"We must live our lives with purpose and vision; values and goals."
If asked which quality I look for most in a friend or partner I would answer "being genuine" every time. When learning about this week's habit, the phrase "walk the talk" kept popping into my head. As leaders, if we are going to preach good habits we must first live them. If we truly want to be leaders, we must first always be reliable- meaning that we do what we say we are going to do. If we are considered reliable people, than we will in turn be considered people of good character. Having good character leads to being authentic, trustworthy, and admirable leaders (which is the ultimate goal). I connected all of this back to the idea of being genuine. I am drawn to people who have strong values and beliefs and stick to them! If we want to achieve our long term goals, we must always have that end in mind and live each day working toward it. By being proactive, making choices, walking the talk, and working to live a life as a reliable, authentic person of good character,we are coming closer and closer to that vision each day. Today, and this week, and this month, and this year I plan to make conscious choices each day to work toward achieving my long-term (and short-term) goals. I will continue to teach each habit to my fiance and colleagues, but this one especially, I plan to bring into the classroom. It is so important to get students thinking about their future early. In my classroom we set weekly goals for the whole class and individual goals at the beginning of each trimester. We also spend time celebrating our successes! Goal setting (and celebrating successes) can be a very empowering experience for students. If they start doing this at a young age, and learn to work hard toward them, just imagine what they can accomplish if they always keep the end in mind!