I love the reminder of Habit 1 - Be Proactive. It’s all about “taking responsibility for your life and being the captain of your own ship.” Sean Covey, The 6 Most Important Decisions You’ll Ever Make. Have you ever blamed someone else for something that’s happened to you? If you have not, you would be the first. I most certainly used to do that regularly. Since I’ve been teaching and reading about Covey’s ‘7 Habits,’ I have been much happier than when I used to ‘BLAME’ others. I used to say things like, ‘My husband never helps me,’ OR ‘My kids are so ungrateful for all I do.” However, those BLAME statements were totally useless and unproductive. Author John Bytheway said, “Proactive people carry the remote control to their lives. They choose their channel or mood. Reactive people allow other people or things to control them, as if they’ve given their remote to other people or things that can change their moods at the push of a button. They allow a rude comment by a friend to ruin their whole day.”
ACTIVITY:
The following phrases reflect BLAME, REACTIVE responses. Change them to reflect PROACTIVE responses. You may work individually or in Pairs/Small Groups. Then share with large group.
- He made me mad.
- They were so rude to me.
- My teacher is so boring.
- If my sister didn’t tease me so much, I’d be happier.
- This weather makes me so sad.
- It’s his fault.
- You’re always taking my stuff.
- My friend makes me do all the work.
- My mom never lets me do anything fun.
- You made me forget my homework.