Academic achievement is undeniably important.
But life’s success extends far beyond test scores.
As much as academic excellence paves the way for further education and career opportunities, a strong skillset in basic life skills is equally essential for navigating everyday life and achieving well-rounded success.
A human being is gifted with numerous potentials that are exhibited in our capacity to engage in things such as inventions, applaudable social services, and other outstanding achievements in all spheres of life.
All of this isn’t built upon academic skills alone but essentially on basic life skills; these skills equip us with utilization strategies.
Basic life skills are a set of foundational abilities that empower individuals to function effectively in everyday life. They are seen as skills that are acquired via learning or direct life experiences that make sure an individual deals with whatever life presents.
These skills encompass a wide range, which includes communication skills, self-help skills, financial literacy, time management, adaptability, critical thinking, teamwork, decision-making, collaboration skills, and personal and social responsibility, amongst others.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), eight major life skills have been identified. These are self-awareness, empathy, thinking outside the box, conflict resolution, good interpersonal relationships, stress and emotion management, and decision-making.Let's have a short snapshot of what these skills entail.
Table of Content
1. Self-Help Skill
Self-help skills are also referred to as adaptive skills; they are the everyday practical skills needed to function efficiently and independently.
This skill is broadly categorized into four aspects of life needs:
- Self-feeding
- Self-bathing and body grooming
- Toileting and general hygiene
- And helping with chores.
2. Decision Making
The need to make a rational and well-informed decision cannot be overruled as one grows; this is what the decision-making skill teaches; embedded in it is the analytic skill of collaboration and critical thinking.
This skill presents itself in the form of an anchoring brainstorming session, the collection of feedback from colleagues and close members, and researching market trends and their impact, amongst others.
To be a good decision-maker, you must be able to:
- Identify essential factors that may hinder good decision-making.
- Make an evaluation of the options and prioritize.
- Anticipate the outcome and seek logical consequences.
- Navigate risks and obstacles
- Reason well in context and do analysis.
3. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a word that originates from the Greek word ‘Kritikos’ meaning the ability to “discern or judge”.
It is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication.
It can also be seen as a form of thinking that questions, analyzes, makes inferences, evaluates, and makes judgments about what one hears, says, or writes.
This skill is essentially important because it gives room for connecting logical ideas and creating a bigger and clearer picture.
4. Collaboration Skill
The Yoruba adage that says a single tree cannot make a forest is so relatable to human endeavor.
At some point in your life, you will have to depend on someone for one thing or the order to make a success of an event or activity.
Learning this skill is crucial for a successful interpersonal relationship, as it is all about working well with others to achieve a common goal, though not just about the achievement of a task but about creating an accommodating sphere of workspace, resolving conflicts, and building teamwork.
This skill is thus essential in one's work life, so aside from your academic achievements, this skill will make you thrive in your field of work.
The key ingredients for excelling in this collaboration stage of your life are effective communication, being open-minded to ideas, and conflict management.
5. Adaptability Skill
Adaptability skills are the traits that allow you to adjust quickly to changes and evolutions in life, the workspace, and the environment at large.
As an individual ready to gear up his or her adaptability, the need to change the way you learn, think, work, and interact with people is very essential.
By being constantly aware that change is dynamic, we can build our adaptive skills.
Adapting generally revolves around nine abilities, which are:
- Ability to embrace growth
- Ability to stay abreast of what is going on around you
- Ability to keep up the continuous learning spirit.
- Ability to communicate well
- Ability to develop problem-solving skills
- Ability to be open-minded to feedback and criticism
- Ability to be flexible
- Ability to improve your time management.
- Ability to seek cross-sessional experiences
Other areas include:
Time Management
This is all about prioritizing tasks, effective scheduling, and meeting deadlines.
Self-Care Skills
Self-care is the intentional approach to prioritizing one’s well-being and health, both physical and mental.
It entails knowing when to say no, allotted time for sleep, fun time, and work, identifying and eliminating toxic people, and engaging in social activity, amongst others.
