GOOD MANNERS & HABITS

Course: DiplomaSubject: English Communication and Life Skills

Unit: 4

What are good habits?

• Habits are routine behaviors done on a regular basis.

• Have you observed what are your habits?

• Which tasks other than routine ones do you normallydo as a habit?

• Actions when repeated frequently become habits.

• Mostly habits are formed unconsciously. We don’trealize we are doing them.

• Habits define our character, our thoughts and feelingsand our ‘usual’ behaviors.

• A habit can also be an addiction.

• Addictions include a range ofcompulsive behaviors such asgambling, eating, shopping,playing videogames, work andinternet usage.

• It has been rightly said that habitis second nature. That is, what wedo often today, we will soonbegin to do always tomorrow, andthus the habit will grow to be apart of our natural self.

• We should be very carefulabout forming our habits.

• Some are in the habit offorgetting to do things or ofmislaying things.

• Some have a habit for beingalways late ; some of givingup a job after the firstattempt.

• Some are habitual late-risers; others are alwaysslow; habit causes loss tooneself and irritates others.

• Character is nothing but abundle of habits.

• Habit, when it hardens,becomes the dominanttrait of the character.

• Excellence of character isnothing but a bundle ofexcellent habits.

• Habits affect our mindand body.

• A person with good habitsis likely to have strongself-control.

Significance of Good habits

• “Habits are either the best ofservants or the worst of masters”.This saying rightfully tells thatthere are good as well as badhabits.

• Habits are routines of behaviorthat are repeated regularly andoften subconsciously. With eachrepetition there is an increasedautomaticity in the behavior.Scientifically, it takes about threeweeks to establish or break ahabit.

• “The easier it is to do, theharder it is to change”. Thesame can be said of goodhabits too. Most of thegood habits are perceivedto be difficult, for example,getting up early in themorning, eating healthyfood, brushing after everymeal, going for a walk, etc.A good habit always beginswith motivation. Forchildren, sometimes, itmay even requireincentives. Onlyperseverance will convertthose repeated acts to ahabit.

• Habits, inculcated from avery early age, determinea person’s character.Good habits make a goodindividual. Goodindividuals are necessaryfor the development ofthe society and nation.

Various kinds of good habits

• Good habits serve you wellwhether you are a parent,student, entrepreneur or just aregular person. Learning thesehabits now will help everyoneget ahead in life.

1. Get on a good schedule.

We need structure and routinein our lives. Our bodies expectit. They perform best when weoperate on a regular schedule.We especially need to eat andsleep about the same time eachday. Find a schedule that worksfor you and stick to it!

2. Eat a healthy diet.

Our brains need the right foodto perform at their peak.Don’t go to college or work onan empty stomach. Studentsneed to train themselves earlyto eat a balanced and healthydiet. We tend to carry thehabits we learn when we areyoung forward with us formost of our lives. Learning toeat right now can avoid manyhealth issues down the road.

3. Learn to exercise.

We need physical activity tostay healthy. We need to findexercise routines that are funand match our individualtastes. Developing a goodexercise routine is a habit thatwill increase both thequantity and quality of yourlife.

4. Practice gratitude.

It is so easy to get in the badhabit of envying what othershave. We should recall thegood things that happenevery day. We should thentake a few minutes and givethanks for those things. Thishelps us to train ourselves tobe grateful.

5. Develop good study/learning habits. Studying effectively is a skill.People who live life to thefullest are lifelong learners.They never stop trying newthings. One needs to studyand gather new knowledge inan effective and efficientmanner. Learning how tostudy and acquire theknowledge to succeed doesn’tjust occur naturally. It needs tobe developed.

6. Never give up!

“Winners never quit andquitters never win.” It takesperseverance in life to enjoyany kind of success.Perseverance is a habit. It isone that can be developedjust like any other.

7. Manage money wisely.

Students need to learn toearn, save, budget, track, andwisely spend money to besuccessful in life.

8. Strive for excellence!

Why do a job if you aren’tgoing to do it right? We needto develop the habit of givingevery task our best effort.Excellence should be thestandard we strive for in allwe do.

9. Practice good hygiene.

You really can dress forsuccess! Habits like brushingyour teeth twice a day andwashing your hands regularlynot only contribute to health,but also lead to routines thatgive one a sharperappearance.

