This was the topic in “It’s Your Choice!” a youth congress keynoted by Sean Covey, the author of the best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.
The talk, held November 25 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater, was for the “youth who makes choices everyday—whether in school, friends, or by ourselves,” said Ateneo Grade School Headmaster Fr. Kit Bautista, SJ.
“It’s not so much as making good or bad choices—rather, it’s being able to celebrate good choices and facing the consequences of our bad choices,” he added.
Covey talked about how the seven habits can help teens in the decisions they have to make.
All about choices
Covey did not expect that his book would be popular with teens. He said, “I consider it as a major achievement…I didn’t really expect people to like it, but I’m glad they did.”
His book was written based on experience. Covey said, “I’d have them [teens] come over to my house. I’d order pizza and we’d just talk.”
During the talk, Covey first discussed the first three habits: be proactive; begin with the end in mind; and put first things first.
On being proactive, he said teens must take responsibility for every aspect of their lives. He also emphasized that teens must formulate a “personal mission statement” to have a perception of their goals.
He then explained the next four habits: think win-win; seek first to understand, then be understood; synergize; and sharpen the saw.
For Covey, the six most important decisions in a teen’s life involve the following: school, friends, parents, dating and sex, addictions, and self-worth.
After the discussions, Covey also interacted with the students by recalling his past experiences as a teen, showing video presentations, and hosting activities related to the seven habits.
An open forum and an autograph session followed the talk.
A richer point of view
Bautista said that at the end of the talk, he hoped that the audience would be “richer in point of view and understanding of their life situations.”
Aside from Ateneans, delegates from various schools in the Philippines attended the talk. Steffi Ysabel Nueva from Assumption Antipolo said that the talk was very helpful. “It made me change ideas on how to live my life.”
Lance Calilung from Multiple Intelligence School found the talk interesting. “I picked up a lot of morals.”
