7 habits of highly effective people

7 habits of highly effective people

by Stephen R. Covey

Habit 1: Be Proactive
"Habit 1 is the key to unlocking all the other habits and that's why it comes first. Its says, "i am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I'm responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the drivers seat of my destiny, not just a passenger."

Being proactive means taking control of your life and yourself. You get to choose what you're doing with your life and what kind of person you want to be; no one else can do that for you. You can choose whether you want to be lazy with a bad attitude, or productive with a great attitude. Whatever you choose will determine what kind of life you live. No one else is gonna determine what attitude you choose to have or how you make yourself happy. Once you know what you want to do in life you will begin more effective habits. Being proactive is the first habit because before doing anything else you have to know what path you're taking. On that path you will discover new things that will make you a better person.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
"Control your own destiny or someone else will."(Jack Welch)
"When you know where you intend to end up, you know where you are now"(Covey)


Habit 3: Put First Things First
"Organize and execute priorities"


Habit 4: Think Win-Win
"Think win-win or no deal"

When you want to be effective and want to achieve, you have to think win-win or no deal. You have to have the mindset that it's okay if you don't achieve your goal. You will still have many opportunities waiting for you. If you achieve your goal, it's a win. If you don't achieve your goal, it's still a win because you still tried. You might not always achieve your goals so when you don't, you still have to look at it as a win and then you move on to more opportunities. If you don't think win win or no deal and you only think win, you'll never see more opportunities in life. You think about one achievement, and if you don't win, you will stick to that instead of opening the doors to more opportunities. 

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
"Diagnose before you prescribe."

This habit is saying that before trying to give advice, you should understand the other person first. Listen to their problems and truly to understand what they're going through, and try to help them through it.You have to put yourself in their shoes and look at the situation through their eyes instead of trying to just see it through your eyes. The quote "diagnose before you prescribe" means that you have to understand the problem before prescribing your advice. Don't try to fix a problem by thinking of your own experiences. Make sure you understand the person and get them to understand you. For example if you go to an optometrist for some glasses, and they give you their prescription because it works for them, it obviously isn't going to work for you, it might even make the problem worse. They have to understand your problem so you can understand their solution. 

Habit 6: Synergize
"the whole world is greater than the sum of its parts(1+1=3)"

Synergizing is a great way to work as a team. With synergy, the outcome will be greater than the parts will allow. It allows for more more possibilities and new alternatives. Synergy helps us improve our point of view and expand our perspectives. Instead of only seeing one side of things, we'll see all sides. Synergy makes us see the good in people. It will push out all negativity energy and thoughts. Working in an environment full of synergy will help us be open with our ideas. Nobody will feel like their ideas wouldn't be good enough. Instead of only thinking about possible outcomes, think of something more. Look for more alternatives that will make the outcome greater than its parts. With all the differences with other peoples perspectives, we can uncover new possibilities through openness and creativity

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
The Four Dimensions of Self-Renewal; Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social/Emotional

The be effective, you have to take the time to renew yourself physically, mentally, spiritually and socially. Continuous renewal allows you to increase your abilities in each habit. Physical improvement is to exercise the body in a way that will improve your capacity to work. The physical dimension will help develop habit 1 muscles of proactivity, and will help you make decisions based on the value of well-being rather than the forces keeping you from it. Renewing the spiritual dimension is to provide leadership and to reinforce your commitment to your value system. Focus on your spiritual dimension helps to practice habit 2 you revise your values so you always begin with the end in mind. The point of renewing the mental dimension is to expand your mind. The mental dimension is to practice habit 3 by managing yourself effectively to shorten the use of time and resources. Renewal of the social dimension is to help build meaningful relationships. It helps with habits 4,5,6 because with a meaningful relationship its easier to recognize win-win situations, seeking to understand and finding beneficial third alternative through synergy.

Reflection: 
This assignment has really helped teach how to be successful. You have to always think about your success but also help the people around you. Effective people always seek to help others while helping themselves. You also have to renew yourself every once in a while so you also put your best effort into everything you're doing. All of these habits are really important because they all work together and if you were to miss one you would not be as effective as you could be.