After 30 years of flying, a MEL ATP and 12,000 hours a variety of jets large and small, I finally got my SEL in a C-172 via a Commercial Inst check last Saturday. Did the Figure 8 around pylons, chandelle, stalls, short field takeoff/landing, soft field takeoff/landing, power off 180 and normal takeoff/landing. Probably left something off that list. Was it perfect? No, but I passed. The check pilot wasn't expecting perfection, he was expecting safe.
Flying small aircraft is dramatically different from the large jets we are used to. If you plan on carrying family and friends, I would highly recommend doing those things that will improve your understanding of how the aircraft performs. It doesn't take much weight or winds to start making large differences in how that thing flies. Adjusting my brain around those ideas took a little time and practice. That, and the fact I'm no longer sitting 15 feet off the ground in the flare.