Summary of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Essay Example for Free

Summary of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Essay Stephen Covey’s book â€Å"The 7 habits of highly effective people† will help me in a number of different ways in the year to come. Not only with being effective in my career, but also my personal life and graduate school. Covey talks about character and personality traits, and uses a great example of being in Chicago and having excellent map and reference skills, but if you have a map of Detroit you will not be able to find your way around no matter how good your secondary skills are. This is a great example of how it is necessary to possess the primary elements, before your secondary skills can be used effectively. Covey goes on to talk about the 7 habits of highly effective people in his book, and continues to talk about the difference in relying on personality vs. character ethics. Covey feels that if you rely on personality ethics and the underlying paradigms are the same, simply changing outward behavior is not effective. He also talks about how people view things not the way they are, but how they are conditioned to see thing. He uses an example of two groups of people being shown two different pictures of a young and old woman. Then the groups are shown an abstract containing characteristics of both the old and young woman. Each group saw the image of the picture they were shown within the abstract. The book presents the 7 habits in an inside-out approach centering around principles and character. The key points that I got out of reading this book was to approach the way that I look at the world differently. Once I can realize my past conditioning, I can then change the way that I see things in order to be more effective. All 7 habits will be helpful to me in my future growth, success, and effectiveness. The first is to be proactive. By being proactive, this means to assess a situation and developing a positive response for it, as opposed to reporting it to someone and sitting back and waiting for them to come up with a response. The other key points I took from the 7 habits of highly effective people, is to develop a personal mission statement and to spend time doing what fits into my personal mission. By this I need to identify the key roles I take on in life, and make time for each of these key roles. Another key point is to look for win/win agreements and relationships. This means to look for relationships and agreements that are beneficial to both parties, and in the event that there is not the possibility for a win/win to be comfortable to say â€Å"no deal†. The last three habits I found extremely beneficial to me. What I got from these is to first look to understand the other person, and then seek to be understood. Secondly try and solve conflict and find a better solution to a problem through mutual trust and understanding. Finally, to try and maintain a balance between production and production capacity, by looking at the physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions. The 7 habits of highly effective people, has been beneficial to me in a number of different ways. It has helped me look at how I perceive things, versus the way that I need to be approaching things. It has also helped me develop a mission statement for myself and to prioritize things based on that personal statement. It has also helped me look at my production and production capacity, and helped me try and understand people before seeking to be understood. I would have to give this book a 9 out of 10.

