Presented by: Hena Prasun, Life Skills Teacher
www.udgamschool.com

A,B,Cs of Life Skills
Life skills are behaviours used appropriately and
responsibly in the management of personal
affairs. They are a set of human skills acquired
via teaching or direct experience that are used
to handle problems and questions commonly
encountered in daily human life. The subject
varies greatly depending on societal norms and
community expectations.

The world is your mirror
and your mind is a magnet.
• Life will give you what you
attract with your thoughts.
• Think, act and talk negatively
and your world will be negative.
• Think, act and talk with
enthusiasm and you will
attract positive results.
(Michael
Lebeuf)

Smile, please.
• To be positive is natural.
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• Happiness is a state of mind. Be
cheerful.
• If you think you are in heaven,
you are.
• Use bright & positive language in
everything you do.
• Think positive. It is good for you.
----------------------------------------------------
• Expect the best. You will get it.

“Not doing good is evil.”
• Even if you cannot do good, refrain
from evil at least– is it enough? The
answer is, No.
• Not doing good results in evil.
• Try to help in every little way,
whenever & wherever it is possible.
• Every time something good happens
to you, make sure something good
happens to someone else.

Be open.
• Free your mind from prejudices.
• Have an open mind. “Emptied, you
hold.”
• Be receptive to ideas.
• Be quick to listen. Be slow to
respond.
• Perceptions differ. What is right in
your view may not be that.
• Don‟t jump to conclusions. See the
other person‟s point of view.

Be balanced!• Have a sound sense of
proportion.
• See the things as they are. See
the big as big and the petty as
petty.
• Wisdom is knowing what to
overlook.
• Seeing negative is not being
negative.
• Those who see the negative
are as important as those who
see the positive. (Plane &
parachute)

Think right towards people.
• Have a positive attitude towards
people. Find qualities in them to like.
• Everyone’s, just everyone’s, life is
littered with compromises, morally
questionable decisions & inconsistent
behaviour. Keep this in mind.
• People can only be as perfect as
you are. Accept differences &
limitations.
• Judge them less harshly. Don’t be
hostile when they slip up in tiny ways.

“Rudeness is a weak person’s attempt
at strength.”
• Be considerate, friendly &
affable.
• Practise courtesy. Say - please.
• Tell the truth by all means, but
with tact & kindness.
• Explain. Do it patiently.
• Accommodate the other
viewpoints.
• Allow criticism. It is often
constructive.

• Know what to be angry about.
• One cannot be neutral between
the right and the wrong. One so
neutral is on the side of injustice.
• Evil multiplies when good people
don‟t champion what is right.
• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere.”
• Not to be angry at injustice is to
be dishonest.
Learn the correct way to get angry

But, manage that anger.
• Attack the thing rather than the
person.
• If you must say unpleasant things,
say them in a pleasant way.
• Sugar-coat your criticisms.
• It is easy to say a few mean words in
the heat of the moment. Refrain.
• Don‟t drag out issues from the past.
• Don‟t make any personality digs or
snide remarks.
• Avoid being embroiled in a
screaming match.

“ You can be young just once.
But you can be immature anytime! ”
• Resist the temptation to be
childish.
• Be a grown up. Be mature.
• Be liberal in outlook & considerate
in action.
• Be understanding & forgiving.
Refrain from mischief.
• “An eye for an eye will leave the
whole world blind.”
• „Inna seitharai oruthal ….‟ Do
good to the person who has done
you wrong. Let this be his

Grow up.
But retain the child in you.
• Dream (but be wakeful). What is
life without impossible dreams?
• Be lively, not half-dead. Be alive to
things around.
• View the world in wonderment. Be
curious.
• Be playful. Import fun into all things
you do.
(“We don‟t stop playing because
we grow old; we grow old
because we stop playing.” – G B
Shaw)
• Discover the joy in simple things &
deeds. Relish them.

Is there anything impossible?
• It‟s all in your mind. Believe
you can, you will.
• If you use the right
instruments and choose the
right time, that is.
• Progress has always come
from those who said it could
be done.

Have a winning attitude.
• „I‟ll come up with
alternatives.‟
• „We have the opportunity
to be the first.‟
• „There‟s room for
improvement.‟
• „We shall learn
something new.‟
• „Let‟s try it a few more
times.‟

Aim high.
• Let no horizon be too
large for you to gaze at.
• “In the long run you hit
only what you aim at.”
• “It is not failure but low
aim which is crime.”

