The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Habit 1: Be Proactive

"Habit 1 is the key to unlocking all the other habits and that's why it comes first. It 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 driver's seat of my destiny, not just a passenger."

Being proactive takes time, since you have to consider your options, weigh alternatives and make your own decisions in order to achieve your goals. A reactive behavior is influenced by the environment and outside forces. Being proactive means anticipating problems, seeking new solutions and doing your best. Being reactive, on the contrary, means solving problems when they turn up, not wanting changes and doing the minimum effort.

Habit 2:Begin with the End in Mind

"Control your own destiny or someone else will." (Jack Welch)

Habit 2 is based on imagination the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental creation, and a physical creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen. 

Habit 3: Put First Things First

"Organize and execute around priorities." 

Put first things first means that you get your priorities straight. You do what need needs to be done first and then you can focus on the non important stuff. If you work on your goals and make them your number one priority then you will achieve greatness and will be a very effective person. By doing this you can increase your productivity level higher and you will be able to complete the important tasks instead of putting them off to the side and tell yourself that you will do it later.

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

"Think win-win or no deal."

This habit is about working in collaboration with others and not competitively. It’s about getting the most out of every relationship you have; it is where one plus one equals three, because the value gained from sharing ideas, thinking collaboratively and finding the ‘win-win’ is so significant.

Developing this habit involves consistently thinking of others; considering their values and ensuring their thoughts and feelings are at the forefront of your mind. In doing this, you can ensure that your behavior is appropriate given the time and situation and you can work with that person without unhealthy conflict or upset. But it’s not just about being emphatic; it requires confidence, courage and openness as well.n order to get anywhere in the world, we need to work with people, co-operate and collaborate. In doing this, we can help ourselves, help others and encourage others to help themselves! It’s a lot more challenging to achieve than a win-lose situation, but so much more rewarding and fruitful.

Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

"Diagnose before you prescribe."

What I think this means is, you should be good listener and learn what things are about before you start teaching other people. This is a great message because it shows how you should learn to be taught before teaching. I could remember a time when my coach told the whole team and said " I know you can play, anyone can play. It's a matter if you can understand the process". In many ways I seek first to understand when I am at school learning how to do something like an essay. Now that I know how to do an essay I can now teach people the basic structure of an essay. Some people like it the easy way. For example, when students talk during class then, when it comes to the test they don't know anything. They will often cheat on that test. I always want to learn because it gives me a greater chance to go to college. All in all what this means is just to listen first. 

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

Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or sixty--you name it.I believe synergy was a key approach Steve Jobs used to create the Apple empire (as I learned from the Steve Jobs biography written by Walter Isaacson). From this biography I don’t think I’d call Steve a great leader, but it does seem Steve Jobs was exceptionally good at identifying greatness in others, connecting people and inspiring them to find unique – new solutions to challenges (often that he imposed). Under his watch there was rapid product-line evolution and innovation.

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

Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. Eating correctly, exercising, getting enough rest reading and learning new skills.The first habit that Covey discusses is being proactive. What distinguishes us as humans from all other animals is our inherent ability to examine our own character, to decide how to view ourselves and our situations, and to control our own effectiveness.Put simply, in order to be effective one must be proactive.

Final Reflection:
After learning about all Seven Habits of Highly Effective people by Dr. Stephen Covey. I can conclude that these habits are important charcter traits and ideas that everyone should follow. You should always look to live a better life by sharpening your charcter. If you strive to live by these seven quotes, you will immediatly see the changes in yourself as a more effective and efficient person. This could be in small things like getting more errands done in the day. Such as doing laundry, going to the grocery store, and house work. Or it could be bigger, more important things that you become more effective at like work and school. I will personally follow these traits everyday as much as I can to become more effective in doing tasks.  I will follow these seven keystones to become a better, more effective person. Everyday I will try to do something related to each habit. Such as sharpening the saw, I will work on something I do as a hobby or as work so I will be better at it. For instance, I will practice playing guitar to sharpen the saw. So in conclusion, live by these Seven Habits and you will begin to take a deep notice in how much more effective you are in every task you do.