| Life skills are adaptive abilities to deal effectively with | | | | Essential skills: making family decisions, evaluating |
| challenges and changing demands. They include | | | | career choices and commitments, empathy toward |
| decision-making, creative and critical thinking, stress | | | | others, adjusting to significant changes. |
| management, interpersonal communication, and | | | | Stage 3. Making Commitments (Approximately 32-42) |
| problem solving skills. | | | | Essential skills: choosing a life direction, making |
| Examples of practical life skills are: communicating | | | | permanent commitments, negotiation and conflict |
| with co-workers, financial management, self-care, | | | | management, developing intuition/understanding of |
| maintaining health and wellness, employability, home | | | | human nature. |
| maintenance, and managing family responsibilities. | | | | Stage 4. Mid-Life Transition (Approximately 42-48) |
| As young students, we begin a life skills-based | | | | Essential skills: Personal and professional |
| education in the foundational skills: reading, writing, | | | | reassessment, re-examining self-image, redefining |
| telling time, math, creative thinking, and interacting | | | | values, re-balancing focus on key life areas, adjusting |
| with others effectively. However, we continue to | | | | to significant changes. |
| learn and develop throughout our lives. | | | | Stage 5. Leaving a Legacy (Approximately 49-65) |
| As we become young men and women, experience | | | | Essential skills: contributing to society, |
| and educational training help to teach the skills | | | | self-acceptance, managing priorities, forgiveness of |
| necessary to live a fulfilling and competent life. These | | | | emotional debts, nurturing rewarding relationships, |
| skills will be necessary in all primary life areas (e.g., | | | | advocacy, making new commitments, keen intuition, |
| career, family, health and vitality, recreation, | | | | acceptance and sharing of wisdom from life |
| significant relationships, finance, spirituality, education, | | | | experience. |
| physical environment). | | | | Stage 6. Spiritual Denouement (Approximately 66 and |
| Many of the skills mentioned above will be essential | | | | Beyond) |
| throughout our lives. Some will be particularly | | | | Essential skills: Accepting self as dependent on a |
| important during various stages of life. Erik Erikson | | | | wisdom greater than one's own, recognizing and |
| and Daniel Levinson identified a series of predictable | | | | respecting humankind's diversity, completing personal |
| life stages extending from our late teens to after | | | | development, adapting to life as part of a larger, |
| retirement.1 | | | | more enduring spiritual community. |
| These stages do not occur in a completely linear | | | | Key questions: Which life skills are the most essential |
| fashion. We cycle through portions of each stage | | | | for you now? In which major life areas could you |
| throughout life; however, specific skills are dominant | | | | benefit from additional skill development? Which skills |
| in each stage. The dominant skills will differ | | | | do you need to refine and sharpen in order to live |
| somewhat for each individual. Here are some | | | | the most fulfilling life possible? |
| common examples: | | | | When we regularly track our skill development and |
| Stage 1. Autonomy and Tentative Choices | | | | re-balance our focus on important life areas, we can |
| (Approximately 18-26) | | | | continue to progress and enjoy our greatest passions |
| Essential skills: goal setting, career planning, financial | | | | in each stage of life. |
| planning, establishing a home, developing self-reliance, | | | | Reference: |
| transitioning to new peer groups, cooperation and | | | | 1. Weiler, Nicholas W., and Stephen C. Schoonover. |
| teamwork, advanced learning skills. | | | | 2001. Your Soul at Work: Five Steps to a More |
| Stage 2. Young Adult Transition (Approximately | | | | Fulfilling Career and Life: HiddenSpring. |
| 27-31) | | | | |