Life Skills Short Note 2019

Life skills
Definitions
➢ Life skills are abilities for adaptive & positive behavior that enable individuals to deal
with the demands & challenges of everyday life.
➢ Life skills allow us to know our values, thoughts & emotions.
Life skills are psychological competences & interpersonal skills that help people make:
̵ Informed decisions ̵ Build healthy relationships
̵ Solve problems ̵ Manage one’s life in a healthy &
̵ Think critically & creatively productive manner.
̵ Communicate effectively
Success in education is very much influenced by attributes beyond intellectual competence.
Emotional & social competencies play important roles as well; life skills include
̵ Relationships
̵ Communication skills
Significance of Life Skills
Life skills help for the following purposes;
- Dealing with potential unwanted pregnancies and HIV/AIDS/STIs
- Issues of drugs & alcohol abuse
- Peer pressure
- Family problems
Therefore, developing coping skills becomes critical in order to achieve goals & develop healthy,
positive lifestyles.
➢ This chapter is designed to sufficiently equip students with life skills that would enable
them manage the life challenges.
➢ The university, being a new environment is a stressor in its own.

Major components of life skills

A. Self-Awareness
It is one of the important life skills
❖ Knowing oneself is an important first step to living a healthy life style
❖ Self-awareness is one of the attributes of emotional intelligence & an important factor in
achieving success.

What is Self?
• Self can be defined as an essential personality aspect that organizes one’s thoughts,
feelings & actions

The self has three components

1. Natural self - containing the genetic make ups, instincts, drives & potentialities
2. The learned self - which contains things one has learnt as a result of social interactions
3. The choosing self - contains choices

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How a person can know him/herself?

Sources of self-awareness
✓ Education ✓ Culture ✓ Religion
✓ Family ✓ Peer groups ✓ Media

Self-esteem
✓ Self-esteem is the sense of worth attach to yourself.
✓ It is the way you assess yourself & feel about yourself.
✓ It includes accepting oneself, admitting one’s strengths & shortcomings.

A person is not born with self-esteem; it is built by:

- Family - Friends
- Relatives or neighbors - Employers
- Teachers

Features of people with high self-esteem

✓ They are self-confident ✓ They have independent & cooperative attitude
✓ They are self-directed ✓ Feeling comfortable with a wide range of
✓ They clearly know their strengths & weaknesses emotions
✓ They accept criticisms from others ✓ They trust others
✓ Are optimistic in life ✓ The ability to say “NO”
✓ Have the ability to solve problems

What is low self-esteem?

➢ Low self-esteem results from poor self-image.
➢ Negative thinking is an important cause of low self-esteem.
➢ Negative thinking can also cause you to lose self-confidence.
➢ So, it is vital to end negative thoughts if you want to build your self-esteem.

How can you build your self-esteem?

Methods to improve self-esteem

✓ Choose to please yourself before others
✓ Do not try to be like someone else
✓ Focus on your needs & desires
✓ Focus on your successes
✓ Use positive affirmations & quotes
✓ Focus on your strengths
✓ Develop & work at achieving your goals.
✓ Do your best at everything you try
✓ Feed your brain
✓ Spend time with people who make you feel
good about yourself
✓ Take good care of your body - Eat healthy,
exercise, dress appropriately, & sleep 7-9
hours regularly.

Self-confidence
✓ Self-confidence is a belief in yourself & your abilities

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✓ It is a mental attitude of trusting or relying on yourself

✓ Confidence is equated with freedom from doubt.

Characteristics of persons with high self confidence

➢ Carryout duties with great endurance
➢ Knowing, accepting limitations &
trying to change it
➢ Focus on what they can & what is on
their hands
➢ Have great control of their feelings
➢ Have confidence in their abilities
➢ Believe that they can do whatever they
can
➢ Able to lead their life independently
➢ Feel responsible or accountable for their
actions
➢ Work hard to fulfill their goals

Characteristics of people with low self-confidence

✓ Focus on the negative aspects of others ✓ Give high critics to self
✓ Feel bad about them selves ✓ Feel that there are risks on every activity
✓ Do not accept themselves ✓ Blame others (person, situation)
✓ Always look for perfection, absolutism

Ways to develop self-confidence

- Knowing that success can bread self-confidence
- Appreciating & seeing successful people & models
- Being patient
- Evaluating one’s strong & weak sides
- Accepting good & encouraging opinions
- Identify & know things that will bring negative thoughts
- Focus on the strong sides
- Using encouraging self-talks such as “I can make a difference”
- Rewarding self when successful

Intrapersonal Skills
Critical Thinking
➢ It is the ability to exercise careful evaluation or judgment
➢ It helps to determine the authenticity, accuracy, worth, validity of something
➢ It helps to make appropriate decisions concerning one’s situation.
➢ It is the ability to evaluate information to determine whether it is right or wrong

Benefits of thinking critically

✓ Students can gather & assess information & interpret it effectively.
✓ Students can reach well-reasoned conclusions & solutions to problems.
✓ Students can clearly communicate ideas, positions & solutions to a problem.

