7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens–Personal bank accounts
In the last post, we talked about the importance of the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” in the Triumph program and why we’re highlighting various aspects of the book. Sean Covey states “Before you’ll ever win in the public arenas of life, you must first win the private battles within yourself. All change begins with you.” He goes on to talk about the importance of commitment and effort. All change start with ourselves. We are often our own worst enemy and get in our own way. One of our biggest stumbling blocks from achieving greatness is ourselves.
Arnold Bennett said “The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort–he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature.”
The truth is, everyone is capable of greatness. We were all born to be something. To do more. To be more. We just have to make the decision to be who we’re made to be. Once we commit, everything changes.
Sean Covey teaches how we feel about ourselves is like a bank account, a personal bank account. Just like at a regular bank, you can make deposits in and take withdrawals out of your personal bank account by the things you “think, say, and do.”
He asks: “How is your personal bank account? How much trust and confidence do you have in yourself? Are you loaded or bankrupt?”
Some symptoms of a low personal bank account: You cave in to peer pressure easily; you struggle with feelings of worthlessness and inferiority; you’re overly concerned with what others think of you; you act arrogant to hide your insecurities; you self-destruct by getting into drugs, pornography, vandalism or gangs; you get jealous easily.
Some symptoms of a healthy personal bank account: You stand up for yourself and resist peer pressure; you’re not terribly concerned with being popular; you see life in a positive way; you trust yourself; you set and work toward goals; you are happy when others succeed.
If our personal bank account is low, WE, each of us, have the power to change that through daily small, determined, and humble decisions. Some ways to make more deposits in our personal bank accounts is to keep promises to ourselves, help others around us, forgive ourselves, be honest, find ways to renew and refresh ourselves, and work on our talents and use them to help others.
When we start to pay attention to our personal bank accounts and how much is in (or not in) them, we can make the necessary changes, and deposits, to be who we want to be and do what we want to do.
