THE LIFE SKILLS QUIZ

Here’s a sample of the essential “Life Skills” needed to have a happy, productive, fulfilling life. Take the Life Skills Quiz to find out where you stand! It’s easy. Just answer each question honestly and spontaneously. Don’t spend time deliberating over your responses. And relax! There are no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answers, just information that gives you insights and serves as helpful guides for new learning.

YES/NO BUILDING TRUST

Do you often find yourself suspicious of people’s motives and behavior?

Do you avoid getting to know people because you don’t trust them?

Do you get into relationships quickly and find out later that you should have been more cautious?

Do you trust people instantly without questioning their qualifications or letting trust develop over time?

Do you follow other people’s advice when you know you should trust your own intuition?

YES/NO HAVING FUN

After you schedule a leisure activity, does it become an obligation rather than a pleasure?

Is fun something you will get around to when all your work is done?

Do you have productive hobbies such as running, reading or gardening, but find things like jokes, singing or blowing bubbles silly or ‘beneath you’?

At a party or when out with friends do you often feel you are the only one not having a good time?

Does the thought of taking a vacation make you feel guilty?

YES/NO EXPRESSING NEEDS

When a friend asks you what you want to do on an evening out, do you usually say, ‘I don’t know’?

Do you have a hard time deciding what to do with a free moment?

When someone asks your opinion, do you often struggle for an answer?

Do you generally defer to the person you are with?

YES/NO OVERCOMING BLIND SPOTS

When a person pays you a compliment, do you have a hard time understanding what he or she is talking about?

Have you been in a relationship with a problem-drinker more than once?

When fellow workers discuss office politics, do you not quite see what they are talking about?

Are you able to zero in on what is really happening with people or situation, but then choose to ignore the facts?

Have you ever lost money because you were ‘conned’?

YES/NO EXPRESSING ANGER SAFELY

Is it hard for you to recognize when you are angry?

When you get mad, do you throw things or hit people?

Is your anger often out-of-proportion to the incident? (For example, when another driver cuts in front of you, do you feel like you want to kill him or her?)

When someone around you loses his temper, do you become anxious and fearful?

Do you get headaches, stomach aches, or tight muscels because you hold your anger inside?

YES/NO NOT OVERHELPING

Do you help others at your own expense? (For example, when a friend calls at 2a.m. just to talk, do you listen even though you are losing valuable sleep?)

Are you usually the ‘giver’ in your relationships?

If a friend gave you a gift for no particular reason, would it make you uneasy?

Do you try too hard to solve other people’s problems?

Do you give your help or advice without being asked?

YES/NO NOT LETTING PEOPLE USE YOU

When friends use you, do you notice it only after the fact?

Are you afraid to speak up when a friend takes advantage of you? (For example, when a friend borrows something and does not return it, are you afraid to ask for it back?)

Do friends ever tell you that you were used, but you just don’t understand what they are talking about?

Do you have trouble saying no?

Do you let people use you to gain their acceptance?

YES/NO ENDING SELF-BLAME

Do you take on other people’s problems as if they were your own? If your spouse comes home in a bad mood do you wonder what you have done?

When a friend of yours is rude to someone else, do you apologize for him or her?

If it rains on the day you planned a picnic, do you feel you are to blame?

When you were growing up, did you feel as though you parented your parents?

Did you feel your being abused was somehow your fault?

YES/NO NOT SABOTAGING YOURSELF

Before a job interview or important presentation, do you frequently stay out late and get less than optimum sleep and rest?

Just as you start becoming successful, does ‘something’ happen to stop you?

Do you ever find yourself being rude or inconsiderate to friends when you really want to be nice to them?

Do you sometimes hide your competence in important situations? (For example, do you minimize your experience at a job interview when you know you are fully qualified?)

Do you ever show up late on the first day of work even though you know the importance of making a good impression?

You may feel overloaded, especially if most of your answers were ‘yes’. But remember, the skills can be learned.

For the entire quiz and the exercises to strengthen all life skills, you can purchase
Life Skills: Keys to Effective Living at Amazon.com or Marshall Publications: 1.800.704.1075