The Nightmare Essay -- Fantasy, creative writing, fiction writing

Exhausted and beat, Kai grasps his face. The prominent slap that the girl he saved has left a mark. The battle that left one town saved and a hero in pain. His shoulder gashed deeply, a painful memory of the dragon’s last attack before being dismantled and left headless. Kai stands in distraught his right-hand holding his left shoulder and his left hand grasping his face. He watches as the girl he saved stampedes off with steam coming from her ears as her ass imprinted with a bloodied hand, the hand print that Kai had accidentally left. Kai stands within the beloved town just staring at his hand wondering if something was actually wrong. The silence is broken as his companions join him. Even before he can say anything Amber, the girl secretly in love with Kai, slaps him across the face ferociously as fire burns with in her eyes. Without giving him time to explain, Amber scolds Kai and begins to yell â€Å"I don’t believe you oh my gosh. What is wrong with you? Do you h ave to grope every hot girl you see?† Kai looks at her as if a hint of jealousy has arose, but knowing if ever bought up he’d be tormented like no other and can only reply â€Å"It wasn’t me this time I swear. This hand is out of control†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Just then, Kai passes out clinching his shoulder as he crashes to the ground. The next morning Kai wakes up in a bed with his shoulder bandaged and in a sling. He hears Melody and Amber talking in the next room and as he goes and sees how they are doing, his left hand breaks from the sling and gropes Melody upon her ass. This hand which was named by the group as the â€Å"lecherous hand† seems to have a mind of its own. With his hand squeezing her firm ass, Sai walks in. â€Å"What the hell is going on here?† Kai does not know how to reply. H... ... in bed. He looks at his left hand and then feels his shoulder bandaged and in pain. He removes the bandage and his deep wound has not healed. He lies back down trying to catch his breath when as four people enter the room. They sit next to him asking what had happened and all he can say is â€Å"nothing it was a dream†¦just a bad dream.† As his friends stick by his side watching over him he notices the pouring outside. The rain smashes at the windows like hail and he whispers to himself â€Å"even the heavens weep.† But outside a notorious figure works the night, peering through the window he steps aside and takes his leave. With a malevolent grin on his lips his raspy voice utters â€Å"Kai†¦you are almost ready.† The wet and dark night shakes and rumbles as a devilish laugh echoes through the night making even the Devil himself quiver. This is only the beginning of the end. The Nightmare Essay -- Fantasy, creative writing, fiction writing Exhausted and beat, Kai grasps his face. The prominent slap that the girl he saved has left a mark. The battle that left one town saved and a hero in pain. His shoulder gashed deeply, a painful memory of the dragon’s last attack before being dismantled and left headless. Kai stands in distraught his right-hand holding his left shoulder and his left hand grasping his face. He watches as the girl he saved stampedes off with steam coming from her ears as her ass imprinted with a bloodied hand, the hand print that Kai had accidentally left. Kai stands within the beloved town just staring at his hand wondering if something was actually wrong. The silence is broken as his companions join him. Even before he can say anything Amber, the girl secretly in love with Kai, slaps him across the face ferociously as fire burns with in her eyes. Without giving him time to explain, Amber scolds Kai and begins to yell â€Å"I don’t believe you oh my gosh. What is wrong with you? Do you h ave to grope every hot girl you see?† Kai looks at her as if a hint of jealousy has arose, but knowing if ever bought up he’d be tormented like no other and can only reply â€Å"It wasn’t me this time I swear. This hand is out of control†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Just then, Kai passes out clinching his shoulder as he crashes to the ground. The next morning Kai wakes up in a bed with his shoulder bandaged and in a sling. He hears Melody and Amber talking in the next room and as he goes and sees how they are doing, his left hand breaks from the sling and gropes Melody upon her ass. This hand which was named by the group as the â€Å"lecherous hand† seems to have a mind of its own. With his hand squeezing her firm ass, Sai walks in. â€Å"What the hell is going on here?† Kai does not know how to reply. H... ... in bed. He looks at his left hand and then feels his shoulder bandaged and in pain. He removes the bandage and his deep wound has not healed. He lies back down trying to catch his breath when as four people enter the room. They sit next to him asking what had happened and all he can say is â€Å"nothing it was a dream†¦just a bad dream.† As his friends stick by his side watching over him he notices the pouring outside. The rain smashes at the windows like hail and he whispers to himself â€Å"even the heavens weep.† But outside a notorious figure works the night, peering through the window he steps aside and takes his leave. With a malevolent grin on his lips his raspy voice utters â€Å"Kai†¦you are almost ready.† The wet and dark night shakes and rumbles as a devilish laugh echoes through the night making even the Devil himself quiver. This is only the beginning of the end.

