Skills for a Holistic Life
What is the life-skill I address here?
The logical thinking is developed with academic and related programs and exposure. The subtler aspects that deal with innovation, emotions, memory, team-spirit, confidence, self-image, resilience and values are life-skills that can influence success, happiness and peace. Youth needs to be taught to believe that they are the creators of their destiny.
Should life-skill be taught?
Our grandparents and parents didn’t have cutthroat competition, high standard of living, media exposure, peer pressure and fragile upbringing (busy parents or lack of awareness on modern-day parenting) like today. So they lived life on their terms with a strong foundation of values thrust by family. That was their world or rather our world (till my generation).
Today, the change in the world outside may not necessarily be the one that we like, but we certainly need to adapt to and move on with grace. We, therefore, cannot create a path for the young generation that suits each; we need to prepare them for the path that is bound to have speed-breakers, stumbling blocks and dead ends.
It helps when life-skills are taught and discussed in classrooms. It’s easier to create healthy young minds rather than trying to repair much later. Academics are important, and good scores are required to get a dream job; no doubt. But can that ever be equated to peace, purpose and happiness?
Imparting Life-skills
I had written a self-help book for youth, and when a professor read it, she said, “I wish I could make this their non-detailed textbook. At least for the sake of exams they will read and get motivated”. When I speak at schools and colleges on life dynamics, students are pepped up, get some trigger and feel they get a direction to go both forward and up. But they are unable to sustain the change that they wish to bring in. Another chat, a video they watch or a movie they go to, make them oblivion of the learning. It needs some push to sustain change, and that ideally happens at education institution.
Suppose there be programs on weekly or monthly basis that connect with school and college students to discuss topics that they can apply in real life and excel. In that case, we can create good human-beings, productive individuals and responsible citizens for the society. Life-skill classes cannot just be conducted when the syllabus is completed; it has to be part of the syllabus. I respect heads of institutions that bring subject teachers, life-skill coaches and parents to hold hands and lift the young minds.
Swami Vivekananda says, “Education must provide life-building, man-making, character-making assimilation of ideas. He believed that the education which does not help to equip themselves for struggles, bring out the strength of character, the spirit of philanthropy and courage of a lion is not worth the name.”
I am waiting
Instead of complaining about the education system and waiting for a change to happen, visionary educationists should make this mandatory; of course not yet another boring moral science class. Still, sessions filled with fun and learning, for life, after all, has to be full of fun and learning!
About the Author
Usha Ramky is a life-skills Coach, Speaker, Author, Columnist and humorist. After a 15 years Multinational Bank experience she is into life-skills coaching since 2003. She has authored self-help books in English and Tamil. Her purpose is to make this world place a happier place to live in, to her best.