Life skills are abilities for
adaptive and positive behavior, that enable individuals to deal effectively
with the demands and challenges of everyday life.
1. Decision making
It helps us to deal constructively with decisions about our lives. This
can have consequences for health if young people actively make decisions about
their actions in relation to health by assessing the different options, and what
effects different decisions may have.
2. Problems solving
It enables us to deal constructively with problems in our lives.
Significant problems that are left unresolved can cause mental stress and give
rise to accompanying physical strain.
3. Creative thinking
It contributes to both decision making and problem solving by enabling us
to explore the available alternatives and various consequences of our actions
or non-action. It helps us to look beyond our direct experience, and even if no
problem is identified, or no decision is to be made, creative thinking can help
us to respond adaptively and with flexibility to the situations of our daily
lives.
4. Critical thinking
It is an ability to analyze information and experiences in an objective
manner. Critical thinking can contribute to health by helping us to recognize and
assess the factors that influence attitudes and behavior, such as values, peer
pressure, and the media.
5. Effective communication
It means that we are able to express ourselves, both verbally and
non-verbally, in ways that are appropriate to our cultures and situations. This
means being able to express opinions and desires, but also need and fears. And
in may mean being able to ask for advice and help in a time of need.
6. Interpersonal relationship skills
This skill helps us to relate in positive ways with the people we
interact with. This may mean being able to make and keep friendly relationships,
which can be of great importance to our mental and social well-being. It may
mean keeping good relations with family members, which are an important source
of social support. It may also mean being able to end relationships
constructively.
7. Self-awareness
This skill includes our recognition of ourselves, of our character, of
our strengths and weaknesses, desires and dislikes. Developing self-awareness
can help us to recognize when we are stressed or feel under pressure. It is
also often a prerequisite for effective communication and interpersonal relations,
as well as for developing empathy for others
8. Empathy
Empathy is the ability to imagine what life is like for another person,
even in a situation that we may not be familiar with. Empathy can help us to
understand and accept others who may be very different form ourselves, which
can improve social interactions, for example, in situations of ethnic or cultural
diversity. Empathy can also help to encourage nurturing behavior towards people
in need of care and assistance, or tolerance, as is the cases with AIDS
sufferers, or people with mental disorders, who may be stigmatized and
ostracized by the very people they depend upon for support.
9. Coping with emotions
Coping with emotions involves recognizing emotions in ourselves and
others, being aware of how emotions influence behavior, and being able to
respond to emotions appropriately. Intense emotions, like anger or sorrow can
have negative effects on our health in we do not react appropriately.
10. Coping with stress
Coping with stress is about recognizing the source of stress in our
lives, recognizing how this affects us, and acting in ways that help to control
our levels of stress. This may mean that we take action to reduce the sources
of stress, for example, by making changes to our physical environment or
lifestyle. Or it may mean learning how to relax, so that tensions created by unavoidable
stress do not give to health problems.
Source:
who
