9 Life Management Skills To Thrive

You want to achieve more. But the more you add goals to your list, the more your life feels out of control. In this case, you need to apply some life management skills to help you get the most out of life.

They serve as a fundamental basis of achieving a mindset balance, physical plus mental health, career fulfillment, financial stability, and healthy relationships. So let’s check them out!

Life Management Skills
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

1. Critical Thinking

In a world where answers are just a google search away, it’s easy to develop mental laziness. This increases ineffective thinking models which subsequently cause you to live an unfulfilling life.

However, critical thinking enables you to stop mental laziness and understand information better, get to know yourself more, and construct informed ideas and beliefs. 

Commonly, the person holding you back is yourself. The beliefs you hold in your mind can be so destructive that you can’t move forward. However, it’s objectivity enabled by critical thinking that can help you deconstruct some limiting beliefs and grow happier.

2. Creative Thinking

This is one of the most in-demand skills in the employment sector and thus in overall life as well. Creative thinking is viewing things from new fresh perspectives. 

Creative thinking is a key life management skill because it:

  • Allows you to express yourself in a unique, refreshing manner.
  • Births novel ideas
  • Helps in problem-solving
  • Promotes flexibility
  • Enhances resilience
  • Relieves stress

When have you been applauded for being unique? Probably, it’s because you showed creativity. And sometimes, you’re able to pull through in situations that are so hard, only this life management skill could hack your way out. 

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

3. Problem Solving

Every human has problems. But they’re merely challenges that need to be overcome. Yet some of us spend most of our lives running away from problems that make up a pile of the same. However, learning how to solve problems will help you grow and feel happier.

Problem-solving is learned through feeding your mind with fresh ideas. Since problems differ, you have to follow the steps required to identify the solution. Creative thinking is also involved in the process and over time, you’ll gain experience and find it easier to tackle challenges.

You have to guard your life with this skill, ensuring that every problem that comes your way, you are willing and ready to find its solution.

4. Self Awareness

This is one of the main life management skills I emphasize to my clients since it leads to the development of many others on this list. Self-awareness is the knowledge of who you are where everything from strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, and beliefs lie.

Knowledge of self empowers you to build on strengths and make improvements where need be. It also improves your decision-making since you’ll be more sensitive to what you need and what you should let go of in your life.

As one of the key life management skills, self-awareness reminds you that you can take charge of your life. And that’s all you may need to take action.

5. Communication

How you send and receive information is essential to your personal growth. That’s why since you were a kid, one of the major life management skills you were taught was communication. It runs your relationship with yourself, with your family, friends, significant others, and the rest of the world.

And if you think about it, communication is the crux of life. It dictates how you listen and respond to people which shows your personality. It determines whether you’re emotionally attuned in your day to day conversations. It makes the difference between a great leader and one without such potential.

You need to improve your communication skills so you can better your relationships through understanding others and being understood.

Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels

6. Resilience

While most people know about the intelligence quotient, few take notice of the adversity quotient which measures the resilience of a human being. Yet being resilient is one of the best life management skills to develop.

Resilience helps you pull through even the hardest of situations. When more stressful times arrive, you can maintain a balance in your life and even churn something good out of the pressure. This improves your mental strength and reduces your vulnerability to mental health issues.

Success and resilience lie within you. Thomas Edison confirmed this in his quote:

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

7. Decision Making

The fact that we all make decisions doesn’t mean that we all are good at it. Decision making is a skill that needs mastering. That’s why you have to be self-aware, practice critical thinking, communicate, and also be creative to reach great decisions.

Your life is a result of the decisions you’ve made. They may be small, split-second decisions and the giant tough ones you make after hours, days, and even months of pondering. Whatever they are, you need to learn this subtle art of decision making.

In my years as a life coach, I have helped numerous clients reach decisions they’re grateful for.  You can use this free decision coaching guide to improve your choices and change your life.Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

8. Empathy

One of the life management skills most essential to your impact on lives is empathy. This skill helps you understand other people’s feelings to react appropriately. If you’re willing to help, you can identify the pain points of others to solve them and foster relationships.

With empathy, you can manage your emotions strongly hence tackling sensitive issues graciously and winning other people’s understanding as well. This skill is essential for communication.

Yet it doesn’t come easy for many. Fortunately, it’s a learnable skill. The following is a list of ways you can be more empathetic:

  • Exercise curiosity about other people’s emotions
  • Challenge stereotypes
  • Imagine yourself in someone else’s life
  • Listen more, talk less
  • Ask questions
  • Explore different perspectives

9. Time Management

Time management helps you get more done in a short time. As a result, it reduces your stress, enhances your focus, and increases your ability to pursue more opportunities.

With proper time management, you can stay present during each task and enhance the chances of excelling at everything you do. This applies to quick as well as long-term tasks.

Frequently Asked Questions On Life Management Skills

Here, I answer some of the burning questions that come up when talking about life management skills.

What are life management skills?

In a nutshell, life management skills are aptitudes you can use to take charge of your life more effectively. They are the pillars for creating all-rounded individuals in schools and beyond. As you learn to embrace these skills, you realize that your life gets easier to run and feels more fulfilling.

What are general management skills?

These are abilities a manager needs to exercise so they can enable productivity in organizations and institutions. They differ subtly but revolve around the top 10 management skills including:

  • Teamwork
  • Leadership
  • Strategic thinking
  • Conflict management
  • Communication
  • Time management
  • Project management
  • Adaptability
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Negotiation

They are all based on the 5 key management skills which include:

  • Technical skills
  • Communication
  • Conceptual skills
  • Decision-Making
  • Diagnostic and Analytical Skills.

Final Word

Life management skills are the fundamental growth systems you can apply to massively change your life. They’re interconnected with several personal development hacks but as long as you work on the above basics, you’ll be fine.

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About The Author

Bijan Kholghi is a certified life coach with the Milton Erickson Institute Heidelberg (Germany). He helps clients and couples reach breakthroughs in their lives by changing subconscious patterns. His solution-oriented approach is based on Systemic- and Hypnotherapy.

Bijan