The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens - Day Two

Workshop promises to produce highly effective teens

TIME management is the "real value" of the "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" workshop, said one of the facilitators.

Saras Dorairaju (picture), during an interview with The Brunei Times, said that time management, which falls under "Habit Three", is a weakness that adults also face.

"We think it's fantastic for the kids because we give them a little planner they could use and from this planner they could see how much impact it would have on their life," said Saras who has been conducting the workshops for the past eight years.

The three-day workshop is similar to the adult version of the programme which has earned global recognition and derived from author Sean Covey who also wrote "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People".

"It's a world renowned programme and we do it now for teenagers. We teach them similar things we teach adults except we deliver it in such a way young people would find interesting and entertaining," she said.

Basically, the challenges are different, she said, adding that as an example, in "Habit Five" they would teach the teenagers listening skills.

They would also include a portion of how to talk to their parents, teachers or friends, and cue it to their lives so that it is something the teens would be able to apply and exactly how it would work in their own daily lives.

"Rather than just learning from theory, we would have games and activities that we may not do with adults," she said.

When asked about the examples and the success rates the programme yielded, Saras said that although the programme was not something they have done real research on, there was evidence of its impact.

"What we can tell you is the effect you'll see especially after the third day of the programme," she said adding that this can be seen at the end of the programme when participants present and talk about what they had learnt.

By Hana Roslan via The Brunei Times

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens - Day One

Develop positive thinking, teens told

POSITIVE thinking is a habit that needs to be practised by teenagers, according to the Ministry of Education.

"If the road to success needs a strategy, then it is important that teens plan features that could help them achieve it," said Minister of Education Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Kerna Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Abu Bakar Hj Apong during the opening of the "The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Teens" workshop at the Chancellor Hall of Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).

One of these features was positive thinking, said the minister, which helps build confidence and create change. Having positive thoughts meant having a "reflective" attitude such as the ability to assess and measure one's strengths and weaknesses, followed by improving and overcoming weaknesses at the same time fostering their strengths to succeed.

"Positive thinking can act as a defence that can deflect elements which have adverse effects in life," he said adding that this is one of the reasons why positive thinking is linked with faith and belief in Allah SWT.

Furthermore, advancements in Info-Communication Technology (ICT) has made life more challenging for teenagers and they have to offset these changes with wisdom.

"Teens must be able to adapt these changes all the while adhering to the ethics and way of life in Brunei," he said.

The minister pointed out that habits could be changed, repaired and improved with knowledge according to the needs and skills of the individual.

He said that the workshop was in line with the government's steps to promote positive thinking and instil moral values and ensure that teens contribute to the country's development, at the same time cling on to the Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) philosophy.

"I hope that this programme will give an impact in instilling positive habits in teens as well as eradicate negative habits," he said.

According to organiser Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) Bhd Managing Director Javed Ahmad, the programme is set to be an eye-opener for teens.

"This programme will make teenagers realise that interdependence, teamwork and collaboration are more important and beneficial than independence," he said. "They will learn what it takes to move from dependence to independence and finally, towards interdependence."

He also said that effective teens will create a "trickle down" effect in society by becoming role models to their friends and family, they will cause a positive waves that will penetrate and become part of the Bruneian culture.

The "habits" the teens will learn are essentially seven characteristics that happy and successful teens all over the world have in common, according to a statement by BIBD, organisers of the event.

Dubbed the "private victory", Habits One, Two and Three will deal with self mastery, while "public victory" will cover Habits Four, Five and Six which touch on relationships or teamwork. The last habit, would be the habit of renewal, which feeds on all the other six habits.

About 150 students from aged between 11 and 19 years old participated in the workshop facilitated by six experts from Malaysia.

The three-day workshop stemmed from a popular book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" by Sean Covey, and was part of an education initiative by BIBD.

By Hana Roslan via The Brunei Times

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Community's vital role in stamping out smoking stressed

"NINETY per cent of smokers are exposed to smoking before or when they are 18 years old," stressed the sermon yesterday, highlighting the role of the community in stamping out the deadly habit.

The sermon cited the government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has taken a number of strategies to protect the welfare and health of the citizens of the country from smoking.

"The updating of laws, raising the duty on cigarettes (and tobacco products), also a fatwa outlining that smoking is haram," the sermon explained. "As such, as a member of the rakyat (citizen), perform your roles, free yourselves from smoking and tobacco, protect the health of your family that you love dearly and give the support to the efforts made by the government in making the country-free from cigarettes," said the sermon.

"Results from studies point towards the youth picking up the habit from their surroundings. Children who are used to seeing their parents, people in or near the household smoking are more inclined to become smokers," said the sermon. The sermon added that youths are tempted to smoke due to peer pressure, and to be accepted by their social peers or those seeking out thrills.

"Islam underscores the importance of appreciating and looking after one's health to its ummah," said the sermon.

It added that the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) health forms one of the basics of happiness here on Earth.

"Health is important in life, and as such Islam prohibits its ummah from deeds and items that are undesirable and are harmful to their health," said the sermon.

"As a measure of maintaining and looking after one's health, Islam urges to avoid acts may cause harm to both the mind and body, and among them is the harmful act of smoking," stressed the sermon. The sermon also pointed towards specialists, both Muslim and non-Muslim, that have conducted studies into the effects of smoking on the health and their findings are the same, "smoking endangers health". "Studies show that smoking contains four thousand chemical elements, among them poisons that can kill and others that can bring about cancer," stressed the sermon.

The sermon said that termite poison, grass killers, pesticides, lighter fluid, rocket fuel and tar used in roads are some of the items found in the chemical make up of cigarettes. It also highlighted that smoking is harmful not only to smokers, but to their friends and families as well, stressing that second hand smoke can bring about the same harmful side effects and even more detrimental to young children and unborn children.

As such acts that bring about these harmful effects to one's health is considered to be haram. The sermon said, "There should be no more doubts, smoking is haram, as it has been proven that smoking is harmful."

Source: The Brunei Times

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