The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is still on the bestseller lists having sold some fifteen million copies. And, people want to know more about Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. So, we decided to review The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in more detail.
Covey writes, “The way we see things is the source of the way we think and the way we act.”
These paradigms are the source of our attitudes and behaviors. We cannot act with integrity outside of them. We simply cannot maintain wholeness if we talk and walk differently than we see. … To try to change outward attitudes and behaviors does very little good in the long run if we fail to examine the basic paradigms from which those attitudes and behaviors flow.”
Although many people want to be effective in their lives and achieve certain goals or dreams, they are unwilling to honestly examine their own paradigms. They are unwilling to look at the way they look at things.
Habit 1: Be Proactive
You must use your resourcefulness and your initiative to work toward your personal goals. In particular, each person has both a circle of influence and a circle of concern. Worrying endlessly about things outside of your circle of influence isn’t particularly productive. Working within your circle of influence is productive. Further, the more effective you become, the more your circle of influence will expand.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Start with the extreme example of considering your death. What do you want people to say about you at your funeral? How will you be remembered?
Many people climb the ladder of success only to find the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. He writes, “We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind.”
To succeed, visualise. Many peak, athletic performers are visualisers. “You can do visualisation in any area of your life. Before a performance, a sales presentation, a difficult confrontation, or the daily challenge of meeting a goal, see it clearly, vividly, relentlessly, and over and over again. Create an internal “comfort zone.” Then, when you get into the situation, it isn’t foreign. It doesn’t scare you.”
Habit 3: Put First Things First
The key to putting first things first is to understand that you have many things you can do which will have a significant, positive impact on your life. But, you probably don’t do them, because they aren’t urgent. They can be delayed. Of course, so will your success.
You must balance Production with Productive Capability. You must keep the engine producing, but also maintain the engine. You must allocate time to improve your Productive Capability. You shouldn’t spend time doing unimportant things.
Interdependence
The remaining habits in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People are habits of interdependence. Rather than being dependent upon other people, or trying to be totally independent, we learn how to be more effective by effectively working with others.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Thinking win win, means seeking mutual benefit from your human interactions. Many people think Win/Lose. They internally believe, “If I win, you lose.” Such people focus upon power and credentials, but have trouble building meaningful relationships. Such people drive other people away and are seldom extremely effective. Such Win/Lose thinking is encouraged and programmed into us by society.
To be successful you should learn to leverage the strengths of others. To do this effectively involves being able to find Win/Win deals. No deal is better than any non-Win/Win deal.
Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Few people have training in listening. Most people don’t listen. They wait to talk. But, how can you discover Win/Win deals, if you aren’t even listening to the other party? Covey also suggests that you don’t read your own personal autobiography into the lives of other people. Listening shouldn’t be selective listening. Nor should we only pretend to listen to others.
Habit 6: Synergize
What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
To be effective, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People emphasizes that we must value the differences between people and how they view the world. That difference can be used as a source of insight.
Valuing the differences is the essence of synergy-the mental, the emotional, the psychological differences between people. And the key to valuing those differences is to realize that all people see the world, not as it is, but as they are.”
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
The final habit discussed in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is “Sharpen the Saw,” which focuses upon self-renewal. Just as a machine will wear out quickly if not properly maintained, the same is true for your own personal productivity. You must take care of yourself.
Covey breaks personal renewal into four dimensions:
- Physical Renewal covers topics such as exercise and stress management.
- Mental Renewal discusses the need to read, visualize, and plan.
- Social/Emotional Renewal involves interacting with others to build our own sense of well-being.
- Spiritual Renewal involves possible religion, study, and meditation.