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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teenagers summary
Sean Covey
The International Bestseller Updated for the Digital Age
18 mins
Table of Contents
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teenagers
summarized in 8 key ideas
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Key idea 1 of 8
Habit One: Be Proactive, and take responsibility for your responses to the world around you.
Responsibility means being the boss of your life.
For kids and teenagers, responsibility can get a bad reputation. They often don’t understand that it’s about more than just doing chores and homework. Responsibility is about owning the way you react and relate to your circumstances.
Life throws curveballs, from smaller things like everyday rudeness– to larger things like experiencing discrimination or losing a loved one.
In every situation, people generally fall into two categories: reactive and proactive. A reactive person sees the circumstances as things that are happening to them. They see the world as a place they don’t control, and they often feel like a victim.
Proactive people, on the other hand, recognize that even though they can’t control everything that happens, they can control how they respond to it.
Take, for instance, the example of dealing with a rude customer. One young woman found herself scanning groceries for her customer when he interrupted her to tell her that she’d started scanning the next customer’s groceries.
The young woman started getting angry. Why wouldn’t the guy stop her before she started scanning?
To make matters worse, the man informed her that she’d charged the wrong price for his broccoli, and he was right.
At this point, the young woman was feeling frazzled. But she remembered something she’d learned. She paused to take a breath. Then she took responsibility for her mistake by correcting the price on the broccoli. Finally, she informed the man that if he could remember to place the bar behind his groceries next time, this sort of thing could be avoided. While there are certainly worse situations that can happen, the habit required is the same. As you can see in the young woman’s story, there are a few steps to follow.
When things get heated, press pause. Take a breath, calm down, and then do the right thing. Take responsibility for anything that you’ve done or need to repair. And remember that taking responsibility doesn’t mean letting people walk all over you. It’s important to make sure people understand and respect your personal boundaries.
This first habit, being proactive and taking responsibility, is the foundation for every other habit. It is critical for a successful life.
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What is The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teenagers about?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers (2011) invites teenagers to begin taking charge of their lives by teaching them seven habits that help them thrive and will set them up for a successful future.
Who should read The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Teenagers?
- Parents and guardians of teens
- Teachers and other role models
- Leadership coaches
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