As you grew up, you likely absorbed many life skills indirectly, such as navigating friendships, managing emotions, setting personal goals or building self-esteem. Each life experience shaped your future responses. Recognising this power of self-awareness can empower us to break free from these patterns and teach children the important life skills that build the foundation for moving through future experiences.
You absorbed knowledge from the people and cultural influences around you, learning what was expected. Each time you went through something, it shaped your version of life. This indirectly taught you life skills without the knowledge of how it could be different.
School teaches us intellectual ability but often lacks the emotional components needed to move through our lives. I've seen time and time again in working with children that if they lack the emotional capacity to move through experiences, it will affect everything else—from inner self-talk to learning and their ability to connect with others. It's why I never tackle the surface issue first in my one-to-one sessions, but I always shift the focus to which life skills they still need to gain a solid grasp on. Once they grow these skills, they start flourishing in the areas they were struggling with, be it school, friendships or self-esteem.
Life skills are the foundation for creating and sustaining emotional awareness. It is the lens through which we look through and observe our world to make decisions and grow who we are.
Our eight core life skills, part of our program, were developed to help you see and shape how you are taught emotional agility. We do not just rely on children to learn these skills indirectly and move through their lives without knowing that they are in the control seat. Understanding life skills helps you understand where your child is and how to ask the right questions that help them move forward. They will learn the skill for the current situation and carry it through to future experiences. Each time they go through a new situation, they develop these skills from a new angle.
Developing the ability to see the whole child allows you to develop self-awareness, too. Quite often, you will learn in the process, and it will help you develop skills to handle future situations better. You are allowing yourself to stay calm and move through any big emotions in a way that allows you to enjoy the process.
Understanding the skills, knowing what questions to ask, and, most importantly, identifying key areas will unlock a whole new way of being around the children in your life.
To go into more depth with each core life skill, join our mailing list below to receive our free download to get started.
You will get:
The 8 Core Life Skills for Young People, including questions around each skills to ask your children
The Next Best Thing Method Poster