Bullying – Lifespan Psych Class

PSY-210 All over the world, bullying and victimization are common at various levels of schooling from elementary to secondary and beyond. The objective of bullying can range from humiliating to instilling fear in an effort to establish a character of dominance on the part of the bully. It can be in the form of physical violence, verbal abuse, or social isolation and can have lasting consequences on the victim ranging from low self esteem to the most severe: suicide. The question we all have to ask ourselves is where does this behavior stem from?Children are not born innate with an evil gene (excluding mental disease), therefore, we have to begin by looking at the family structure, the familial influence, and what role they play in the bullying behavior. In the research study â€Å"PROCEDURAL JUSTICE IN RESOLVING FAMILY DISPUTES: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILDHOOD BULLYING† (Brubacher, Fondacaro, Brank, Brown, Miller, 2009), the authors looked at the interaction between a child and the ir family with regard to conflict resolution and how that may effect the ability of a child to deal with their peers.Since a dominant role is most apparent in the parent-child relationship, it can suggest that children will be considerably affected by how their parents treat a situation where conflict needs to be resolved. Parents play a pivotal part in the ability for their child to understand right from wrong, empathy, respect, and a sense of fairness. Throughout their course of cognitive development, the attitudes and behaviors put forward by the parent will be internalized by a child and become part of that child’s working model of social conduct.The purpose of this study was to develop the correlation between the family dynamics, and how it may contribute to the behavior of children and their core moral and ethical values when interacting or dealing with their peers. The groundwork is laid at home and if not met with properly, can result in the same cycle repeating in ge nerations to come.The study used participants of middle school age (average age was just over 12-1/2), and a randomized selection of classes from nine participating school districts within various states which was a good representation in that it looked at students in more a metropolitan setting where you usually have a more dense student body, a larger mix of ethnicities, which can sometimes lend to more conflict amongst peers as they are interacting and trying to integrate with one another.The age of students is particularly important because it’s at this tender age where they are beginning to form their independence and having to make autonomous decisions about their behavior and still learning the consequences associated with those decisions. I’m certain that aggressive behavior in parenting styles has huge implications on a child’s attitude. Parents who use physical and/or emotional harm are doing nothing to instill healthy, acceptable social behaviors. All children need to feel a sense of value, empowerment over their ability to be autonomous, and in the absence of that, will act out that which they’ve learned.Often times, it can be the subliminal behavior of the parents/adults that can foster unacceptable values in children. The catalyst can be the ethical and moral opinions like racism, cultural beliefs, and even religious affiliations that the parents have personal qualms about†¦ that can weave into the fabric of a child. Many parents are oblivious to what they’re unconsciously teaching their children simply by how they talk about other societies, traditions, or backgrounds. That kind of blind hatred passes down from generation to generation and no doubt rears its ugly head in our schools†¦ the melting pot of the world.In our textbook â€Å"HUMAN DEVELOPMENT† (J. W. Vander Zanden, T. Crandell, C. H. Crandell), Diana Baumrind, a developmental psychologist found a number of parental practices and attit udes that seem to facilitate the development of socially responsible and independent behavior in children. She found that parents who are socially responsible and assertive, and who serve as daily models of these behaviors, foster these same characteristics in their children. Parents should emphasize and encourage individuality, self-expression, and socially appropriate aggressiveness.Susan Crockenber and Cindy Litman (1990) show that the way parents handle autonomy issues have a profound consequence for their youngsters’ behavior. When parents assert their power in the form of negative control (threats, criticism, physical intervention, and anger), children are more likely to respond with defiance and thus behave the same way. I agree that there is a correlation between parenting styles and how that influences a child’s ability to resolve conflicts. The family environment has a direct relationship to problematic behavior in children resulting in social cruelty, especi ally bullying.No one can prepare you for the most difficult task in life. Parenting. Countless books, advice from others, even your own childhood experiences never seem to quite arm you with enough strength to handle it with grace and fluidity. Yet we all take that leap of faith, to fulfill our moral obligation to procreate life, convinced that we know the secret to raising a well-adjusted individual. Yet many of us fail to carry out the process correctly†¦ either repeating past behavior, or expecting too much from our little ones, too soon. In the article published on Psychology Today â€Å"HOW TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN NATURALLY†, Gerard Young, Ph.D. , discusses parenting styles with regard to discipline, self esteem, happiness, and stress both on the part of parents and their children. He focuses on the importance of not only timing and applying proper techniques†¦ reminding us that children’s cognitive and social skills grow with age, but the importance of t he environment in which those practices would be effective†¦ needing a warm and balanced platform. Discipline should not solely be about punishment for the wrong behavior, but should also encompass limits and the boundaries for self-control.He discusses that Learning theory has provided excellent discipline techniques, which can help shape a child by using rewards, reinforcements, points, time outs, and even punishment†¦ without resorting to the use of corporal/physical methods. Parents need to have patience and understanding if they are to instill appropriate social and developmental behaviors in their children. We need to appreciate that they have a different schedule and rhythm than we do, and if we’re to be effective parents, we need to manage that in order to gain a measure of control while teaching them the proper skill sets they need for self-control.Most important, we need to be more liberal with our praise, giving them enjoyment to strive for more. If we ar e to raise a healthy child, we need to value what is special within our child and support and build on that. Understanding what makes your child â€Å"tick†, and â€Å"giving them the tools to tick better†. We should provide them with an environment which not only sets limits & expectations, but freedom to express & explore, so they can grow with a sense of initiative and independence which will translate into adulthood for positive life goals and values.All this requires dedication and commitment from parents to be on their best behavior. Children watch, observe, imitate, and learn from us. It would be prudent for us to remember the initial goal we had in mind when we decided to have children. To tenderly love him/her, to make a contribution to society by raising a healthy, well adjusted individual who will in turn perpetuate that for generations to come. That cannot happen if we are to take a back seat approach and not follow through with our moral responsibility. Ch ildren did not have a choice to be born.So why then should we rob them of a chance they rightfully deserve at a peaceful upbringing. Learning, by definition in our textbook â€Å"HUMAN DEVELOPMENT† (J. W. Vander Zanden, T. Crandell, C. H. Crandell), involves a relatively permanent change in a capability or behavior that results from experience. Behavioral theories emphasize that people can be conditioned by positive or negative reinforcers†¦ that cognitive theories focus on how to fashion the cognitive structures by which individuals think about their environment†¦ and that social learning theories stress the need to provide models for people to imitate.This definition encompasses intellectually all the fine points Dr. Young wrote about in his article. We can all reason that positive behaviors will produce positive outcomes. We just need to actually follow through with them. The most important role model in a child’s life is their significant caregiver, in mo st cases, parents. To learn a behavior, you need to be taught that behavior. Why then with all this information, do we still choose to parent incorrectly is beyond me. It is so much easier to teach a child than it is to fix an adult.References Brubacher, Michael R. , Fondacar, Mark R. , Brank, Eve M. , Brown, Veda E. , Miller, Scott A. , (2009). Procedural Justice in Resolving Family Disputes: Implications For Childhood Bullying. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, Vol 15(3), Aug, 2009. Pp. 149-167. Doi:10. 1037/a0016839 Vander Zanden, James W. , Crandell, Thomas L. , Crandell, Corinne Haines (2007). Human Development. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Co. , Inc. Young, Gerald Ph. D (Oct. 4, 2011). How To Raise Your Children Naturally. Psychology Today.

