Habit 1: Be Proactive

Each school year, people tend to reflect on habits and set personal goals for the upcoming year. Whether you’ve been part of the iLEAD Exploration family for a while or are fairly new, you’ve most likely heard a lot of talk about “The 7 Habits” and how important they are to what we do. Stehen Covey’s best-selling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been a valuable tool in our community for project-based learning, goal setting, and personal growth.

Over the coming months, we will expand on each of the habits, how they relate to learning at iLEAD Exploration, and even practical ways you and your learners can incorporate them into your daily lives.

For the month of September, we will dive into Habit #1: Be Proactive. This habit is the key to unlocking all the other habits and that’s why it comes first. Habit #1 says “I am the Force. I am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I’m responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the driver’s seat of my destiny, not just a passenger.”

There are two types of people in this world–the proactive and the reactive–those that take responsibility for their lives and those who blame….those that make it happen, and those who get happened to.

Reactive people make choices based on impulse. They are like a can of soda pop. When life shakes them up a bit, the pressure builds and they suddenly explode. Proactive people make choices based on values. They think before they act. They recognize they can’t control everything that happens to them, but they can control what they do about it.

Proactive people choose language that puts them in control:

• I’ll do it…
• I can do better than that …
• There has to be a better way…

Their actions speak loudly:

• They can brush things off without getting offended
• They take responsibility for their choices
• They think before they act
• They bounce back when something bad happens
• They always find a way to move forward
• They focus on things they can do something about, and don’t worry about things they can’t

By focusing on the things they can control, proactive people can experience inner peace and are primed for whatever comes their way. They learn to live with the many things they can’t do anything about–even smile and laugh about them. They may not like them, but they know it’s no use worrying.

To practice being proactive in a small way, do something today that you have wanted to do but never dared. Leave your comfort zone and go for it. Encourage your learner to attend synchronized instruction time, raise their hand in class, join a club, try out for a team. All of these are great ways to have the remote control to your life in your own hands.