LIFE SKILLS: CONCEPT AND EXAMPLES - ECONOMÍA - 2025

The life skills are a number of skills applicable in a lot of situations and different contexts, which are considered essential to develop ourselves properly in society. These include some such as social skills, decision-making or resilience.

Life skills allow us to behave in a positive and constructive way, and to face the demands and challenges of our existence. They are also known as "psychosocial competencies".

Some examples of life skills

According to UNICEF we cannot create a complete and exhaustive list of life skills. However, there are some that are recognized by most international organizations for their importance in different contexts of our day to day. Here we will see some of the most important.

Examples of life skills

- Communication and social skills

In almost every area of ​​our existence, one of the most important factors in being successful is our ability to relate to other people effectively. For this reason, most international organizations recognize communication and social skills within the list of life competencies.

These competencies span many different fields, ranging from empathy to the ability to clearly communicate what we are thinking. Some experts also include within this category skills such as assertiveness, mastery of body language or leadership skills.

- Problem resolution

Our environment is constantly changing, and therefore it is literally impossible to be prepared for all the situations that may arise in our life. Therefore, the only way to cope correctly in a crisis is by developing skills to solve problems and complicated situations.

Among the skills necessary to solve problems we find some such as the definition of the situation, the design of an appropriate solution, and the step-by-step implementation of it. This ability can be applied in all kinds of moments, and will help those who have it to solve their crises in the best way.

- Emotional management

Emotions are one of the most important parts of our life. Most of our actions are aimed at maximizing our pleasure and reducing the pain we feel, regardless of the area in which we are looking at each moment.

According to the most accepted view within the field of psychology, emotions act as a kind of indicators that give us feedback on whether what we are doing is in accordance with our values ​​or not. However, they should not be used as a guide to our behavior, as doing so would cause us all kinds of problems.

Therefore, emotional management implies being able to listen to our emotions and learn from them, without letting them control us or determine the actions we take.

- Critical thinking

Critical thinking has to do with the ability to think independently, productively, and responsibly. The way we think affects our way of acting and seeing the world, so being able to correctly interpret the data that comes to us from outside is essential to function in our day-to-day life.

- Decision making

It is about evaluating situations and thinking of ways of acting that will guide the result we want to achieve. This competition includes:

• Evaluate the positives and negatives before making a decision.
• Consult with bibliographic material and experts on the situation before deciding.
• Avoid pressure from family and friends before a decision.
• Implement mechanisms to make decisions by consulting those involved.

- Empathy

It is the ability to feel the emotions that others experience; that is, put yourself in the place of others. This competition includes:

• Understand the reasons that led to a decision, even if you do not agree with it.
• Show consideration for the feelings of others without feeling sorry or compassionate.
• Take into account the needs of others, before making decisions.

- Assertiveness

Assertiveness is a communication style based on respect for others, but also respect for oneself and one's own needs. This competition includes:

• Defend the rights and duties of all with objectivity, without allowing abuse of power or intimidation.
• Express your own will and say "no" clearly and firmly before a proposal that you want to reject.
• Do not allow yourself to be coerced by groups, that is, forced to carry out an activity that you do not want to do.
• Avoid making decisions under pressure, whether from family, friends, or rival groups.

- Creativity

In an increasingly competitive and globalized world, creativity - the ability to innovate and create something that did not exist before - is increasingly important. This competence for life is especially useful in the workplace, but it can also help us in areas such as personal relationships.

One of the main functions of creativity is to allow us to express our personality effectively, developing unique and innovative elements that transmit what we think and feel to others.

- Leadership

Leadership ability is a competence for life that allows us to take control in a complicated situation and help others effectively. People with leadership skills have a greater facility to assume responsibilities, thereby improving the performance of teams and are able to motivate their colleagues.

Although it may seem that leadership is only useful in the workplace, the truth is that it is a fundamental skill in environments such as family, sports or personal relationships.

- Teamwork

On the other hand, the ability to work in a team is also one of the most important life skills that exist, especially in today's society. The tasks that we have to carry out are increasingly complex, so it is essential that we learn to collaborate with others in order to complete them successfully.

In recent decades, many team management tools have emerged that help team members to collaborate in the most effective way possible. These techniques can be applied to practically any field that we can think of.

- Adaptability

Today's environment changes faster than ever. Because of this, it is essential to learn to adapt to our situation with the same speed. People who don't succeed can suffer from all sorts of problems, from those related to mental health (such as depression or anxiety) to job losses, divorces, or similar stressful situations.

- Reflection capacity

It is completely impossible to live a life free of problems. No matter how careful we are: every so often a circumstance will appear that causes us difficulties and which we do not know how to deal with.

Because of this, the capacity for reflection is one of the most important life skills that we can develop. If we master it, we will be much more prepared for the problems that appear in our lives in the future, by being able to anticipate them; and it will also be easier for us to learn from the difficulties that we are encountering.

- Mindfulness

The last of the life skills that we will see in this article is mindfulness, or the ability to live the present moment fully. This skill is based on the ancient meditation techniques of Eastern cultures, but has recently gained great importance in the Western world.

Research indicates that this ability can be very useful to deal with all kinds of problems effectively, as well as to reduce suffering and emotional distress. For this reason, more and more experts recommend that we practice it in our day to day as far as possible.

References

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2. "What are life skils?" in: Skills You Need. Retrieved on: March 12, 2020 from Skills You Need: skillsyouneed.com.
3. "The 12 Important Life Skills I Wish I'd Learned In School" in: Medium. Retrieved on: March 12, 2020 from Medium: medium.com.
4. "18 Essential Life Skills To Equip Your Child For The Real World" in: Flintobox. Retrieved on: March 12, 2020 from Flintobox: flintobox.com.
5. "Life skills" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 12, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.