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So which skills are needed to be able to respond?
Our ability to respond depends a lot on learning a good repertoire of skills. We actually ultimately respond to any kind of situation with an action that requires a skill. Based on DeYoung’s study of human behavior, skills can be perceived as evolutionary adaptations. This means that over long periods of time, our ancestors have developed certain behavioral tendencies that work better than others, and the most efficient ones have been passed down through genes and culture.
Following this understanding and the classification of these broad and encompassing categories of skills, Supportive Immersion ® supports students to develop 5 Core Skills (the PROPS) that serve as the foundation of their ability to respond to all life situations and goals:
PROACTIVITY
Proactivity is about directing one’s energy toward a goal. When we are proactive, we have a clear purpose (big or small) and are willing to drive our actions toward it, even if it’s outside of our comfort zone.
- When we lack proactivity, we may feel aimless or lacking the drive to respond to a situation.
RESILIENCE
This skill helps us modulate fear. How do I respond to this situation? Do I confront it? Do I retreat? Resilience is not just about persevering when we are challenged, but also about maintaining emotional balance.
- When we lack resilience we may not know how to discern when to approach or avoid a situation; we may overreact or underreact, we may overthink it or underthink it.
- OPENNESS
We are not isolated beings; we depend on other people and our environment for our wellbeing. It is essential to be in an open and reciprocal relationship with our surroundings.
This means that we are able to contribute to the wellbeing of others and our surroundings as well as stay open to the feedback we get from them.
When we lack openness, we cut ourselves off from learning, we make lots of assumptions and we don’t nourish crucial relationships.
PROBLEM-SOLVING
Problem-solving relies heavily on other skills like curiosity and creativity. Problem-solving requires an attentive and open mind to possibilities, connections between parts, and finding a match between external and internal resources.
How do I get from point A to point B? How do we strengthen our team? How do I get over my anxiety? Those are questions that problem-solving helps with.
When we lack problem-solving, we get stuck with what we know and in our typical way of doing things, and like people say, we can’t expect different results if we always do the same thing.
SELF-GOVERNANCE
This skill helps us prioritize what’s important. Whenever we want to accomplish a goal, it is crucial that we organize our mind, our space, and our tasks. We need to stay focused and stay aware of our current actions and their future consequences.
- When we lack self-governance we get distracted, we can be impulsive, and get overwhelmed with tasks that require consistency and long-term planning.