Classes Based on Stephen Covey's, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Two class series — one for adults and one for teens — based on Stephen Covey and Sean Covey's books
HABIT 1: BE PROACTIVE
Pages 27-69, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families: Building a Beautiful Family Culture in a Turbulent World, Stephen R. Covey, Golden Books, New York, NY, 1997
Pages 47-72,
THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TEEN: THE ULTIMATE TEENAGE SUCCESS GUIDE, Sean Covey, A Fireside Book, Simon & Schuste, 1998
Pages 14, 47, The 7 Habits of Effective Teens: THE MINIATURE EDITION, Sean Covey, 2002
The 7 BAD Habits of Highly DEFECTIVE Teans: pp. 14-20
• Bad Habit 1: React
• Bad Habit 2: Begin with Ho End inb Mind
• Bad Habit 3:
Put First Thing First
• Bad Habit 4:
Think Win-Lose
• Bad Habit 5:
Seek to Talk First, Then Pretend to Listen
• Bad Habit 6:
Don't Cooperate
• Bad Habit 7: Wear Yourself Out
• “Becoming an Agent of change in Your Family”
(“Inside out approach”)
• “Habit #1: Be Proactive: be responsible, not emotionally reactive
• Habit #1: the most fundamental decision of all”
• Key question for Habit 1: “Are my actions based upon self-chosen values or upon my moods, feelings, and circumstances?”
Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Creating a “Pause Button”
• A defense against being reactive
• “If only I had stopped to think!”
• Pause button enables us to stop between what happens to us and our response to it, and to choose our own response.
• Self activate; activated by others
• Smile - breath - recall “don’t break role”
Four Unique Human Gifts
• Self-awareness: stand apart from life and observe it
• Conscience: evaluate what you are observing
• Creative Imagination: envision different, positive
• Independent will: the power to take action
(“think outside the box” of unfounded “assumptions”)
• A 5th: a sense of humor. emerges from blending of
other 4: telling jokes, seeing the “funny” side of life; poking holes at stuffed shirts; having fun together.
Evaluate Level of Reactiveness
• Identify a problem
• Describe in REactive terms
• Focus on Circle of Concern
• CHANGE: describe in PROactive terms
• Focus on your response-ability
• What is the difference between these two?
• Which resembles your and your family’s normal habit pattern when talking about family problems?
• "Emotional Bank Account: Deposits and Withdrawals"
• Love is a verb
• Keys to maintaining a positive balance
• Be kind
• Apologize
• Be loyal to those not present
• Make and keep promises
• Forgive
• Examples
• Withdrawals vs. deposits
• A Day’s Input to a Teen
• “The Primary Laws of Love: acceptance, understanding, participation.” p. 61
• “The Primary Laws of Life: honesty, responsibility, integrity, service.” p. 61
• Every problem = opportunity to make a deposit
• Remember the Chinese Bamboo tree
• Habit #1: the key to all the other habits: power to choose
• Habit #2: next week: how the transformation takes place, how the proactive muscle is developed.