What does life-skills mean?
The World Health Organization defines life-skills as, “abilities for adaptive and positive
behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of
everyday life.” Thus, life skills are basic skills that help individuals in leading a meaningful life
and better adjustment in the society. They involve a myriad of positive aspects of our life such
as the values and ethics we possess, the proactive attitude that we keep towards the society
we live in and various interpersonal and psychosocial skills that we have.
Core Life-skills
The World Health Organization has proposed a set of life skills. These are:
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Creative thinking
- Critical thinking
- Problem solving
- Decision making
- Coping with stress
- Coping with emotions
- Healthy interpersonal relationship
- Effective communications
Going by the list of these skills, it is obvious that they are global in nature, encompassing both
interpersonal and interpersonal skills. These skills are usually clubbed into three major
categories:
- Thinking skills (critical thinking, creative thinking, problem solving, decision making)
- Personal skills (self-awareness, self-management)
- Interpersonal skills (communication skills, empathy, cooperation etc.)
