The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens
Author: Sean Covey
Genre: Self-help
Pages: 288
ISBN:9780684856094
Sean Covey in his book seeks to correct and help teens change wrong habits and become better people. Although written for teens, the book would do well for young adults too.
The book is a four part book. The 7 habits are broken into three parts:
The private victory which covers the first three habits and how to overcome internally before earning the victory publicly. The first three habits are:
1. Be Proactive: bad things happen to everyone and we all get into situations we cannot control. The author explains how we can manage situations like this by managing ourselves first by being proactive and not reactive.
2. Begin with the End in Mind: Knowing our dreams can help picture out how we want to get there. The author exemplifies this by laying out steps to reaching the end by the decisions you make in the present. A guideline to achieving this is also given by the author.
3.Put First Things First: Identifying where you belong between a great time planner, procrastinator or prioritizer would help you take action towards mastering the new habits discussed in the chapters. The author breaks each of these down with stories and pictures to guide you into knowing where you belong and what to do about it.
In Sean Covey’s words, “This is what this book is all about. Changing from the inside out, starting with the man or woman in the mirror…”The Personal Bank Account” and the ones that follow on Habits 1, 2, and 3 deal with you and your character, or the private victory. The next four chapters, “The Relationship Bank Account,” and Habits 4, 5, and 6 deal with relationships , or the public victory.”
The Public Victory,
4. Think Win-Win: In describing this habit, the author explains that win-win is not win-lose or lose-win, what then is it? I suggest you read the book.
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood: to increase our relationship bank account, we would have to go through the process of listening and learning to understand others so we can also be genuinely listened to and understood.
6. Synergize: This habit seeks to explain that our differences bring the best out of us. Learning to celebrate each other and learning to work with one another would add to the relationship bank account.
Sharpen the Saw (Habit 7): According to the author, “Habit 7 is all about keeping your personal self sharp so that you can better deal with life. It means regularly renewing and strengthening the four key dimensions of your life—your body, your brain, your heart, and your soul.”
The author is clear through the book with the aim of changing one’s self from the inner self to the outer self. It is filled with stories, tables, charts and pictures to keep you going. It is an interesting journey from start to finish.