If we were to ask someone on the street what they think are the most important life skills, they would surely tell us many, but all of them would be directly related to three main aspects: social relationships, development and good use of cognitive abilities, and management of emotions. .
There are several skills related to these three aspects that are present in practically everything, whether at work, at school, with family, with friends or with your partner.
Of all the proposals that exist on life skills The most important and considered the most “standard” is that of the WHO 1999, ten skills in total that we are going to see in more detail below.
The world is a diverse place, made up of nearly 7,000 billion people, each with their own personality, characteristics and abilities. No one person is the same as another, but within this diversity we all need to have specific capabilities developed to be able to prosper in life. These life skills are what They enable us to survive and cope with the social, physical and emotional demands that our existence brings us
There are several skills that we could consider fundamental for life and each person could even have their own list of what they are. Most would agree that it is important to have a good relationship with others, recognize our emotions and manage them, accept ourselves as we are and know how to make the right decisions. They would also highlight that it is very important to understand others without making hasty judgments about how they are and to say in an assertive and kind way what our opinions are.
But of all the lists of life skills we could mention The most important is the one proposed in 1999 by the World Health Organization (WHO) an organization that specifies the most important Life Skills or HpV in 10, defining them as those skills necessary to be able to behave appropriately and positively, allowing us to effectively face the demands and challenges of daily life.
Originally, these 10 vital skills were created to prevent problems directly related to public health, including the consumption of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and cannabis at an early age. They were also aimed at avoiding high-risk behaviors in the population, improving the population’s health habits, preventing discrimination, promoting self-esteem and positive social relationships, and promoting academic performance. considered important not only in health, but also cognitively and socially
According to the WHO, there are ten most important life skills, the first four being social skills, 5 to 8 cognitive skills and the last two skills for controlling emotions.
1. Self-knowledge
As its name suggests, self-knowledge is knowledge in oneself, that is, recognizing how we are in terms of character, personality, strengths, weaknesses, tastes and aspects that we don’t like so much. Having this skill developed allows us to easily recognize which aspects we must improve, allowing us to progress as people.
It is also important because before being able to deal with others it is essential to know yourself. It is necessary to know what we are like to be able to see to what extent we are at the level of what our society demands of us and, therefore, whether a change is more or less urgent. Knowing ourselves will allow us to motivate ourselves in life, know what we need to achieve our dreams and achieve greater well-being.
2. Empathy
In essence, we can define empathy as the ability to imagine what other people’s emotions and experiences are like, even in situations in which we are not familiar
This skill is essential to be able to understand what other people are like, accept them as they are even if they are very different from us, and thus establish social interactions based on mutual respect and understanding.
3. Assertive communication
Assertive communication is the ability to express ourselves in an appropriate, socially appropriate way, but without hiding what we really think and want to say It involves both verbal and non-verbal skills and the particularities of the cultural context must be taken into account when communicating with others.
Having this skill well developed allows us to achieve our personal goals in a way that is socially acceptable and does not harm others. It is very important to take care of the way we say things, without disturbing our interlocutor, but expressing ourselves clearly and concisely.
This ability allows us to ask for advice or help in times of need, something that is not often easy for us. Furthermore, it not only involves asking others but also asking them if they are okay, actively listening to them to know what their dreams and emotions are and thus trying to help them as much as possible.
Relating positively to others is a fundamental skill to be able to survive day to day since the human being is a social animal. The skill of interpersonal relationships is a necessary ability to start and maintain good relationships with others, whether with a friend, a family member or with a partner,
This is a fundamental skill to develop good social and mental well-being, not only helping us to have good social relationships but also making it easier for us to cut off those that are toxic and do not contribute anything to us. Knowing how to have interpersonal relationships is not only having good friendships, but also cutting off those people who endanger our mental health.
5. Decision making
In order to have a successful and fulfilling life, it is necessary to know how to make good decisions. Of course, throughout our lives we make mistakes, but in most situations, as long as we have reflected on what action to take, we can survive day to day.
Make good decisions It implies knowing how to choose, behaving proactively, with initiative, determined and being able to anticipate problems or needs It involves being consistent with the decisions we make, previously evaluating what we are deciding and knowing which is the best path to take.
6. Problem and conflict management
Closely related to the previous point, problem and conflict management can be understood as the ability to resolve problematic situations in an assertive, peaceful and functional way
All problems in this life require some response from us, since it is not as simple as simply ignoring them: problems do not magically disappear.
As a skill, the management of problems and conflicts allows us to face the wide range of problems that occur in life, preventing these situations from becoming chronic and crystallizing in the form of damage on a physical, mental, emotional and psychosocial level. Among the skills within this ability would be the ability to reflect, analyze, change and improve any situation, learning from it and growing personally.
7. Creative thinking
Creative thinking is a very important skill in this life, directly related to problem management. it implies consider and make decisions that go beyond the regulations, considering that a new alternative could give better results than what has been previously tried for the same problem.
Having creative thinking involves imagining possible scenarios before applying a new way of solving a problem, trying to understand if it is really worth trying and, if it has failed, trying to recycle that same idea but taking a new perspective.
Critical thinking is the ability to objectively analyze the information and experiences that occur in our lives Many times the information we receive from our family, friends, school and, above all, the media is biased or has been distorted in a way that encourages having a specific opinion.
Critical thinking would be the ability to try to go beyond what we have been given, seeing to what extent what we have been told is true and how much information we have been omitted. It is necessary to objectively analyze, compare and judge the information that we are told in order to have our own opinion about a social concept or topic.
9. Management of emotions and feelings
Knowing how to recognize our mood and understanding the best way to modify it functionally is a key aspect for our mental health. The management of emotions and feelings is the ability to learn to feel, express ourselves emotionally and manage our feelings, understanding what we are feeling and how to cope with it preventing it from harming our daily lives or damaging our social relationships.
10. Management of tension and stress
Finally, managing tension and stress is a very important life skill, directly related to the previous one, which involves knowing how to recognize when we are stressed, apply relaxation techniques and eliminate this stress or channel it to turn it into something constructive.
It also implies recognizing the sources of this stress, what effects it has on our lives and how its appearance can harm our social relationships and work and academic productivity. Since stress is already considered an epidemic, having well-developed tension and stress management is considered an extremely adaptive skill for 21st century society.
summarizing
Although there are many criteria used to define life skills, the WHO considers that there are ten that are most important for our daily lives. These skills take into account social relationships, the cognitive field and the management of emotions, three fundamental aspects to be able to develop and progress as a fully functional person.
Having a healthy life does not only mean avoiding risky behaviors such as taking drugs or having unprotected sexual relations, but it also means having a good social life, feeling that you are having success in life and that you manage your emotions appropriately. Having an assertive communication style, satisfactory management of emotions, and behaving prosocially are aspects that allow us to survive in the midst of the complex and diverse jungle that is society.