It basically means putting oneself above others.
Financial literacy
This encapsulates the ability to manage money effectively, budget, save for the future, and make responsible financial decisions.
Knowing how to create a budget, track expenses, save for the future, and make wise financial decisions equips you well enough to achieve financial stability and manage your money effectively.
Interpersonal skills
This skill essentially equips you to build and maintain positive relationships, collaborate effectively with others, and demonstrate empathy.
Digital literacy
The ability to utilize technology for communication, learning, and productivity.
What are the five most important life skills?
Imagine a brilliant student graduating with top honors yet struggling to manage their finances, cook a healthy meal, or maintain a clean living space.
This scenario highlights the gap between academic knowledge and practical life skills. Thus, life skills are the essential abilities we need to navigate the complexities of everyday life.
They empower us to be independent, responsible, and adaptable individuals.
5 Essential important of life skills are:
- Increased Independence
- Improved Problem-Solving Abilities
- Enhanced Self-Confidence
- Stronger Relationships
- Improved Time Management
How to develop basic life skills?
Life skills are learnable and can be nurtured throughout life. Some strategies perceived as helping to cultivate these valuable skills in yourself are
Hone your interpersonal skills
The skill you depend on to communicate and interact with others, either verbally or non-verbally, is interpersonal.
To improve your life skills, you must be eager to improve your interpersonal skills. By actively listening to what people say, ask for rephrasing before you give a reply to be sure you are on the same page with the person you are communicating with and also avoid missing information.
Giving constructive criticism is also an avenue to build your interpersonal skills, which in turn will help your life skills overall.
Keep learning
Learning, they say, never ends.
To improve your life skills, you must be willing to learn because learning equips you with the skills to face hurdles and negative life occurrences.
It enables you to see a solution amidst the problem as your mind stays sharp.
These can be achieved by taking up courses, reading books, having a mentor-mentee relationship, and interacting with people.
It is also important to be social.
Seek the service of a life coach
The easiest and quickest way to learn life skills is to hire a life skills coach who helps you draft a plan based on your crucial areas of need.
Because a life coach is trained, personnel are saddled with the responsibility of helping people strengthen their life skills.
Be positive-oriented
Failure is not the end of life but an opportunity to re-strategize.
By not seeing hurdles as a curse but as an avenue to grow, this positive spirit will help you harness your life skills.
Also, surrounding yourself with positive-spirit individuals is crucial to your life skills journey as they will help you see the light and be your cheerleader amidst all odds.
Introspection is the key
Introspection gives you an insight into your capabilities and limitations, which can help you grow.
By developing self-awareness, this can be made known.
For a successful self-aware practice, adopt performance feedback techniques to understand areas that require improvement.
Also, be sure to always look for opportunities to enhance your skill set to increase your performance at work.
Promote open-minded
Be open to criticism and see it as an avenue to grow.
Encourage the expression of minds and feelings without being sentimental about it.
This will help you improve your confidence and interpersonal relationships.
Frequently Asked Questions on Basic Life Skills
1. How can I start teaching my child basic life skills?
Very simple to start as early as possible at an early age by practicing the basic independence approach.
Facilitate your wards to dress by themselves, arrange their turn after use at an appropriate place, and complete age-appropriate tasks.
As they grow older, gradually introduce more complex life skills.
2. What are some resources for teaching life skills?
In the world of creativity, various authors have emerged to suit the nature of individuals we have now. We have online books and catalogs to shop for age-appropriate videos on life skills, and there are after-school programs that often offer workshops or programs focused on life skills development.
3. How can I encourage my child to learn life skills?
Make learning fun! Don’t be too rigid; take your time to get to know your child and use approaches that best suit the way they are wired.
Consider how your child feels, involve them in some decision-making in the house, turn chores into games, involve children in meal planning and grocery shopping, and highlight the benefits of being independent and responsible.
Celebrate their progress and achievements to keep them motivated.
Final Thought on Beyond Academics: Why Basic Life Skills Are Key to Well-Rounded Success
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