Teaching and Guidance Counseling

The Emotional Bank Account is a useful way to consider the relationships which contribute to your success. Think of it in the same way that you would an actual bank account. If you deposit money in the bank, the bank pays you interest and your account continues to grow. If you withdraw money from the account too often, your account will shrink quickly. 

In the same way, your relationships with teachers, teammates, coaches, parents and friends can be thought of as individual bank accounts. You can either make deposits to build and strengthen the relationship or you can make repeated withdrawals from the relationship and cause it to fall apart. This is the idea behind the Emotional Bank Account.

 Relationships take time to build, and strong relationships are based on many Emotional Deposits over time. What is an Emotional Deposit?

Unfortunately, it is much easier to damage or destroy a relationship than it is to build and improve one. Making one withdrawal from a friendship can erase many months of hard work making deposits. Some Emotional Withdrawals might include:

We all want to have friends, and we all want to be well liked. Understanding the Emotional Bank Account and making repeated deposits in your relationships is the key to being trusted and liked. And when you are trusted and liked, your Circle of Influence expands!

Please comment to me about your experiences applying the Emotional Bank Account Concepts. 

 This information is adapted directly from the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, by Steven Covey. Please read the real book, or one of the many companion books in the series.

Tags: , Deposits, Emotional Bank Account, Guidance Counseling, Relationships, Teens, Withdrawals

Sean Covey says, “Life for teens is no playground.” What then do we educators and counselors do to teach them skills to build a good life. I have long been an avid fan of using his book the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens to assist parents in raising their teenagers.

 Speaking of teenagers, Chuck Norris said:   “WE CAN’T MAKE THEIR DECISIONS FOR THEM, BUT WE CAN GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TOOLS THEY NEED TO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS.” 

What tools or skills do they need?  What is an effective teen? 

Are they reactive or proactive?

Do they know where they are going?

Do they prioritize the things they have to do?

Do they see life as a competition?

Do they talk first and then pretend to listen or listen actively?

Do they cooperate with others or do they think they are better off doing everything by themselves?

 Are they so busy with life that they do not have time to:

•         Spend quality time with family and friends

•         To do their homework

•         Read good books

•         Exercise

•         Take time for nature or other inspirational

Here is a presentation on this topic:

http://tagcblog.googlepages.com/home

Social Bookmarking Plan for Teens 

Social bookmarking is one method teens can use to help them gathering tools to help them make right decisions.

Go to http://del.icio.us/    Create your own account.  Think about what is important for you to know and apply as you make right decisions.  Decide what keywords or tags you wish to search for and do a search.   Remember you are the creator of how these tags will be used in organizing and storing your information.  Create your own list of saved sites and put in  a tag of tagcblog so I can find your list.  Email me at tagcblog@gmail.com when you are finished. 

Tags: 7 Habits, Parenting Teens, Teens