HABIT 1: BE PROACTIVE
Nothing happens by accident whether you believe it or not. We are the main character in our life’s story. If you don’t like what’s happening in your story you need to change the outcome. “Be Proactive” don’t let your situation define you, be the “hero in your life story”. We can decide to live in our current situation or make choices to provide better options. The only one that has the right to our success in life and failures is us. Being proactive is taking responsibility for the choices and outcome of our life. We can’t keep pawning off our circumstance on our upbringing, parents and life’s tragedies. It seems easy to say especially if you have had all the finer things in life, but really how long are we going to let it hold us down. Proactive people realize they can’t control every situation that happens in life, but they can move forward and focus their time and energy on what’s going to keep them successful in life. I can’t change who my parents are or how I was raised, but I can use my experiences as a stepping stone for goals in my life. Being proactive is stepping up to the plate knowing you might hit one out or you may go down swinging. No matter what happens you played the game and most likely will have another swing at things.
I have been teaching Agriculture for the last seven years and I have loved it. When you teach a subject that not too many are familiar with no one really gets in your business. I also have great students, if you are taking an Ag class at my school it’s because you really want to be there. At the end of last year I told my principle I was going to enroll in a Master program in educational technology. In the middle of summer he called me and asked if I would like to teach in the online program. I would be working from home and communicating with students mostly through email and phone calls. I said yes not really knowing what I was getting into. By working in an online setting I know I have to change a few behaviors. One behavior that I’m going to implement is being more proactive with my students. In the classroom setting everything unfolds in front of you daily. In an online setting you might not have contact with students for a few days. This means I have to forecast my student’s pitfalls and try to address them before they happen. Addressing foreseeable failures for my students will assistance them in their educational process. I also feel my students need to be proactive in an online setting. I will be teaching this habit to them as well. Being proactive in an online setting is a must, especially for high school students. I will convey to my students the importance of being proactive, if their internet or computer is down they need a way address the problem. This could be going to a local Starbucks to use the Wi-Fi or going to the library to use a computer. I am looking forward in implementing this habit into my life and teaching the importance of it to my students as well.
References
Covey, S. (2008). The Leader in Me (2nd Edition ed.). New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.