A Critique Of Research Conducted By Kathleen Kostos And...

Introduction This paper is a critique of research conducted by Kathleen Kostos and Eui-kyung Shin. The research article describing this research project is titled: Using Math Journals to Enhance Second Graders’ Communication of Mathematical Thinking (Kostos, 2010). In this study, math journals were used in Ms. Kostos’s second grade classroom to determine if their use would increase the student’s abilities to communicate their mathematical thinking. Research Problem Ms. Kostos is a second grade teacher. During her time as a teacher she has seen the math standards and expectations for students evolve from just getting an answer, to thinking about how a problem is solved and communicating that process to others, while using the†¦show more content†¦The research question is very clearly stated on page 224 of the article, â€Å"†¦the research question that guided this study was how the use of math journals affected the second grade students’ mathematical thinking through math communication† (Kostos, 2010). The researchers were able to pinpoint a problem and a possible solution for the evolving math standards. Ms. Kostos’s hypothesis included the idea that through writing in math journals, students would be able to express their thoughts and feelings about math and use these thoughts and feelings as a basis for better math communication among the teacher and their peers. It is evident in the artic le that a variety of literature was studied while researching this subject. The authors do an outstanding job of including the standards from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), in a way that is organized and easy to understand. Other reputable sources are also sited. Methodology A mixed approach was used during this research study. The use of math communication skills in the classroom is complex and requires a wide variety of data and approaches to effectively study the topic. The idea of communication is best studied using a qualitative approach while progress in math skills is best shown through quantitative data. Combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches and using a mixed method approach for this study