Process of Critical Thinking

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- Identify problems - Consider the key point

- Searching for reasons
- Gather enough information
- Use a reliable source
- Evaluate the overall problem
- Never miss the main issue
- Thinking different alternatives & listing to the
reasons.
- Be open minded & consider the starting idea.
- Taking the right methods to apply

Decision Making
➢ Decision making & problem solving are critically important skills for students in their
campus life.
➢ Decision-making is the process of identifying & choosing alternatives based on the
values & preferences of the decision-maker.

Steps of Decision Making

Step 1: Identify the problem
Step 2: Collect the relevant information using the “W H” questions
Example: What? Why? When? Where? How? Who? Which?
Step 3: Identify possible solutions
Step 4: Examine each alternative
Step 5: Choose one alternative
Step 6: Implement the decision
Step 7: Evaluate your decision. Does it works? Why & Why not?

Problem Solving
➢ A problem is something that hinders human beings from fulfilling their goals.
➢ Problems always exist & are faced by all without difference in age, sex, race &
educational level.
➢ But the kinds & seriousness of the problems as well as their solving strategies vary.
➢ Problems could be sources of innovation.
➢ Hence looking at problems as a means to widen one’s horizon to tackle issues
➢ Problem serves as a positive approach to deal with life issues.

Source of Problems
- Nature
- Nurture: Environment /situations like background of a person
- Lack of information, etc.

Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills

✓ Focus on the solution – not the problem ✓ Think critically
✓ Have an open mind ✓ Use language that creates possibility
✓ View problems neutrally or independently ✓ Simplify things

Goal Setting & Time Management Skills

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- A goal is an aim that somebody wants to achieve.

- The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want to go in life.
- It is our goal which determines our ways of acting.
- A person with no goal is just like a sheep without keeper!
- Goal gives meaning for your living & guides you what to do in day to day life.
- Goals give you long-term vision & short-term motivation.
- It focuses your acquisition of knowledge & helps you to organize your time & resources.

Importance of Goal for Students

- Gives meaning for why he/she is in - Helps to avoid wasting time on
the University. unnecessary tasks.
- Assists to identify what is expected - Helps you determine your destination.
from a student. - Helps to evaluate your success.
- Helps to concentrate on what is - Increases self-confidence & add value.
important.

Important things to consider in a goal

❖ Make sure your goals are achievable.
❖ Prioritize tasks to do.
❖ Avoid agreeing to do things you do not have time to complete.
❖ Make your commitment consistent with your goals.
❖ Have enough rest, relaxation & physical exercise.

Your goals should be “SMART”

S  Specific R  Relevant
M  Measurable T  Time bounded
A  Attainable
Time Management Skills
➢ Success is not just about intelligence but about how you use the time available to you.
➢ The only thing that can’t be recycled is wasted time.
➢ Your time is your life!
➢ Effective time management is a vital skill for anyone hoping to succeed at university or
college.
➢ Your future is what you make it today!
Qualities of good time managers
❖ More productive ❖ Get more things done
❖ More energetic ❖ Feel better about themselves

Poor Time Managers

o Constant rushing o Frequent delays

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o Difficulty of achieving goals o Frustrations and tension

Time Thieves
❖ Poor planning ❖ Bad attitudes
❖ Problem of prioritization ❖ Can’t say “NO” or being non-
❖ Interruptions assertive

Can you tell me proverbs that tell the importance of time?

➢ ጊዜ ጨካኝ አስተማሪ ነው ሳያስተምር ይፈትናል!!

➢ Time is gold!
➢ Time is life!
➢ ከስህተቱ የማይማር ፈንጅ አምካኝ ብቻ ነው!!

Academic Skills
➢ Academic skills are skills which help students learn how to be a more effective learner.
➢ Being successful in university requires a high level of study skills.
➢ It is also an apparent fact that students success in higher learning institution depends on
their ability to study effectively & efficiently.
➢ Studying involves learning a complex set of skills, such as note taking, test taking skills,
reading skills, etc.
➢ There is no magic formula to be successful in life.
➢ Success requires hard work & work discipline.

