Life Skills includes the ability to adeptly manage the challenges and demands of our lives, to have adaptability and adopt positive behavioral abilities. In general terms, you may say that any types of skills that are useful in human lives are life skills.
As per WHO (World Health Organization), life skills revolve around six different key areas, and they are-
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Decision making and problem-solving skills
- Creative thinking and critical thinking
- Self-awareness and empathy
- Assertiveness and equanimity, or self-control
- Resilience and ability to cope with problems
At different stages of our lives, we need different life skills associated with the aforementioned key areas.
In this article, we will dive deep into different types of life skills to understand how significant they are in improving our lives. So, without taking any further, let us get started right away-
Table of Contents
What are Life Skills?
Humans have continuously evolved over the centuries.
Adapting and making a hostile environment easy to live is ingrained in human beings. Centuries worth of self-preservation deeply seated in humans has made them acquire several life skills.
Any skill making living life easy is termed as ‘life skills’. Life skills are inevitably required to live life and are essential to our day-to-day lives. There are various types and kinds of life skills that one may choose to acquire.
Some skills are passed down to us from our parents. These are essential skills and will always be in need. It is unlikely to get out-dated. Other skills we acquire during specific times in our lifetime. Both of them help us in different ways.
Several life skills are required in different areas of life. Students require skills that help them absorb everything. People seeking jobs need leadership and work skills. People intending to get married or start children need family and parenting skills.
Concept of Life Skills
The idea of life skills is as old as it can get.
Back then, we did not give it a term, but life skills are the skills we acquire and need to thrive in life. Different people require different life skills in their lifetime. It varies from person to person and depends on their need.
Nowadays, various schools and institutions help integrate life skills into the life of the students. Several programs are designed for this specific reason.
This is done with the intent to help them secure their future with ease and comfort. Learning various skills and honing them not only makes life easier to navigate but also eliminates unnecessary stress and worry.
While talking about the significance of life skills in our lives, Daniel Goleman, an author and science journalist once said-
“Motivation aside, if people get better at these life skills, everyone benefits: The brain doesn’t distinguish between being a more empathic manager and a more empathic father.”
Let us have a look upon some of these life skills here and now-
Examples of Life Skills
- Study Life Skills for the students at school or university
- Negotiation Life Skills while buying a house
- Employability Life Skills to get a job
- Leadership Life Skills while leading teams or groups
- Parenting Life Skills while starting a new family
- Ability and willingness to learn for improving your lifestyle
So, such life skills are quite pertinent for making our lives more empowering, satisfying and result-driven. Now the time has come to go through some of the different types of life skills straight away-
Types of Life Skills
Various kinds of life skills are required in different scenarios. We are going to enlist some of those below-
1) Will to learn
The single most skill that we need to integrate is the willingness to learn new skills.
Without this, we cannot absorb other skills. You should always be willing to learn new things and skills. All these skills will help make your life better.
We must never stop learning skills. Quit mentality does not help us in any way. We should be ready to learn and adapt to new skills every day.
In the words of Rickson Gracie, a Brazilian 9th-degree red belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist-
“Willingness to learn is the mark of a youthful mind.”
2) To think critically
Critical thinking is the skill that ensures that we believe in an organized, rational way before taking any decisions.
Thinking irrationally or too fast and doing actions based on that can prove to be disastrous.
Some of the critical thinking skills include- observation, analysis, identification, and explanation. This life skill helps us critically think before we take any action that may have a significant impact on our lives.
You need to use your brain and mind for making your own decisions because as Aristotle says-
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
3) To be self-aware
Self-awareness plays a significant role in character development.
We must know ourselves as much in detail as possible. Knowing our strengths, weaknesses, and concerns not only helps us in honing the areas that are deficit but also helps protect us from others.
Self-awareness is the solution to most of the problems in our life.
Sharpening our strengths and correcting our weaknesses help us solidify our goals. We must never stop honing ourselves and make ourselves better.
In his novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison says that-
“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”
Being self-aware is one of the vital life skills that enable us to know who we are and hence guide us towards growth and success.
4) Stress management
Stress is an inevitable part of our lives. We must know how to manage stress.
The negative impact that stress has on our life is vast and varies from person to person. It leads to physical, mental and emotional trauma.
There are various ways by which we can relieve ourselves from stress.
Positive attitude, acceptance of reality and time management are some of the ways you can reduce stress. The importance of this life skill lies in the fact that stress is hazardous and can have fatal consequences.
By incorporating stress management as one of the life skills in our lives, we will be able to stay calm and motivated in the toughest of the situations.
