Flexibility

I believe there are many important life lessons that be gleamed from a game of chess.
Often it is too hard to focus on one thing in your life trying to make success in just that one sector (family, work, school or whatever is on your plate). However, this same mistake can be found at the chess board as well. Imagine you are playing a sharp KID where white attacks on the queenside and black on the kingside... you might forget you can hedge your bet in certain scenarios to play both sides! It is easy to become focus on what is yours and concede that you can't have their territory too.

A good example of what I am referring to in chess can be found in this game from chesscafe: http://chesscafe.com/skittles/skittles.htm

So how should you deal with this focus problem in your life and in your chess game? In your chess game, I recommend expanding your opening reportoire. This does not mean adding whole new systems but branching out and experimenting with other lines of the same system you like. This versatility will serve you well in that you will learn more about your opening and be a harder target in preparation for your opponents. In your life... this is a bit more tricky but I recommend always keeping your options open. This means trying anything new to see where it goes... keeping an uptodate resume and applying to jobs even when you have one (afterall times are tough better to be prepared!). Pay attention to all the details you can.