7 Habits : An Overview

posted at 09:00:00
By Flipping Heck!

Posted In
Motivation

I've recently started to read the The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People* by Stephen R. Covey and I thought it would interest you to read my thoughts on the 7 Habits and my journey down the road of applying them to my life.

I think that the use of the word "effective" in the title is a bit misleading. From Dictionary.com:

Effective

1.adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result

So we're able be be more effective and accomplish.... what exactly?

Are we to be more effective at work? Are we to be more effective in our home lives? More effective in getting things done? More effective at communication, at getting what we want? The answer is yes, all of these.

In the introduction to the book, Covey discusses how our belief systems (or paradigms) affect not only us, but those around us as well. He gives some excellent examples on how his own paradigms affected the relationship he had with his son, and as a result of that how his son saw himself.

These examples help you to really understand what Covey is trying to get across, and the personal note to these examples draws you into the book and makes you realise "Hey, this guy knows what he's talking about."

In the series of posts I'll be writing about the book, I'll be discussing the individual habits and how I'm trying (and hopefully succeeding) to integrate them into my everyday life. But before we delve into the individual habits, here's a brief overview:

Be Proactive - How can we make a significant change if we sit back and think that it will come to us? We need to be proactive in order to shift the paradigms of ourselves and those around us. We need to realise we are the ones with the ultimate control.
Start with the end in mind - How can we get where we want to be if we don't know our final destination?
Put first things first - Everything needs an order and an outcome so that we can achieve our goals
Think Win/Win - Mutally beneficial outcomes need to be sought
Seek first to undertand then to be understood - Listening to what people are really saying helps in two-way communication; how can you get your point across if you don't know what the point you're trying to make is?
Synergise - Agh! I hate that term! It's all about team work
Sharpen the Saw - Balanced self-satisfaction

The above is a very limited overview as I'm slowly working through the book, but it should give the steps of what we'll be looking at over the next few weeks.

Have you read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People? If so, did you benefit from it and what changes has it made to your life? Let us know in the comments or contact me.

Interested in this book? Buy the 7 Habits of highly effective peoplefrom Amazon today