Your Relationship Bank Account:
A Relationship Bank Account (RBA) is Sean Covey's idea, which he begins to explain on page 131 of his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens; but this is my take on it.
As soon as you form a relationship with someone, you open up an account with them; we'll call this account you RBA. The RBA represents the amount of trust and confidence you have in each of your relationships. These relationships are defined by the deposits and withdrawls you make. Deposits strengthen your relationship while withdrawls weaken it. Your RBAs are limitless, unlike real bank accounts. Let's say someone moves into your school and you share a smile or a wave, BAM, you've just opened up an account with that person. You also never close these accounts, which is why it's so easy to pick up where you've left off with a friend. Naturally, deposits are important to have in your RBA but unfortunately fade easily whereas withdrawls are typically set in stone. So be sure to make deposits frequently, no matter how small. So how are your relationships with the people you know? Could they be improved? What kind of deposits and withdrawls should you be making? How do you build a rich relationship or repair a broken one? Don't worry, we'll talk about this account tomorrow. Before you know it, you'll have plenty of rich relationships!
