The second H of the 4 Hs of Targeting life skills-heart model is Heart. It deals with skills that are related to the Heart. This section is subdivided into two parts, namely, Relating and Caring. In Relating the focused skills aimed at establishing a mutual/reciprocal connection between/among people which is wholesome and meaningful to both. While in Caring, the focused skills try to build understanding, kindness, concern, and affection for others.
Communication:
Communication is the art of conveying one’s message, thoughts, experiences, observations to another person through verbal means -words- and non-verbal means–body language, and gestures. This depends not only on what is said but also on how it is said. Communication is a crucial skill because it is a daily life necessity as we interact with other people multiple times a day. Through communication, we build new relationships, make new friends, and strengthen our previous acquaintances. It helps us understand other people and enables us to resolve differences, build trust and respect, and create environments where creative ideas, problem-solving, affection, and caring can flourish. Communication skills can be developed by communicating themselves – interacting a lot with other people.
Cooperation:
Cooperation as a skill enables us to work with other people to accomplish a specific task or solve a problem. It is the opposite of competition or working individually. In this world, nobody can live alone. We are interdependent on each other; hence, cooperation becomes the cornerstone. Cooperation is a two process of giving and taking; you leave something and adopt other things. For instance, you would have to listen to others and share your ideas; you would have to leave something for the second person as well as complete your part; you would have to leave the feelings of jealousy and adopt the skill of appreciating others. Once developed, it helps us build good relations, promotes a good working environment in the workplace, etc.
Social Skills:
Social skills blend such skills that enable an individual to get along well with other people, build and maintain relationships. These are also known as socialization skills – skills required to socialize with other people. Human beings are differentiated from other creatures on the basis of this socialization. It involve effective communication, cooperation, understanding each other, etc. These also help us to build new relationships as well. An example of social skills would be how you pass your message to a second person. Social skills also enable us to adjust to different environments or particular situations; acting like an extrovert in some places or behaving like an introvert in other places.
Conflict Resolution:
All Human beings have different needs, goals, values, aspirations, ideas, etc., which naturally involves them in conflicts. The people with this skill resolve these conflicts in a very peaceful manner. This process is called conflict resolution. It is an important skill not only because it solves issues, but if used effectively, it can also improve mutual understanding, increase cohesion among groups and societies, as well as enhance personal growth, as the involvement in this process builds effective communication and compromise in individuals/both parties.
Accepting Differences:
Today human societies are becoming more and more heterogeneous; hence there is a greater need for tolerance. Tolerance is defined as accepting and appreciating other differences like their religion, region, caste, color, or abilities. In order to build this skill, it is crucial that we understand ourselves in the first place as, without it, we won’t be able to accept others’ differences. It is a common observation that nobody can be a master of all; if you are good at some job, then someone else is good at another. With accepting others, opportunities for new relationships also multiply. So, in order to grow and live a happy, satisfying life, accepting differences matters a lot.
Concern for Others:
Aristotle termed human beings as ‘Social animals.’ One of the main constitutes of ‘social’ is a concern for others. It means having a soft corner for other people. It means being honest, loyal, and caring to others. People exhibit this skill with habits like visiting friends and relatives to know about their health and life. It also means helping others whenever they are in need. This can be developed through sharing others’ feelings and emotions.
Empathy:
Gandhi said, “I call him religious who understands the sufferings of others.” Empathy is an important skill and is defined as understanding and feeling other people’s emotions, needs, and concerns. It also means seeing the world from the position of other people. Empathy can be developed through maximum communication and strong imagination. Effective communication fosters better understanding, while strong imagination makes us see the world from others’ perspectives. A good example of empathy would be helping out or trying to relieve a depressed fellow who has failed to meet a deadline.
Sharing:
In order to become kind and courteous people, we need to develop the skill of ‘sharing.’ It means giving something of ours to others to help them out. With the world becoming more and more interdependent, the importance of sharing has also increased. Today, it’s a necessity to make new relationships and friends. Sharing also builds a good work environment around you. Sharing can of different things like material; pen, pencil, book, colors for a student or knowledge; helping out other fellows when they don’t understand a topic. Sharing is the cornerstone of cooperation and teamwork; without the ability to share, nobody can cooperate. This can be developed in children through role modelling by parents and teachers, making the students understand ways of sharing, making them share materials like puzzles, balls, and blocks, and making them play together.
Nurturing Relationships:
Human relationships are considered as easy to build and difficult to maintain. If skills like communication and sharing are crucial to building a relationship, nurturing is crucial to maintain it. An example of a newly grown plant can make us understand easily. It is a common observation that a plant can stay without water and nutrients for a small period of time, say a month, but it can’t remain alive after that. In the same way, human relationships need nurturing. This nurturing can be provided through regular, honest, and consistent communication, sharing, compromise, working out disagreements, etc. This skill comes in children with practice and role modelling by parents.