In our journey towards effectiveness one MUST recognize the fact that Personal commitments and Integrity to act on those commitments are important. There is a strong metaphor we use for this purpose which is called "Personal Bank Account" or "Emotional Bank Account".

Before you win in the public areas of life, you must first win the private battles within yourself. All change begins with you. How you feel about yourself is similar to a Bank Account. Let's call it your Personal Bank Account. [PBA], or Emotional Bank Account [EBA]. Just like a current or savings account in a bank, you can make deposits as well as withdrawals. This can happen by the way you think, say and do things. For example, when I stick to my commitments I made to myself I feel in control. It's a deposit. On the other hand when I break a promise made to myself, I feel disappointed and make a withdrawal.
SO let me ask you how is PBA or EBA. ? How much of trust and confidence do you have in yourself? Are you loaded or bankrupt? The symptoms listed below might help you evaluate where you really stand.

Possible symptoms for a poor PBA/EBA.

• You give in to peer pressure easily.
• You wrestle with feelings of depression and inferiority
• You are overly concerned about what others think of you.
• You act arrogant to help hide your insecurities.
• You get jealous easily, especially when someone close to you succeeds.

Possible symptoms of a healthy PBA/EBA.

• You stand for yourself and resist peer pressure
• You are not overly concerned about being popular
• You see life as a generally positive experience
• You trust yourself
• You are goal driven
• You are happy for the success of others

If your Personal/Emotional bank account is low, don't get discouraged about it, just start today by making smaller deposits. Eventually you will get your confidence back. Small deposits over a long period of time is the way to a healthy and rich Personal/Emotional Bank account.

See below the list of six key deposits that can help you build your Emotional / Personal Bank account. This was a finding through various groups of teens and adults. Of course the findings say with every deposit, there is an equal and opposite withdrawal.

Highly effective people [young and old] have a very clear agenda in their personal and professional life so that they keep continuous deposits in the EBA/PBA.
With all their Interpersonal relationships they apply this same principle so that they become highly interdependent individuals who will not have a personal agenda but work towards a common agenda.
Next week we discuss more about this.

QUOTE:
The real tragedy is the tragedy of the man who never in his life braces himself for his one supreme effort - he never stretches to his full capacity, never stands up to his full stature.
ARNOLD BENNET