Skills that promote health and well-being…

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The World Health Organization has been recommending, for well over 20 years, that these 11 Life Skills are necessary for health and well-being. It was not until college that Life Skills were introduced in any kind of detail. Some countries have full life-skills training programs across different stages of life, but the recommendation is that they start early, usually by age 2, then continue throughout life.

How many years do we spend in school? These are actual, core skills that are supposed to be taught to maximize our own health and well-being.

Most everyone has heard of these ideas, but each one really needs it’s own clear lessons and practice. Looking back on my own education I wonder how much happier I could have been? How much more successful at a much earlier age? No regrets! Who wants more joy now? That’s what All Life Skills is about…moving forward with more health and well-being.

  1. Decision making
  2. Problem solving
  3. Creative thinking
  4. Critical thinking
  5. Effective communication
  6. Interpersonal relationships
  7. Self-awareness
  8. Empathy
  9. Equanimity
  10. Coping with emotions
  11. Coping with stress

Published by tferrari

Over 25 years as an entrepreneur, business owner, consultant. BA in Psychology from University of California at San Diego MA from Alliant International University/California School of Professional Psychology

7 Comments

  • Danielle Haley

    February 7, 2018 at 5:58 pm Reply

    I’ve recently finished the life balance wheel activity, and was able to see where my life is out of balance. Now that I know this, I am having a problem actually allocating my time into the areas that need more attention. How do I start to do this after being out of balance for so long?

    • tferrari

      February 7, 2018 at 10:30 pm Reply

      Change Does NOT Take 21 Days

      Congratulations on taking that first step, recognition. Now that you know what you want to change it may take a little time and practice to form a habit. There is new science that shows that 21 days is NOT how long it takes for form a new habit, unless it’s a really simple habit.
      I like this article on Brain Picking, it’s about forming habits. The harder the new behavior, generally the longer it will take for mastery to happen (complete control over the new skill, you no longer think about it).

      So you are beginning to do something new, something uncomfortable right? Anything new requires practice (repeating until mastery). The starting goal needs to be realistic. Many times when setting a fitness goal the starting goal is daily or five days a week. To go from zero to that much is unrealistic. Twice a week is a very nice exercise routine for those of us who struggle with regular movement. Pick a realistic schedule for yourself.

      James Clear writes about 7 Strategies to help if you slip up. One of his suggestions is to consider if you “Care” or not. For example, do you care to spend time working on your finances? I spent so many years resisting the tedious ways I originally learned to view my finances. I literally hated sitting down to do anything financial. Until I finally sought professional help. I first had to let go of all the old beliefs about managing my money before I could DECIDE I wanted to care.

      In summary of James Clear’s article (worth reading all the way through), I would re-sequence his points and have you answer these questions for yourself:
      1. Do really you care/want this new skill?
      2. Have you set your starting goal too big?
      3. Are you too hard on you?
      4. If you slip up do you give up?
      5. Who can support you?
      6. What is in your environment that makes this easier/reminds you/supports you?

      • tferrari

        November 5, 2023 at 7:53 pm Reply

        Danielle has overcome so many hardships very early in life. She is a true testament to what you can overcome with patience, consistent growth work, and the Love of Good Family. Thank you for this contribution to All Life Skills!

  • Tammy Seol

    February 7, 2018 at 3:28 pm Reply

    I am very interested in going through this process for myself and my family. I would like help in gaining more balance in my life. Do you have a tool for this?
    Thank you,
    Tammy

    • tferrari

      February 7, 2018 at 4:44 pm Reply

      Is your Life Balance “Wheel” More Like a Rock?

      Balance, that has become the most important word in my life. The Life Balance Wheel is a quick and easy tool to identify quickly any areas of life that need more time and attention. Pure Coaching has a nice summary of how to walk through the balance wheel activity.

      Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about what needs to be done, the same things, over and over again. We are creatures of habit so we typically focus on the same one or two parts of life. In reality we feel less stressed when we start to devote time to other areas of life. Ironically, we may be avoiding spending time in some of our own, self-identified, most important areas of life. If you find yourself saying, “I’m to busy for ____.” There is a very good chance some redesigning may be necessary.

      Once you go through the Life Balance Wheel activity your next step should be to get out the calendar and schedule something from the area that has the lowest score on your wheel. I see a lot of people who say they want to exercise but yet don’t actually have the time slots RESERVED ON THEIR CALENDAR. Don’t we usually schedule important things and then put them on our calendar?

      Create more balance/lower stress:
      1. Complete the Life Balance Wheel, identify your personal area to modify, pick an activity. (Whatever activity you most need, financial, fitness, church, seminar…)
      2. Add the activity TO THE CALENDAR, with a reminder, set to reoccur on a regular schedule.
      3. Do it! No avoiding! If you make it enjoyable your are more likely to do & be willing to repeat it.
      4. Stick with it for 3 solid months.
      5. Reward yourself with a fun activity.
      6. Repeat steps 1-5 at 3 months. Complete the Life Balance Wheel activity again. Notice if life seems any better.

  • Kathy Ryan

    February 2, 2018 at 11:00 pm Reply

    This all sounds really interesting but how do I start? Realistically I know I have to start with myself making sure I’m okay and then what?

    • tferrari

      February 7, 2018 at 3:10 pm Reply

      Getting Started: Which Life Skill To Tackle First

      The #1 place to start is to figure out where you are on the Hierarchy of Needs.

      A solid foundation to build on is critical. Many of us where not given what we need in order to have a stable place to build upon. In addition, our foundation can become shaky in an instant. The base layer is our Physical well-being. If we are challenged with our body/mind in any way then placing anything else into our lives/onto our selves can become too heavy a burden and make us collapse.

      Here is an example of a shaky, first level Physical base. If you did not sleep well last night, then you get in your car in the morning and drive, your reflexes, response time, awareness are all off and therefore you put you at risk of an accident (Safety, the second level that sits on top of the Physical base).

      Then lets say you make it to work, a co-worker that may be mildly irritating normally, now seems dialed up to full blast. They didn’t change, but your lack of sleep causes you to experience EVERYTHING full blast. Stressed and ready to explode, you might, then Social, the third level that sits on top of Safety is broken.

      So the initial work is to become totally honest with ourselves about what we need. Here is a really nice checklist:
      Wellness Assessment

      That was a GREAT question. As you go through the checklist if you get stuck, have questions, or have some personal wins to share please post again.

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