.My oldest teenager has found these chapters to be boring because he thinks he has them mastered. In some ways, he has and in other ways he hasn't. The habits we're talking about involve goals and priorities. The first habit of highly effective teens (or highly effective people of any age), "Begin with the End in Mind", involves goals: having a picture of where you want to go with your life, having a mission statement. The second habit, "Put First Things First", involves making sure that you allocate plenty of time to things that move you toward those goals, toward the ends that you have in mind.
In what ways has my son mastered Habits 2 and 3? Habit 2: He has an extraordinarily clear vision of what he wants in his life: sports, sports, sports. To be an ESPN analyst, professional football scout, or something else that involves having remarkable mastery of sports knowledge, ability to "see" what is really happening during a game, and judgment about athletic potential. Habit 3: Does he allocate plenty of time to moving toward this vision? He'd allocate 24 hours each day if we would let him. And the time he's invested has paid off handsomely. There is no person I know, at any age, who knows half as much about sports as he does, and--although this is a highly competitive field--he really has a chance to stand out.
So how has he NOT mastered these Habits? There is more to life than sports. How about health, relationships, exploring new places and activities, spirituality, acquiring new knowledge and interests? I told him today that he really has a knack for Habits 2 and 3. If only he'd BROADEN his goals, this would be a tremendously strong part of his life.
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