Here are the eight skills this book will help you master: 1. Identify your thoughts and feelings: how to tap into your feelings, especially the negative ones         2. Evaluate your negative feelings, negative thoughts, and options: how to decide when to take action         3. Communicate better: how to be a more effective listener and speaker         4. Empathize with others to understand their behavior: how to appreciate a situation from someone else's point of view 5. Do problem-solving: how to define the problem, generate alternatives, and evaluate the outcomes 6. Practice assertion: how to get others to do what you want 7. Practice acceptance: how to back off without feeling like a failure 8. Emphasize the positive: how to build better relationships using a proven ratio of positive to negative interactions Lifeskills shows how building better relationships is an essential part of preserving health--and offers eight clear steps anyone can use to make that happen.