Proactive

Being proactive, a habit that we all need to indulge in regularly. Everyday of our lives is full of chances to choose to be proactive or the be reactive. In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens written by Sean Covey, the son of Stephen R. Covey who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Sean says, "Being proactive is the first step toward achieving the private victory." He is a very wise man and I know his statement is valid because I have experienced being proactive and being reactive many times.

About two years ago my little brother and I stayed at each others throats, arguing constantly. Everyday he would just try to make my day miserable. He would say statements such as; "I hate you! I wish I were an only child." or "I'm going to tell grandma that you hit me so that I can see you get in trouble." When he would say things like that my day from then on was horrible. I stayed tense and had continuous headaches. Then one morning in the car he said, " Chelsea I'm having a bad day so I'm going to ruin your day too."

I turned around and said, " No Dakota you will not ruin my day! I refuse to let you. I'm going to laugh off your hurt full comments and move on in life." He was persistent but so was I, I did not let him ruin my day. That day was the beginning of many enjoyable days. I chose to be proactive and not blow up on him or let him bother me. After that he stopped. We hardly ever fight anymore. The only time that we might argue is when we both want the computer, the 8 year old machine that likes shutting down unexpectedly. So make the right chose and be proactive. You will be glad when you do, i know i was.