7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

The ironic thing is that the more you center your life on someone, the less attractive you

become to that person.

Her self-confidence depended on owning stuff. It didn’t come from her

own personality, smarts, or kindness.

There is nothing wrong with achieving success and enjoying our stuff, but things should

never become the center of our lives. In the end, they have no lasting value. Our confidence

needs to come from within, not from without. From the quality of our hearts, not the quantity of

things we own

Make as many friends as you can, but don’t build your life on them.

may find yourself compromising your standards or changing them

every weekend to accommodate your friends.

occasionally they’re fickle. Now and then they’re fake. Sometimes they talk behind

your back or develop new friendships and forget yours. They have mood swings. They move.

You can usually tell what your paradigm is by asking yourself a few

questions: “What is the driving force of my life?” “What do I spend my time thinking

about?” “Who or what are my obsessions?” Whatever’s most important to you will become

your paradigm, your glasses, or, as I like to call it, your life-center.

It’s simply this: often our paradigms are incomplete, inaccurate, or

kinda messed up. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge, label, or form rigid opinions of others—

or of ourselves, for that matter. From a limited point of view, it’s hard to see the whole

picture or have all the facts.

We too often judge people without having all the facts.

Just by knowing that one little bit of information, my whole

attitude toward her changed.