Book review!!!

You are a teenager and feel your life is filled with all the problems in the world?

You are the parent of a teenager and feel your child has become aggressive and irresponsible?

Grab a copy of "7 habits of highly effective teens" by Sean Covey and get solutions to your problems.

"7 habits of highly effective teens" is a self-help book specifically written for teenagers. However, parents could also use to understand their children and their problems.

The book is written in highly interactive manner. The author highlights several problems faced by teens, corroborates them with examples and then gives easy to follow steps.

 "Sow a thought, and you reap an act;

Sow an act, and you reap a  habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny"

                             ---Samuel Smiles

The book consists of 7 habits for teenagers:

1. Be Proactive: The author illustrates the importance of being vigilant of future opportunities and threats. He advises the teens to foresee problems and to take actions before they arise. As an simple example, teens shall start preparing for their exams as soon as they come to know of their final dates instead of waiting for last some days.
2. Begin with the end in mind: The author guides teenagers to have a mission and goal to achieve. The author illustrates the importance of having a goal in life. Goals could be short-term or long-term. Also, Goal should always be realistic and achievable. Further, author highlights specific events where a person's motivation is very high such as new year, new class, new baby etc and focuses on setting goals at those moments. "A goal unwritten is only a wish"
3. Put first things first:  A person shall prioritize and shall identify important and urgent tasks. All the energies shall be focused on important tasks. To manage time, author mentions using weekly planners. No doubt, management of time is most important ingredient to success. (For a detailed article on time managment during Examination, please refer Examination tips section).
4. Think win-win: With this habit, the author revolutionizes the whole concept of competition. The author highlights difference approaches and evaluates each of them. Finally, he gives the benefits of having a win-win approach whereby a person attempts to have a winning situation for every one. This approach, if adopted by every one, would not only help the person but also the whole humanity, in general.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: No doubt, the root cause of every argument is communication differences or gaps. The author highlights the importance of clear communication and guides the reader to implement this habit. Person shall remove perception barriers while debating and try and understand the other person's views. Further, other person's views and ideas shall be evaluated according to the person's perception and background. Then shall the person present its own views and ideas. This habit is particularly going to improves Parent-Child relationships if applied from both sides.
6. Synergy: According to this rule '1 + 1 = 11'. Surely Economic ideas of 'Specialisation' and 'Division of Labor' stem from the rule of Synergy. If two compatible people could work together for a good cause could bring about GREAT results. Add to it Habit # 2 and Habit # 4 and just imagine the power of Synergy.
7.  Sharpen the saw: Lastly, the author asks his reader to slow down. To slow down in this fast paced world. To slow down and give some time to himself, to his soul, to his  body and to his mind. Whatever activity the person feels relaxing whether its jogging, playing chess or praying, the person shall do it. The person shall specifically take out time for sharpening his saw. 

Abraham Lincoln was once asked, "What would you do if you had 8 hours to cut down a tree?".

He replied: "I'd spend the first four hours sharpening my saw".

Lastly, at the end of each habit, there are summaries and baby steps. Baby steps would allow you to apply the habit fully in your life.

Hope the above help you in identifying your 'real' problems and getting 'practical' solutions for you.

Regards,