That may be scary for some, but it should be liberating to know that YOU ARE IN CONTROL. Covey refers to responsibility as ‘response-ability’: we all have the ability to choose how we respond. It means that we have time to think before we act… and it means that we’re fully responsible for our own lives. It means that you’re no longer jerked around like a puppet – dictated to by the outside world, a victim of conditions and circumstances – instead you can choose for yourself what you want to do. Realising that we have this ability is a powerful thing. Rather than reacting immediately like other animals, being guided purely by our emotions and short-term desires, we can actively decide the best path forward. This gap allows us to consciously decide what course of action we take. When something happens (stimulus) there is a momentary pause (the gap) before we take action (response). In practical terms, it means that there is a gap between ‘stimulus’ and ‘response’. This meta-level thinking about our thought process is what allows us to the ability to make changes in our lives. Most animals just think, but we can step back and think about how we think.
Humans the unique ability of self-awareness. The first of the 7 habits of highly effective people is to Be Proactive.
PERSONAL VICTORY: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Habit 1: Be Proactive. This approach means not just hoping to get the biggest golden egg you can, but feeding and growing the goose that lays the eggs. Rather than looking at the immediate outputs, we need to step back and look for ways to grow ourselves in a way that will lead to long-term sustained improvements. While this can be important, it’s vital that we balance this focus on ‘production’ with a focus on growing our ‘productive capacity’. Most people are trying to improve their ‘production’ – looking for new hacks that will allow them to get more done in a shorter amount of time. Instead, we should look to the roots: our attitudes and our character. Covey says that this is like trying to change a tree by hacking away at the leaves. Most people try to become more effective by changing their behaviours. The 7 habits of highly effective people are grouped: the first three habits for them ‘private victory’ (the things that relate to you as an individual – personal effectiveness), the next three are the ‘public victory’ (how you interact with others and the world – interpersonal effectiveness), and the final is an overarching call to be constantly learning, growing and improving. When we first read this book it shot straight to our #1 and it stayed there for years – it was very hard to knock off top spot. The habits aren’t specific to an industry or a point in time, these are pervasive habits that you should constantly be practicing and applying. Here is a summary of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Peopleįirst published in 1989, this is a book that everyone should read. Habit 5 – Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood.The seven habits are grouped: the first three habits for them ‘private victory’ (the things that relate to you as an individual – personal effectiveness), the next three are the ‘public victory’ (how you interact with others and the world – interpersonal effectiveness), and the final is an overarching call to be constantly learning, growing and improving.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book that everyone needs to read.