10. Always tell the truth!

The truth often comes outwhether we want it to or not.Lying generally justcomplicates the situation andmakes us look bad. It is muchbetter to just develop thehabit of telling the truth evenwhen it is difficult. This willsave you a lot of heartacheand misery in life.

11. Be a regular reader.

Becoming a good reader takespractice. The more you readand are read to, the betteryou get. Reading hasnumerous benefits. It buildsone’s vocabulary, expands theimagination, and rekindlescreativity. Make reading aroutine!

12. Be punctual.

Arriving on time is importantto one’s success. Peoplealways notice when you arelate. It is an indicator ofwhether you mean what yousay and can be trusted. Donot introduce doubt aboutthis into people’s minds byshowing up later thanexpected. Create the habit ofbeing punctual now and youwon’t have to worry.

13. Respect authority.

Failure to respect those inauthority positions can leadto all kinds of problems in life.It doesn’t matter whether it isyour boss, a senior, or ateacher. People in authorityhave a job to do and oftenworked hard to get into theposition they are in. Theydeserve to be treated withproper manners andreverence. Learning to say,“Yes ma’am” and “Yes sir” willget you noticed in a positiveway.

Ways to develop good habits

1) Repetition –

Habits can be healthy orunhealthy. Through repeti-tion, you can replace your badhabits with good habits.

2) Prepare a to-do list everyday –

Preparing a to-do list gives usclarity in mind regarding whatour tasks for the day are. Iteventually helps us becomepunctual and organized too.

3) Build your habits into a routine –

Find ways to build your newhabit into your routine. Blockout a regular time for it inyour schedule, so that youcan give your positive habit

your full attention.

4) Develop Self-Discipline –

Self-Control over yourthoughts and actions anddiscipline in executing it cansurely help develop andsustain good habits.

5) Start Simple –

Don’t try to completelychange your life in one day.It is easy to get over-motivated and take on toomuch. If you wanted tostudy two hours a day, firstmake the habit to go forthirty minutes and build onthat.

6) Remove Temptation –

Restructure yourenvironment so that it won’ttempt you in the first thirtydays. Remove junk food fromyour house, cancel your cablesubscription, throw out thecigarettes so you won’t needto struggle with willpowerlater.

Five habits you must quit to be happy

Happiness is a choice that can accompany you during thewhole “journey” and depends entirely and only on you. Youcan experience happiness every second of every day! Butsometime we have “bad” attitude or “bad” habits that canhinder our joy of life, so, let’s just get rid of them today.1) Avoid negative self-talk and self-doubt.Thought is a very powerful tool that we have and it can beused both in constructive or very destructive ways. The onlyperson who hears your self talk all day long is you, as well asthe only person who has control over it – is you, as well! So,don’t fight negative thoughts, just replace them with positiveones!

2) Start taking small steps to accomplish your goal.

Your goal or “dream” might look extremely big andalmost unattainable, but if you break it up on smallor even “tiny” tasks it will be easier to start movinginto the direction of accomplishment of yourvision. And with the time, all this little steps thatyou’ve already made will lead to the big and greatchange of your life and therefore, to yourhappiness!

3) Stop criticizing other people.

Often, we are tempted to notice and wordother people’s imperfections, especially whenthese people aren’t present. But one importantthing to understand is that when you criticizeothers you accumulate negative energy insideyour own heart, which can attract negativityinto your life. Let’s just focus on our owngrowth and improvement of our own life, sothat we just won’t have time to notice what’swrong with other people’s lives. You will noticehow much happier your life will become whenyou will be free from criticizing others.

4) Quit comparing yourself to others and quit trying to be someone other than yourself.

Media and television try to impose “almostunattainable” images to us and make us followstandards that they find attractive. But it’simpossible to make all people look and be “certainway”, and it would be extremely boring to live inthe world where everybody would be exactly thesame. Your power is in being yourself, becausethere is only one you in the whole wide world!Somebody will always be taller, smarter, prettier,younger than you but no one can be you! So

5) Stop taking everything you have for granted and start being thankful instead!

