Be Proactive

I remember reading 7 Habits for teens when I was in H.S. and being so excited to really learn about being "proactive" and "reactive." Now that I am a parent and am working to build a family I see what a HUGE difference a proactive attitude makes in a family setting. More and more, the world around us is stuck in victim mentality and people simply react to things around them. How powerful it will be to teach our children this principle (and live it ourselves) and have a family culture where we are proactive people. After he talks about the four unique gifts that humans have he says "The fact that we have these four unique gifts means no one has to be a victim" AMEN brotha. Later in the chapter he talks about The Circle of Influence and the Circle of Concern. I know I am a person that tends to stress about things in the Circle of Concern. Reading this chapter has helped me to recognize that and helped me to focus my energies on the Cirlce of Influence. I think this is a powerful principle, especially how they illustrated it with the example on page 44 about the parent with the misbehaving teenager. It kind of reminded me of "The Anatomy of Peace" and how we should look inward when trying to solve problems. So my challenge is to "Listen to your Language" (pg. 44). Are you in your Circle of INfluence and using proactive speech? Or do you find yourself blaming or accusing? (I know I'm definetly guilty of saying "My toddler is driving me crazy! ...) Have an awesome week and happy reading!