Ideas alone rarely change lives. Skills do.
Joneen Mackenzie uses the CDC handwashing campaign to argue that relationship skills have to be taught, not wished.
Joneen Mackenzie ·
We thought we knew how to wash our hands…until COVID. The CDC spent millions of dollars on a campaign to operationalize that simple skill. Posters displayed in public bathrooms across the country broke down the components of handwashing.
Great ideas can inspire, but they transform lives only when put into action. This process, known as operationalizing a concept, turns an abstract idea into specific, measurable, and teachable behaviors that people can practice every day. It is the difference between knowing and doing.
Ideas alone rarely change lives. Skills do. When we operationalize the principles that matter most, whether preventing disease, strengthening marriages, building families, developing careers, or pursuing meaningful goals, we create practical pathways that empower people to flourish.
Stable families and healthy relationships foster stronger communities, improved educational outcomes for children, higher workforce participation, better physical and mental health, and lower poverty rates. Individuals with strong relationship and life skills are better prepared to navigate challenges, maintain employment, build supportive social networks, and raise resilient children. These outcomes collectively contribute to what Harvard researchers describe as human flourishing.
This skills training starts with children. Teaching them the components of a healthy friendship and operationalizing respect, kindness, and service to others is essential. The curriculum Mackenzie developed with a team of experts, called REAL (Relationship Education and Leadership) Essentials, is available at www.myrelationshipcenter.org. joneen@narme.org
Print source: The Villager, Vol. 44 No. 36, July 30, 2026, page 3. Issuu edition.