"Being proactive means more than taking the initiative. It means that we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions."

Leaders face challenges and hard times but leaders look for ways to improve even in undesirable conditions. Leaders look for solutions and not excuses. As we undertake the journey towards personal leadership it is important to first cultivate an understanding of the concept that we are responsible for our own lives. To find satisfaction and success in all areas of life, we begin by understanding and applying the concept that we are responsible for our own life and every choice we make; our behaviour must be a function of our decisions and not simply a function of our conditions. As developing leaders, this assignment gives us the opportunity to reflect on what is important to us and consider how we can be proactive daily to ensure that our life is formed by our decisions and choices no matter what conditions we encounter.

Habit One: Be Proactive:

Habit One is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are"response-able."They don't blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behaviour. They know they choose their behaviour. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame for their behaviour. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather. All of these external forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice. Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas--Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence. Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, problems at school/work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern--things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies in is a giant step in becoming proactive. FOR THE ABOVE CONTEXT ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS Steven Covey wrote the book:The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Havingread Habit1, Be Proactive,

1. Summarize the meaning of Habit 1 in your own words.

2. Give an example of a situation where you have not been proactive, and describe how you would relive the scenario using Habit 1 as a guide

3. Give an example of a situation where you were proactive and describe the results and impact of being proactive

Please use full sentences. Spelling and grammar count