Study techniques help for scoring good results

- Preparing study schedule - Daily study time schedule
- Prioritize your time - Organize your study area
- Plan your study - Avoid destructors during reading
- Keep a weekly & monthly schedule

Strategies for Effective Study

a. Survey-get the overall picture of what you are going to study.

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b. Question - before you begin reading, turn the heading into a question. Example: If the
heading is causes for GBV, your question would be "What are the causes of GBV?"
c. Read - read the material under the heading with the purpose of getting the answer to your
question.
d. Recite - without looking the material, say what you have covered in your reading using own
words.
✓ Attempt to answer all questions you raised before reading.
✓ If you find you cannot answer the question, go back & look for the answer, then try
again.
e. Review – revise the main points in your notes, making sure you understand it well.
✓ Add to your notes from the text, if necessary.

Tips for Active Reading

✓ Underlining & highlighting.
✓ Note key words.
✓ Pre-reading question (before reading the whole book).
✓ Make your own summaries.

Test taking skills

• A means of assessing students’ knowledge & skills.
• Dismissal from campus could be due to several factors like;
- Lack of preparation
- Stress during test/test anxiety

Causes of Test Anxiety

 Students may feel that they are unfamiliar to college or university tests.
 They may feel that they have not mastered the subject being tested
 Tension
 Lack of confidence

Ways to avoid test anxiety

- Developing good study habit.
- Strive for a relaxed state of concentration.
- Be well prepared for the test.
- Get a good night's sleep, the night before the exam (from 7-9 hours per day).
- Stay relaxed.

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- If there are unclear directions, ask the teacher.

➢ Choose a comfortable location.
➢ Do simple questions first.
➢ If you find yourself tensed & getting anxious during the test:
– Do not think about the fear.
– Use positive reinforcement for yourself.
– Expect that there will be some anxiety.

Interpersonal skills
Assertiveness Skills
➢ Assertiveness is the direct & honest communication of your opinions, feelings, needs &
rights while acknowledging the rights of others.
➢ It is working towards a win-win solution.
➢ It is something that you develop & strengthen through time.
➢ It is different from non-aggressiveness & aggressiveness

Features of Assertive Persons

✓ Telling exactly what they want in a way that does not seem rude or threatening.
✓ Standing up for their own rights without putting down the rights of others.
✓ Respecting themselves & others.
✓ Listening & talking.
✓ Express positive & negative feelings.
✓ Being confident but not pushy.
✓ They never become half-hearted
✓ Sharing feelings, opinions & experiences with others.
✓ Questioning rules or traditions that do not seem fair.
✓ Addressing problems or things that bother them.
✓ Refusing others’ requests if it is too demanding.

Features of non-assertive or passive persons

✓ Giving into the willingness of others.

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✓ Leaving into others to guess or letting them decide for them.

✓ Taking no action to assert their own rights
✓ Putting others first at their expense.
✓ Giving into what others want.
✓ Remaining silent when something bothers you
✓ Apologizing a lot
✓ Acting submissive – Example:
̵ Talking quietly
̵ Laughing nervously
̵ Avoiding disagreement, etc.

Features of Aggressive Persons

➢ Expressing feelings, opinions or desires in a way that threatens or pushes the other
person.
➢ Standing up for their rights with no thoughts for the other person.
➢ Putting themselves first at the expense of others.
➢ Reaching their own goals regardless of others’ interest.

Demanding behaviors example:

̵ Shouting ̵ Pointing finger at others
̵ Not listening to others ̵ Threatening or fighting
̵ Assuming others are wrong

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If you don’t know how to assert yourself you may face:

- Depression – anger turned inward, sense of helpless, hopeless, worthlessness, etc.
- Anxiety – feelings of tension, apprehension, worry, fear, uneasiness or feeling unhappy.
- Resentment – anger at others for manipulating or taking advantage of you.
- Frustration – why did I allow happening?
- Relationship difficulties – poor communication skills
- Temper/violence – inability to express anger in appropriate way.

How to be an Assertive Person?

➢ Stating a strong refusal (expressing a clear “NO”).
➢ Giving a good reason (justifying for the “NO”).
➢ Offering an alternative (presenting a different choice).
➢ Taking a caring approach (describing why the “NO” is better for everyone).
➢ Speak up when you have idea or opinion.
➢ Standing up for your opinions & stick to them.
➢ Choose assertive (not aggressive language).
➢ Avoid bullying & demanding behavior.
➢ Avoid physical aggressive behavior.

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Managing Peer Pressure

Peer pressure can be:
- Positive peer pressure
- Negative peer pressure
 Members or friends of the same age group trying to influence or talk you into doing things
that you do want to do.
 Many people give into peer pressure because they want to be accepted by their friends.

Summary:

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