No one can cheat you
out of ultimate success but you.
• Life is full of beginnings.
• Have belief in yourself. Never sell
yourself short.
• Invest in yourself. Grow. Keep
growing.
• There is always some good in every
situation. Look out.
• Sharpen your awareness to the
opportunities that lie around.you try
it.

The secret to success is never to give up.
• Failures are but stepping stones to success.
• There are no mistakes in life, only lessons.
• Every failure is a lesson in learning.
• There is no failure except in no longer trying.
• Failing is not bad. Staying down is.
• No failure is final.
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“Failure is a noun. The only fear it holds for us
is in the meaning we give it. Define failure as
giving up. Take control of it. ”
- David Taylor

One who feels bound remains bound.
Only those who dare reach
great heights.
Opportunity exists only
when you can see it.
Opportunity is no accident.
It must be attracted.
Opportunity of a lifetime
should be seized within the
lifetime of the opportunity.

Don’t be weighed down by knowledge!
• You are what you know.
• Knowledge is power. But, left
unused, it has no power in it.
• Little is ever achieved by
persons who are bookish.
 Indifference and unconcern
make a superior &
knowledgeable person
average.

“One is never too old to learn
(something foolish?).”
• To read is to grow.
• To read is also to lead.
• Learn something every day.
• Listen. Discussions make you
richer.
• Grow every day. Overtake yourself.
• Practice Kaizen. Make incremental
improvements, every day.

Practice Makes a Man Perfect
• Aim at perfection. Achieve
excellence.
• Develop an instinct for
quality. It pays.
• If it is worth doing, it is worth
doing well.
• Try to do it right at the very
first instance. A work done
poorly must be done again.

Belief & Behaviour
• Accept your limitations.
• But be aware of your qualities &
strengths.
• Change your beliefs, and you
change your behaviour.
• Change your behaviour, and you
change your results, and your life
itself.
• Self-limiting beliefs are learnt
behaviours. Anything that is learnt
can be unlearnt as well.
• List all negative beliefs. Replace
them with the positive.

Annihilate these assumptions:
• Inefficiency is normal.
• Delays are inbuilt & cannot be
cut down.
• Performance will not be
rewarded.
• Only manipulators will get
ahead.
• We are made this way & things
just won’t improve.
• Things will get only worse.
• Nothing can be done.

Don’t give in.
• Tough times don’t last. What comes
after them is bound to be good.
• “The harder you fall, the higher you
bounce.” – American proverb
• Learn to make the best of a
situation. Optimism is a duty cast
upon you.
• Have hope. Things may change in a
day, and for the better.
 “No pressure, no diamonds.”

“Experience is what you get when you don‟t
get what you want.”- Dan Stanford
• Dare! Innovate!
• Don‟t be risk-averse. Only those
who dare reach new heights.
• Dare to be different. Discovery
follows exploration.
• Challenge the givens & the „un-
changeables‟.
• Be ready: planned destruction
may be necessary before
planned construction.
• Never mind that you didn‟t
succeed.

“May you not enjoy the work you do!”
 The worst possible
curse. That one is, in
any language.
 Learn to like and enjoy
the work.
 Any work, just any work,
can be made
interesting.
 There is always a better
way of doing things.
 Do your work creatively.
Import fun into it.

Every problem has a lifespan..
 Know the stage at which it is .
 Compartmentalize. Prioritise.
 Recognize the minor hassles from the major
ones. Know what to worry about & what to take
coolly.
 Take one step at a time. Deal with them in
small bits.
 No knee-jerk reactions. No short-term patches.
 The real obstacles are not the pbms
themselves, but the wrong approaches to
finding the solutions.

Think solution, not problem.
 See a solution, where others see a
pbm. There is a solution to every
problem.
 Try to solve, not prolong.
 Ascertain the facts.
 Have an uncluttered mind. Cut out
the extraneous. Identify the core.
 Face the issue head on. Take it on
without breaking step.
 While with major pbm, stay
detached.
 Intractable? Sleep over it . Let it

Don’t be in self-doubt.
• Feel & act confident. Stand by
your convictions.
• Be positively assertive, when
you are in the right.
• Where speech is due, silence
may be betrayal.
• Insist on your right to be
heard & reckoned.
• “Don’t say ‘yes’ when you
want to say ‘no’ .

