02 - FIRST THINGS FIRST

Welcome to Campus Life. Our series for this month is called Healthy Habits. During this series we are going to be looking at three habits which come from the book “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” by Stephen Covey. These “habits” can truly make a difference in your life.

CLUMPS WITH A TWIST

ITEMS NEEDED:

[ ] List of grouping categories (large clubs may need to adjust) AND questions (attached)

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Play music as the entire group mingles around the room, high-fiving, greeting, or at least smiling at as many people as possible.
  2. Stop the music and a leader calls out a grouping category from the list below.
  3. Everyone quickly gets into those groups and sits down in silence.
  4. Leader gives a question that each one in the group answers quickly.
  5. When most groups are done, start music to signal to mingle again and repeat.

Clump Groups and Questions

  • Number of people in your immediate family?
  • What’s been the best thing about this school year?
  • Month of your birthday?
  • If you were given $25,000 today, what would you do with it?
  • Your age
  • What are you excited about in your life right now?
  • Color of your shirt
  • If you could change one thing that happened this year, what would it be and why?
  • Favorite fast food restaurant?
  • What do you enjoy doing most in your free time?
  • Your shoe size?
  • Share something nice that someone recently did for you (or said to you).
  • Favorite academic subject?
  • If you had one wish, what would it be?
  • Your class?
  • What have you eaten today?
  • Toothpaste you used today?
  • Other than studying, what did you waste time doing today?
  • Favorite Pet?
  • Share something nice that you’ve done for someone else recently.

BALDERDASH – CAMPUS LIFE STYLE

ITEMS NEEDED:

[ ] Five copies of definition cards (attached)

Ahead of time staff write the correct definition on one of the cards for each word:

  1. MORAT(mo-ratt) -- A drink made of honey and mulberry juice.
  2. ACCIPITER(ah-sip-it-urr) -- A nose bandage.
  3. UPANGA(oo-pang-gah) -- A small flute played with the nose.
  4. IDIOLALLA(id-ee-oh-la-la) -- A crazy condition when the person makes up his own language.
  5. BUBUKLE(boo-buck-ull) -- a small red pimple. [ ] 1 pen/pencils, for each team.

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Divide into teams (by class) - One volunteer from each class come up front - Staff pick a definition card, pronounce the word and spell it (and write it up front for all to see) - Hand definition cards to volunteers who fill in their class grade and neatly write out a possible definition - Staff collects and shuffles definition cards (including their correct one)
  2. Read each definition twice (keep volunteers from giving away which answer was theirs) - Each class quickly picks the definition they believe to be correct (by majority rule) - Staff tally each class's pick on the appropriate card
  3. SCORING - 3 points if another team picks your definition 5 points if your team picks the correct definition 1-3 bonus points for making up a definition that is very close to the real one or extremely creative

SMALL GROUP

ITEMS NEEDED:

[ ] Priorities handout for each person

[ ] Pen/Pencil for each person

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Hand out worksheets for them to fill out.
  2. Get into groups of 4 and have them share their answers.
  3. Help guide the timing of this, so everyone goes from “what’s important to me” to “putting first things first” at about the same time.

LARGER GROUP

Bring everyone back together

  1. This month’s theme is “Healthy Habits.” What do you think our second habit is? (Habit two - “first things first” [display] – yes we realize it’s on the worksheet – have fun with it.)
  2. The quote of the week is, “the enemy of the best is often the good” [display]– what does that mean?
  3. Briefly review a balanced life noting that for prioritizing life we need to ask: What could I do less of? What could I do more of? Positive actions help us reach our goal and negative ones keep us from reaching our goal. Let’s do a couple of real life examples.

a)Your grade point average after two years is 2.9 and it needs to be 3.2 to get into your school of choice. What are some positive actions you need to take and negative actions you need to avoid?

b)You argue with your parents every single day about everything, and you want to improve your relationship. What are some positive actions you need to take and negative actions you need to avoid?

c)You recently began a relationship with God and you want to keep it a priority. What are some positive actions you need to take and negative actions you need to avoid?

  1. If you wrote a paper entitled “First Things First,” what would be one of your main points?

Habit One was last week and we did this map thing (display). Someone who was here summarize it for us. (Know your destination: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.”)

Tonight: “First things First!”

1) Don’t procrastinate! Why is it the most important things get left to the last minute, and then they are not done well? If you have a block of time ask yourself, what do I really HAVE to get done? Then get it over with!

2) Be Picky. You can’t do everything. Different experiences in life are great. But too many experiences at once keep you from really enjoying any of them. We are very aware of this as we see the conflicts that keep students from coming to Campus Life. Too often I think they’ll look back and wish they had cut out a couple of things so they could stay involved in something fun and helpful like Campus Life.

3) Do prioritize. YOU must choose to protect YOUR schedule and save time to do what’s important. That means that you sometimes say no. There is nothing wrong with going to the mall. But it’s not the best choice if you have a paper due tomorrow. “The enemy of the best is often the good.” Don’t let someone talk you into “good” at the expense of “best!”

In Campus Life we refer to the balanced life, and especially that the spiritual area keeps the other areas in balance. Sadly, church, Campus Life, even reading your Bible, are the first things to go when you overload your life with other responsibilities and activities. The Bible says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Even as you think about this next year, or prioritize choices, put first things first, and seriously consider making the very first thing your relationship with God. That will outlast any AP Biology credit, or the money from one more shift at McDonalds!

Check our remind text or our website for upcoming events and information.