Practicing Life Skills

Practicing life skills is the logical extension of developing basic life skills. It blends everything we know about personal, relationship and project skills and puts them into action. Fundamental knowledge becomes basic beliefs that are then translated into everyday behavior. The result: Success in life increases. Not only will better employability skills increase workplace success, but better relationship skills increase positive interaction with others. Overcoming challenges also becomes much easier. In practicing life skills that include good character and strong self-esteem, we can't help but look at the world in a more positive way.

To many people, practicing may sound like it involves a great deal of thinking and effort. In reality, once basic life skills become a part of who we are, implementing them becomes second nature (instinctive actions or reactions that involve little to no thinking.) In many cases, we replace negative instincts that probably aren't working very well, with positive instincts that produce more positive results.

Practicing life skills is all about personal improvement and personal empowerment. We will never be able to totally control a situation, but our behavior can undoubtedly result in a better outcome for us. And since behavior is often contagious, we may find ourselves setting the tone for the entire situation.

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Personal Growth Through the Practice of Basic Life Skills

Anger / Conflict Management.

Anger, which often produces conflict, is probably the most important area to address with regard to practicing life skills. A display of anger can instantly change any situation into a negative encounter.

Whether we are the one who is angry, or the one interacting with someone who is angry it is helpful to try to identify the cause. Frustration can result in anger, as can feeling hurt or helpless. Knowing the root cause can help determine the appropriate action or reaction.

Developing and practicing life skills, that include self-control along with a high level of self-confidence and conflict resolution skills, can help minimize angry interactions.

Accepting Changes in Life.

Changes in life are inevitable, but in most cases manageable. (If not managed or accepted, however, life changes can and do become barriers to success.) Whether at home or at work, situations change and relationships change. In addition, our perspective changes as we get older. Strong personal strengths can be very helpful in accepting or coping with change.

Most of the time, we cannot fight the change. So our energy is better spent considering how the change will affect us as an individual. Consider the negative, but don't become obsessed with it. Certainly a change that involves a loss (physical or mental ability, a relationship, a job, a natural disaster) can - and should - involve a reasonable grief period.

As soon as possible, however, we need to start thinking about the future. It is the only way we will be able to create a plan for moving beyond this change. (Not forgetting, but moving on.) It is also important to remember that in most cases, even in the midst of a change, there are other areas of our life that still need attention. Completely neglecting them can make the current situation worse, and undermine attempts to build the future.

Dressing for Success.

Many situations can improve greatly if we are dressed appropriately. Some will remain the same regardless of what we wear. And some can become a disaster quickly if the proper attire is not worn. The image we present determines how others will react to us.

Being clean and neat should be considered the top priority in dressing for success. If we are dirty and smell, it really doesn't matter what we are wearing. On the other hand, even if we don't have the perfect attire, we can still make a good impression by being clean and neat. (We can then explain why we are not dressed perfectly, if necessary.)

Dressing for success during an interview is particularly important. A good rule of thumb would be to dress one step above what the job requires. Think about what you will be wearing on-the-job and make it just a little more formal. This shows the employer that you could present a more professional image if required.

Developing and practicing life skills associated with personal and relationship success can also help achieve interview goals.

Speaking to a Group.

Many people would rather go to the dentist, than speak to a group of people. Due to a reserved or more supportive personality, some people just don’t like being the center of attention. Others may feel they don't have anything important to say.

Public speaking may not be a career choice. But it can occasionally be required in a variety of jobs. Practicing life skills such as self-confidence, basic communication skills and organization can relieve the instant feeling of fear and dread. If we believe in our abilities and are well-prepared, stress levels will be lowered.

Teen Advice / Help.

Peer pressure and having little control or limited influence over any given situation is not uncommon in all areas of life - at home and at work. For most of us, these negatives are offset by years of experience, established life skills and/or other areas that are positive.

For many teens, however, this balance may be hard to achieve. They do not have years of experience in handling these negatives. They are just beginning to develop strong basic life skills. And it is sometimes difficult to find positive areas at home, school or work, because all three may seem overly restrictive.

Good advice to teens would be to boost self esteem, while improving communication skills. Our self esteem is one of the few things we can control. (It is important, however, to remember that healthy self esteem is not simply thinking we are great. It also involves self-respect, which increases the value we place on ourselves and achievement, which increases confidence in our abilities.)

Good communication, a significant part of relationship skills, includes the realization that perception is not always reality, and places a high value on assertiveness and conflict resolution.

Personal goal setting can also help us stay focused on the future we want to have. Although practicing life skills may sound hard, it really isn't that difficult. And as we see our success increase, it becomes easier and easier.