the music in front of you, being able to play a song that someone suggests

I'd love to be able to play chess. Which is ridiculous because that's definitely something learnable. I'm going to take this as the sign that it's time. If the one thing I'd respond to this thread with is within grasp, why the hell haven't I learnt yet!?

100% this. I'm going to do it.

I started Duolingo in January and have found it brilliant if anyone does know where to start with languages, I'd say go for it!

I would love to have a good singing voice. I really love to sing but I’m just…not very good at it.

My poor partner puts up with it ever since well but…😆

Great thread! I'm lucky that I can play several different instruments and sing to a reasonable standard. But I'd love to learn to knit so that I have enough warm clothes. Carpentry would be great too. And I'd like to understand finances better but it's sooooooo boring.