Self-awareness includes recognition of ‘self’, our character, 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 often a prerequisite to effective
communication and interpersonal relations, as well as for developing empathy with others.
Decision making helps us to deal constructively with decisions about our lives. This
can have consequences for health. It can teach people how to actively make decisions
about their actions in relation to healthy assessment of different options and, what
effects these different decisions are likely to have
Problem solving helps 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.
Effective communication 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, and also needs and fears. And
it may mean being able to ask for advice and help in a time of need
Interpersonal relationship skills help 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
Critical thinking 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 behaviour, such as values, peer pressure and the media.
Creativity is a novel way of seeing or doing things that is characteristic of
four components - fluency (generating new ideas), flexibility (shifting perspective
easily), originality (conceiving of something new), and elaboration (building on other ideas).
Empathy - To have a successful relationship with our loved ones and society at large,
we need to understand and care about other peoples’ needs, desires and feelings.
Empathy is the ability to imagine what life is like for another person. Without
empathy, our communication with others will amount to one-way traffic. Worst, we will
be acting and behaving according to our self-interest and are bound to run into
problems. No man is an island, no woman either! We grow up in relationships with
many people - parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, uncles and aunts, classmates, friends
and neighbours.When we understand ourselves as well as others, we are better prepared to
communicate our needs and desires. We will be more equipped to say what we want people to
know, present our thoughts and ideas and tackle delicate issues without offending other
people. At the same time, we will be able to elicit support from others, and win their
understanding.Empathy can help us to accept others, who may be very different from ourselves.
This can improve social interactions, especially, in situations of ethnic or cultural diversity
Coping with stress means recognizing the sources of stress in our lives, recognizing
how this affects us, and acting in ways that help us control our levels of stress, by
changing our environment or lifestyle and learning how to relax.
Coping with emotions means involving recognizing emotions within us and
others, being aware of how emotions influence behaviour and being able to respond to
emotions appropriately. Intense emotions like anger or sadness can have negative
effects on our health if we do not respond appropriately.
source; http://www.cbse.nic.in/cce/life_skills_cce.pdf
International models of life skills:
There are taxonomies of generic life skills for categorising and arranging a wide range of life
skills. Barrie Hopson and Mike Scally of the Counselling and Career Development Unit, Leeds
University, use an analytical approach to categorising life skills.
David Brooks, professor of counselling and guidance at Syracuse University, uses an empirical approach to classify life skills.Each of these categories has a comprehensive list of descriptors for each of three stages of life: childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Normative age ranges are provided for the
descriptors, indicating the approximate age at which the skill is usually acquired. Life skills
develop in and apply to the contexts of home and family, school, work and the community.
