SEVEN HABITS: Effective points to Remember!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a business and self-help book written by Stephen Covey. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls “true north” principles based on a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless.

Some of the effective points to remember from the book are:

1)BE PROACTIVE

Being proactive means taking conscious control over your life, setting goals and working to achieve them. Instead of reacting to events and waiting for opportunities, you go out and create your own events and opportunities.

Being proactive means that instead of merely reacting to events as they happen, you consciously engineer your own events. Most people think reactively. And reacting to certain events is all well and good, But it becomes a problem when that’s all there is to a person’s life — nothing more than instinctively reacting to stimuli.

Being proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can’t keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are “response-able.”

They don’t blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. This reflects in the behavior of proactive people.

2)BEGIN WITH THE END

According to Dr.Covey, all things are created twice — first in the mind, and then in the real world. Physical creations follow mental ones, just like homes are built according to blueprints.

To make your deepest desires a reality, you first need to see and understand what those desires are. So, in short, to begin with, the end in mind is to visualize your life, career, or a specific project the way that you want it to end up being before you actually begin pursuing it.

When you make this conscious effort, you take much greater control over your life and circumstances. There are, in our opinion, three main reasons why this “begin with the end in mind” philosophy is so important. They are clarity, efficiency, and purpose.

3)FIRST THINGS FIRST

First things first means doing the most important things in life. It means being clear about your priorities and acting on them. Even though you plan well or work according to your personal or organizational values, it is still possible to do unimportant things.

Covey argues that no one has ever become a happier person because he or she managed his or her time better. People who work efficiently are just as happy as people who work inefficiently.

Setting priorities is the next step in a happier life. We should all strive to do the things that add value to our lives, things that make us happier. This 4th generation of time management is what covey defines as Time management based on principles.

To be able to set the right priority, FOUR AREAS OF HUMAN NEEDS are described on which we can focus ourselves:

-Physical needs, like clothing and nourishment

-Social needs, to love and to maintain relationships

-Mental needs, to learn and to grow

-Spiritual needs, rendition and contribution

4)THINK WIN WIN

“Think Win-Win isn’t about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and collaboration.

Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing–that is, if I win, you lose; or if you win, I lose.

Life becomes a zero-sum game.A person or organization that approaches conflicts with a win-win attitude possesses three vital character traits:

-Integrity: sticking with your true feelings, values, and commitments

-Maturity: expressing your ideas and feelings with courage and consideration for the ideas and feelings of others

-Abundance Mentality: believing there is plenty for everyone.

5)SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

“MOST PEOPLE DO NOT LISTEN WITH THE INTENT TO UNDERSTAND, THEY LISTEN WITH THE INTENT TO REPLY”

People are just either not that interested in what you’re saying, or they are too focused on their own agenda. It’s ridiculous to see two people acting like they can’t really hear each other, by choice. Seeking real understanding affirms the other person and what they have to say. That’s what they want. That’s what we all want to be understood, valued and affirmed.

Do you want to be a better leader, salesperson, parent, spouse or friend? Be a better listener. Let’s avoid the habit of collective monologue by really listening — with the intent of understanding, appreciating, and affirming. The ability to hear is a gift. The willingness to listen is a choice.

6)SYNERGIZE

To put it simply, synergy means “two heads are better than one.” Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn’t just happen on its own. It’s a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal experience and expertise to the table.

Together, they can produce far better results than they could individually. The essence of synergy is to value and respect differences, to build on strengths, and to compensate for weaknesses. The author says that many of us haven’t actually experienced synergy in our family lives or in other interactions.

We’ve been shaped into defensive and protective communications or into believing that life or other people can’t be trusted. Therefore, we have a tendency to not open up to this highly effective principle which “requires enormous personal security and openness and a spirit of adventure”.

7)SHARPEN THE SAW

This is about taking the time to renew and refresh the four dimensions of our nature i.e. physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional/social so that we are more effective in our lives work. I

t’s about regularly investing in ourselves so that we can reap dividends on a continual basis. It means working smarter not harder. Sharpening the saw is actually an activity, just as the analogy suggests.

Think about what it would mean to sharpen the saw of your life. Here are some saw-sharpening ideas:

-Exercise

-Improve your diet

-Educate yourself (read, listen to audio programs, attend a seminar)

-Learn a new skill

-Join a club

-Meditate

-Write in your journal

-Have a deep conversation with someone

-Set some new goals or review/update your old goals

-Organize your home or office

-Go out in nature

-Clear out a bunch of little tasks that you’ve been putting off.

These are the effective habits from the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people” by the the author Stephen Covey.