7 Habits of Highly Effectve Teens

Being a teenager seems to get tougher and tougher, leading to the need for a book like The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. This book, written by Sean Covey, is based on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, written by Sean's father, Stephen Covey. The book breaks the seven habits down into chapters with each representing a good rule for teenagers to follow. It's a road map on how they can make it through middle school and high school with a good head square on their shoulders.

While their dads have been telling them to "grab the bull by the horns" for years, teens aren't listening. Yet they will listen to someone telling them to "be proactive." They need to learn that life isn't going to happen for them while they sit on a couch and play video games. They need to get in there and make it happen.

With so much ahead of them, it's hard for teens to find the path to success. All they see are the many forks in the road, and the process gets too muddled for them. They need to keep their eyes on the end of the road and remember their goals.

Once they begin utilizing Habit 2 of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, teens must remember the steps they need to accomplish to get there. It's a building process. They have that strong foundation, and now they need to remember all those building blocks to get the completed structure.

Teens also need to think about winning. This piece of advice goes a little further than it may sound when you first hear it. It's not just asking teens to work towards winning but encouraging them to work towards everyone winning. This is a tool to help teens form better relationships, an essential part of success.

Listening is always the most important part of communication. Teens should focus on hearing others before they work on other people hearing them. Communication is an integral part of any relationship, including those with parents, friends, and teachers.

The concept of synergy emphasizes another part of relationships, and that's working together to achieve a singular goal. If everyone uses his or her individual strengths to accomplish the same task, it will get done more quickly and more effectively. It's something adults learn through trial and error, but why not have teens start this process even earlier?

The last habit involves having teens pool all of their resources together, including energy and health, and keep it all balanced. Doing this leads to sustainability, allowing teens to keep leading an effective lifestyle for a long time to come.