Think on your feet
• Thinking first, action only
then.
• Act by all means, but only
after considering all
relevant matters.
• Don‟t make decisions
based on just one or two
dimensions.
• Don‟t act impulsively.
• If you have to act, act fast
& decisively.

Integrity signifies wholeness
„Integrity‟ means absence of
inner warfare.
It gives extra energy & clarity of
thought.
It means –
 living up to the best in oneself.
 having a developed sense of honour.
 having a conscience & listening to it.
 having the courage of one’s
convictions.
 obedience to the unenforceable.

“If one desires a change, one must be that
change before it can take place.”
• Anticipate change. Things can change
in a day.
• Be alert to the first signs of change.
• Feel obligated to effect the change.
• Look at opportunities that change
represents.
• Keep renewing yourself. Don’t allow
routines to become chains.
• Keep managing the present while
managing the change.

Be physical. Be dynamic.
• Take care of the body. It takes
care of the mind.
• Physical well-being gives you
stamina, both physical &
mental.
• It makes you focussed.
• It makes you optimistic &
confident to face the challenges
of life.

Learn from the past. Focus on the future.
Be in the present. Enjoy.
• The past is finished. Learn from it &
let it go.
• The future is not even here yet. Plan
for it, but do not waste time
worrying about it.
• Live in the present. Enjoy its joys.

Relish the journey!
• There is more to life than running non-stop.
• Happiness is all along, not merely at the destination.
The joys along the route are perhaps more
delightful..
• If you are enjoying the journey, you are not upset by
a delayed arrival.
• Count your blessings. One rarely appreciates one‟s
blessings as much as when they are gone.

“We don’t laugh because we are happy.
We are happy because we laugh.” (William
James)
• Control your emotions by your actions.
• Be cheerful, in order to feel cheerful.
• Act brave, in order to be brave.
• Want a facelift? Smile. It’s the duty you owe others.

Work energises.
(William James)
• Strenuous application of
effort anywhere - even on
hobbies or games - provides
the bonus of energy.
• Make as many of your
actions automatic as
possible. The more actions
we make automatic, the
more energy we have left for
creative work & pbm-

WJ, again: • Constantly redesign your habits.
Switch hobbies & interests.
• You habitually use only a small part
of the powers you actually possess.
• Push back your fatigue point. It is far
below the stage of real exhaustion.
• Continue working on thro’ deep
fatigue, you get ‘2nd, 3rd, even 4th
winds’, the bursts of new energy.
Thus, you don’t need to warm up
again & again.

Pleasantness is the duty
we owe others.
• Never allow things to
ruffle you.
• Practise liking people.
• Never miss the
opportunity to
congratulate, sympathise,
or express sorrow.
• Be a comfortable person
to be with.

Be a big boss without seeming to be so.
• Be affable. Be light to lift.
• Develop zero tolerance of
inertia, indifference &
inefficiency.
• Motivate, guide, enable, lead.
• Don‟t appropriate credit. But,
accept responsibility.
• Settling personal scores
through official means is
mean.
• „Walk a mile in others‟ shoes
before you say „no‟ to their
request for new shoes.‟

Order! Order!
• Absent order & regulation,
what remains is chaos.
Chaos is the enemy of
performance.
• Enforce order to ensure
performance.
• Enforcement is education.
• Organise. Set the right thing
(or person) in the right place.
• Put in place proper systems.
• What gets measured gets
done.

As the leader, challenge the status quo!
Motivate. Create enthusiasm &
passion.
Plant seeds of thinking. Let
people think in a breakthrough
fashion.
Institutionalize imbibing ideas
& suggestions.
Acknowledge & reward good
ideas.
Honour errors resulting out of
experimenting.
Create a dream & make the
team go towards it.

“I receive & I must give back.”
And this is the pay back time.
• Life is not about how much you
make but how you live it.
• How you make a difference is what
will matter.
• Each one of us is a debtor. We have
taken so much from the system.
• It is but fair that we pay back the
debt, with interest and do it fast.
• Perhaps it is already late. Better hurry
up.