Life’s happiness can increase dramatically with thehelp of gratitude! It’s one of the true secrets of ahappy life. Try to do this simple exercise: when youwake up every morning, try to feel thankful for 3different things in your life. It can be random, smallor big thing and you don’t even need to say it withwords, the key is to feel gratitude inside. (If you aremore comfortable when you “thank out loud”, doit!). When you do this “exercise” every morning,you will program your subconscious mind for

What is grooming?

• Personal grooming refers to the art of cleaningand maintaining parts of one's body. – Definition.

• Grooming is the process of making yourself neatand attractive. It is the things which you do tomake yourself and your appearance tidy andpleasant.

• Good Grooming is commonly used to refer to aperson's appearance. It is made up of personalhygiene, tidy hair, appropriate dressing for anoccasion.

• Grooming helps improve our appearance andmental well being.

• Your professionalism, intelligence and the trust

• Personal Grooming habits involve all the aspectsof your body:

a) Overall cleanliness of your hair.b)Overall cleanliness of your nails.c) Overall cleanliness of your teeth.d)Clean and appropriate attire.e) Overall cleanliness of your legs.

Personal grooming is a pretty significant part topersonal hygiene. Personal grooming is the processof being clean or neat. It speaks volume about howyou treat your body and how you treat yourworking environment around you. People who areneat in their body tend to be neat in their desk.

What are Good manners/etiquettes?

☺Good manners are a set of behaviors whichmark someone as a civilized and culturedmember of a society. Manners are usuallytaught from a very young age, with somepeople receiving additional training inetiquette, formal rules of conduct which applyto a variety of situations.

☺Courtesy, politeness or having good mannersare all about respecting others and yourself.

☺If you show good manners everywhere yougo, then you are more likely to encourage

Good manners at home

Being helpful to others in your home.

Saying 'please' and 'thank you'.

Sharing and not grabbing and keeping good things to yourself.

Respecting other people's property and their rooms.

Helping the family by doing your chores.

Cleaning up after yourself.

Good manners in college

Saying good morning/afternoon if you arewalking past any faculty member or staffmember, whether they teach you or not.

Asking if you can borrow something, not justtaking.

Returning things that you have borrowed.

Waiting your turn before you speak.

Saying 'excuse me,' rather than pushing pastsomeone.

Holding the door open for the person coming in,especially if he is carrying something.

Respecting your own and other people's

When you are out

Respect other people.Be polite to others.Let an older person have your seat on

buses, trains and trams if there isnowhere for them to sit.

Queue up quietly and don't push.Put your rubbish into bins, don't leave it

for someone else to clean up.Have fun but don't be so loud that you

attract the wrong kind of attention.Respect property.Don't make fun of anyone - everyone

has feelings.

Basic Dinning etiquettes

»Always wash your hands before coming to thetable.

»Don't chew with your mouth open. It's anobvious rule, but one that's easy to forgetwhen you're enjoying a delicious meal.

»Say "excuse me" whenever you need to leave the table.

»Ask for someone to pass you a dish or a seasoning. Never reach across a dish or someone else's plate to reach something; instead, politely ask the person sitting next to you to "please pass the sauce.“

»Don't put your elbows on the table when you're eating.

»Do not speak with food in your mouth.

»Turn your head away from the table and put your hand or handkerchief before your mouth

Fork and Knife

Holding Fork and Knife Using Fork and Knife

I’m resting – I’m through

I am resting Fork and Knife and Napkin

Incorrect Etiquette Formal Table laying

POINTS TO REMEMBER

ᴥ Good manners will never go out of style. They can only help you.ᴥ Start your day with positivity about your day's agenda. Treat

everyone you come across as you wish to be treated. Smiles arecontagious.

ᴥ If you are receiving an award, shake the hand of the bestower.ᴥ Control your temper all the time. When you seem to be very mad at

someone, just stay calm and lower down your voice if you want tosay something.

ᴥ If you are in college, do what you're there to do - learn & study. Payattention in class. Do your homework. Treat your teachers as youwish to be treated. They are there to educate you and help youcreate a better future for yourself.

ᴥ Start showing your manners with your parents. They'll be overjoyedthat their children are speaking to them with respect, for respectshows that you have good manners.

Recourses/References

• www.teachingvalues.com/principlesummary.html

• www.navran.com/article-values-morals-ethics.html

• www.thefreedictionary.com/moral+principle

• www.slideshare.com

• www.powershow.com