5) Make decisions
While talking about the significance of decision making as one of the vital life skills, José N. Harris, write of MI VIDA: A Story of Faith, Hope, and Love once said-
“Waiting hurts. Forgetting hurts. But not knowing which decision to take can sometimes be the most painful…”
Various types of decisions plague us all our life.
We undoubtedly have to make several decisions with or without knowing the consequences it may render.
Decision-making skills help us to assess the situation and make firm decisions. Once taken, try to stick to the decisions that you made.
This skill is highly valued in job fields. Various jobs require you to make decisions within a snap of a minute. Learning how to do so enhances your career and gives you better chances.
6) Personal skills
These vary from person to person depending on their preferences, where they live and their socio-economic conditions.
Some skills that may seem necessary to you might be a luxury to others. But, there are some skills that everyone regardless of race, colour, gender, and socio-economic background need to adapt to survive.
Some skills are necessary for all. This includes how to read and write. Tying up shoelaces or how to eat are also skills that are required by all.
People living in villages and remote areas may find farming and skills related to relevance. This is because agriculture predominates their life, and there is little room for anything else. This may seem entirely out of the box for people living in cities.
Driving is a skill that most people living in cities find necessary. Driving helps them move from one place to another and help them in numerous ways. This might not be significant for others living in the city.
7) Emotional mechanism
Emotions rule us in ways that the brain fails to do at times.
It is essential to recognize our emotions and act accordingly. Learning to express our feelings is a positive step towards, making life better and relaxed.
Pent up feelings only become a source of the roadblock in our life.
It is essential to find healthy ways to cope with negative feelings. If you cannot handle those overwhelming emotions, it is better to seek professional help rather than ignoring them.
8) Creativity
Creativity is what sets us apart from others.
It makes us unique and creates a specific image for us. Creativity helps you to remove the shackles of the usual norm and gives you the freedom to find your niche.
So, be creative and don’t follow others blindly.
Take inspiration, understand the work and then perform your action implementing your creativity.
9) Solve problems
Problems are never-ending, and we need skills that help us solve them.
Problem-solving skills help us identify the problem and categorize it.
Then, we can assess the problem and take some preventive measures.
Unsolved problems could cause mental trauma and lead to fatal consequences.
10) Communication
Communication is a critical factor in any relationship.
We need to be able to communicate effectively to survive.
Communication entails understanding what others are telling and being able to express what you want to say to others.
11) Perspective
Often people tend to forget that the situations people are in are always different.
There can be several viewpoints for a situation. Perspective helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person.
It is essential to absorb this skill as understanding others leads to the removal of misunderstanding and emotional stress.
12) Empathy
People often express sympathy but not empathy.
Sometimes, pity can make things worse, but empathy will take you a long way.
The willingness to understand and share the feelings of the other person not only makes you a better human being but also helps you to navigate around certain situations.
13) Study skills
Not only students but people from different age brackets also need these skills.
Study skills include how to read and white.
Reading helps you gain vast knowledge about the outside world. Writing helps you get jobs and better opportunities.
14) Negotiation
Nothing is going to be handed to you on a silver platter.
We must know how to negotiate. Negotiating life skills guides us in various ways, from jobs to household expenses.
A good negotiation not only saves your money but gives you a confidence boost too.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States once said-
“Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.”
So, negotiation is one of the essential life skills that enable us to get favorable outcomes in many unfavorable situations.
15) Relationships
Human beings are social. All our life, we spend everything on building relationships.
We must know how to handle and maintain these relationships we have made.
Honesty, communication, and effort are some of the ways you can make a relationship prosper.
With the right kinds of relationship life skills, you will be able to use networking, communication, and other interpersonal skills in different life situations so that you can manage different life challenges successfully.
Here is a video by Marketing91 on Life Skills.
Benefits of Life Skills
Life skills not only make your life easier but also make you a better human being.
It teaches you to live life with dignity all the while achieving all the personal goals you set for yourself. It helps you be a better citizen by making your self aware and more prone to adaptability.
The importance of life skills can be detected when one accomplishes something in life.
Most of our achievements are interlinked with the life skills we have imbibed for so long. Their importance and need in our life is undeniable and cannot be questioned.
Life Skills Wrap Up!
Life skills are the lifeline we need to guide through life.
These help us in immeasurable ways and help us achieve whatever we dare to dream.
Their importance is incomprehensible, and the roles that various educational institutions play in helping us learn the life skills are enormous.
Learn whatever life skills you need and navigate life in your way!
So, what are your takes about the significance of life skills in accomplishing different life as well as business goals? Tell us in the comment section below.
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