Be Proactive

‘Thinking is one of the most important weapons in dealing with problems.’  Nelson Mandela

Be Proactive means to take responsibility for your choices and behaviours. Habit 1 is the key to all of the other habits; that’s why it comes first. Be Proactive says, “I am in charge of my own life. I am responsible for whether I am happy or sad. I can choose how I react to other people or situations. I am in the driver’s seat.” Young children can easily learn to understand that different choices yield different results. The goal is to teach them to think about those  results before they decide what to do. Discussions can focus on taking care of themselves,  taking care of their things, reacting or not reacting to others’ behaviour, planning ahead, and thinking about what the right thing to do is. With your child, think of ways to Be Proactive at home.  Most of us react to a situation immediately, without taking time to think about the   results of our actions. Part of Be Proactive is being able to stop and think before we act.    (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Discuss with your child how they were proactive at school – what did they do, what was the result of their actions, and how they felt.  It would be great to have these written down and hung on the very bare tree outside the Assistant Principal Office in the ELC.

Begin With The End In Mind
‘Ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.’ William Eardley IV

Begin With the End in Mind means to think about how you would like something to turn

out before you get started. Reading a recipe before cooking or looking at a map before

leaving on a trip is beginning with the end in mind. For young children, a good example

is that of a jigsaw puzzle. Before doing a puzzle, they look at the cover of the box. 

They start with the end in mind. Ask your child if there is something special he or she would like to buy, then help your child plan how much money he or she will need to save and how long it will take. Discuss ideas for earning extra money like doing additional chores and    helping around the house. Discuss your older child’s career ambitions and help him or her identify the most important skills that will be needed to succeed in that career. Then encourage your child to plan the path that will make it happen. Identify and encourage extracurricular activities that support your child’s goals.  (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Put First Things First
“I owe all my success in life to having been always a quarter of an hour before my time.”  Lord Nelson

Put First Things First means to decide what is most important and to take care of that first. Thinking about what needs to be done tomorrow or by the end of the week can be       overwhelming, especially for children. Learning to think of which things are the most   important and taking care of them first allows children (and adults) to be less stressed. If your child uses a planner at school, then he or she has a great organizational tool to Put First Things First in writing. By writing down his or her responsibilities and planning ahead, last-minute trips to the store, missed events, or missed homework are avoided. If your child does not use a planner, having a weekly log would also be helpful. This could simply be a piece of paper that is used each week. Modelling this behaviour is one of the best ways to teach children.  (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Think Win Win
‘If we are to live and work together, we have to talk to each other.’ 

Eleanor Roosevelt 

Think Win-Win is the belief that everyone can win. It’s not me or you—it is both of us.  It is a belief that there are enough good things for everyone; it is an abundant way of thinking. Think Win-Win is being happy for others when good things happen to them.  As a parent, not everything is negotiable, but if you go into discussions with your child with a win-win mindset, you’ll find a lot less resistance. (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
‘One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.’  Bryant H McGill

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood means that it is better to listen first and talk second. By taking the time to listen to another person, you reach a higher level of communication. Teaching Habit 5 to young children is done by first considering their age and development. Young children find it difficult to understand another’s point of view. This habit is best approached by introducing listening as a skill that should be practiced. Learning to listen without interrupting and learning to listen with your ears, your eyes, and your heart will help children build a foundation for Habit 5.  Simply put, we have two ears and one mouth so that we can spend more time listening with the intent to understand. (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Synergise
Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’  Henry Ford

Synergise  is when two or more people work together to create a better solution that neither would have thought of alone. It’s not your way or my way, but a better way. Synergy is taking good ideas and making them better by working together. Discussions can focus on other examples of synergy in nature, history, literature, and personal experiences. For example, synergy happens in nature when a flock of geese heads south for the winter. They fly in a V formation because due to the updraft, the entire flock can fly farther than if each bird flew alone.                

(The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

Sharpen the Saw
‘Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have – you.’  Stephen Covey

Sharpen the Saw means to have balance in your life. There is a story of a man who was sawing down a tree and not making a lot of progress. When a passer by asked him why he didn’t stop  sawing to sharpen his saw, he remarked that he was too busy sawing.  Habit 7 reminds us that we are more productive when we are in balance—body, brain, heart and soul. Just like the four tyres on a car, if one area is being ignored or overused, the rest will feel the results. For young children, the car analogy is one they understand; a car could not go on fewer than all four tyres. Explain the four parts of each person (body, brain, heart, and soul) and how important it is to take care of each part to make them all work better. (The Leader In Me Parents Guide)

The Leader In Me Parent's Guide