Free Lance: SAT Experience

SAT Experience:

- It was an experience that i do not want to go through again. My first time taking the test, i accidentally fell asleep. This time around, i decided to go to sleep earlier to prevent that from happening again. When i woke up i ate a bowl of cereal to boost my energy. I was somewhat fine, but when i arrived to the test center room and began reading the short stories, my eyes started to close on me. All i knew was that i did not put my head on the desk, and my pencil was in my hand. Next thing i knew, the lady who was observing the class room announced that we had 10 minutes left for the reading section. I jumped up in my seat because she had scared me. I didnt know i was alseep but clearly if i only had 10 minutes left for that portion of the test, it was clear that i fell asleep. I tried to answer as much as i could until she announced to stop our work and place our pencils down. The Math portition of the test was horrible. It seems as if i was reading japanese or a french language. My head was spinning, and i couldnt get the answers correct. I heard the lady and she stated, "You know have 15 minutes left for this section." I was thrown off because i was only on question 4 out of 20. i dashed through the section trying to figure out the correct answer. I knew i could have tried harder, but the time was currently my enemy. My finally thoughts are that i feel as if i did worse the secound time, compared to the first time i decided to take it. 

The 7 Ways of Highly Effective People

Habit 1. Be proactive: 

Quote: "Habit 1 is the key to unlocking all the other habits ans that's why it comes first. It says, "i am the captain of my life. i can choose my attitude. i am responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the driver's seat of my destiny, not just a passenger." 

Being proactive means that you should take responsibilities for your actions. When you are a teenager, the majority of the time the blame is put on teachers, or the parent, or the siblings. By being proactive you should take the blame and be a team sport about any situation that may occur throughout your life. The influence that the person receives is very important because it doesn't just affect one person. The majority of the time, the way a person behaves is how they were raised in their household or the people they surround themselves with. Being proactive also means that the weather will have an impact or your attitude or decision making. For example, when it is about 90 degrees or higher people begin to be upset and frustrated easily. The physical environment and the people you surround yourself with have impacts. 

Habit 2. Begin with the end in mind: 

Quote: "Control your own destiny or someone else will." (Jack Welch)

"When you know where you intend to end up, you know where you are now." (Covey)

Beginning with the end in mind means that when you decide on a goal you should view the end of it. For example if you train to become an Olympian, most likely you want to see yourself winning the gold medal. Another example could be if i pursue my dream of becoming a singer, i want and should see myself performing in front of billions of people and could be known as a star. It could also mean that you should always finish what you start. View your goal as something that could be accomplished and or complete. I will continue to begin with the end in mind because i use it motivation. 

Habit 3. Put First Things First:

Quote: Organize and execute around priorities." 

Putting first things first means to set your priorities straight. When having a variety of responsibilities to take on, you should organize yourself first and think about what is more important for you. For example, if you are in a sport and must attend practice everyday that is your priority, but if you happen to be failing a class or simply just need more help and attending tutoring is the way think about what you should do. What is your priority in this situation? What does getting good grades lead to? Getting good grades means you have a chance of attending college, staying in the sport, etc. If you have low grades, the result of it is that you wont be able to stay in the sport anyways. Second of all, i always state that Cheer will not get you into college, Basketball will not get you into college, Volley ball will not get you into college, etc. Get your priorities straight and attend tutoring if necessary. 

Habit 4. Think Win-Win: 

Quote: "Think win-win or no deal."

Thinking win-win is important because you should think positive and expect positive outcomes throughout your life. When thinking positive it is more likely for a person to get a positive result out of a situation. For example, when thinking win-win it gives a positive attitude towards the person; therefore, you will give it your all and try your best. The result of your performance will be something worth doing. You as a person will also have the ability to voice how much effort you put into the problem, and that you were able to come out successfully. If you do not think that you will win you most likely have a losing mentality. Another thing is that if you have a winning mentality, you could think about solutions to the majority of your problems and life a comfortable life. 

Habit 5. Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood:

Quote: "Diagnose before you prescribe." 

Seeking first to understand, so that you could be understood is important. How do you expect others to understand you as a person if you don't understand them. When asking for advice the majority of the time it is helpful if the person understands the situations, as well as the type of person you are. Why would you want to get advice from someone you aren't very close to, or who does not accept you as a person. It is important to understand the other persons situation or life story because to helps you as an individual when or if you happen to judge others. You, as a person, should understand and acknowledge the actions you take and why. Do you understand yourself? Do you know why you do the things that you do? For what? Why are those actions made? Who does it affect and why? Etc. It could also mean to simply tasks that could be made everyday. For example, Listen before you speak. Did you hear the full story? Or are you jumping to conclusions? Do you observe situations like you should. Before i jump to conclusions, i make sure to observe my surroundings and find the outcome/result from there. 

Habit 6. Synergize:

Quote: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts (1+1=3)"

Synergize is important because it means that you as a person have the ability to be open minded about a situation that you come across. It means that when dealing with a problem either old or new you could always find solutions to them. It could also mean that when talking to a new person you are more likely to get influenced by them and make decisions that could either be good or bad.  The most important part is when the other person does not agree with you. Knowing someone else that doesn't view the world the same way as you could be life changing. It is life changing because you can view the certain situation in a different way and seek different results. Being with the same people all the time could be a negative lifestyle that you take part in. Simply because your have a chance of being blinded from reality. People could become ignorant, and somewhat shallow. The way they learn to accept others wont be a normal thing for them. Accepting the ideas or opinions of other people will simply become their hardest challenge. 

Habit 7. Sharpen the Saw: 

Quote: The four dimensions of self-renewal: Physical, mental, spiritual, social/emotional

Sharpening the saw is important because it means that you have a balanced system when it comes to keeping your priorities straight. Keeping the necessary priorities in tact, it is important to be physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially/emotionally ready. When you are physically ready it means that you are healthy and your body is fit. Mentally ready means that you are well rested, stress free, and aren't worried about small situations that aren't irrelevant. When you are spiritually ready, that means that you keep your beliefs well organized and you know what you life and or what your goals are. When you are socially/emotionally ready it means that you are in good terms with your friends and family, and keep open communication among each other, as well as the support is always there. I will continue to be ready within all of these categorizes by using these in my every day life, and being a better person means that i would have to incorporate these skills into my life, including others as well. 

Reflection: My final thoughts about "The 7 Habits of highly Effective People" are that you should incorporate all of these habits into your life, and remove the bad habits. By completing these habits daily, it will be easier for you to develop a better lifestyle that would impact your life and or your friends and family. When taking action on these habits you should think about how you could educate someone else on these habits. The habits teach you to be responsible and to become an organized person as an independent young adult.