The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The first point brought up by the author is to be proactive. Life does not just happen. It is choice of the person to choose happiness, sadness, fear or to be successful or fail. Every moment allows you to make a choice on how to live your life. Life’s failures cannot be continued to be blamed on other people. Being proactive means to take control and face problems and learn what you could have done to avoid a certain failure.

People who are not proactive are reactive, Reactive people let rainy days decide they will have a gloomy slow day, or sunny days decide they will have a good day. Proactive person does not let the outside environment around them make decisions for them on how good or bad a day will be.

Proactive people have more freedom as they choose how their day is going to be and not how the day is going to treat them. Your language in response to different people tells if you are reactive or proactive.

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A proactive person uses language that shows they are in control such as: I can, or I will whereas a reactive person uses language such as: I can’t, If I must. Reactive people do not have a choice and are not responsible for what they say or do. Proactive person focuses on things they can control. Reactive persons focus on things they cannot control like the weather. There are two circles talked about in the book. The circle of concern and the circle of influence.

A step towards becoming proactive is to decide which circle a certain idea or task falls into. The more time you can spend in the circle of influence, the more proactive you can become.

The second habit is begin with the end in mind. Shape the person you are into the person you want to be. Some victories leave you with emptiness because sacrifices were made of things that seemed much more valuable and important. Steps in the wrong direction can still be rewarded, but can lead you to the wrong destination. This has a lot to do with vision. Having to see what it is you are reaching for even if the path is not marked. First it must be seen in your mind then it must be brought into fruition through actions. When no vision of where it is you want to be then you let your environment and other circumstances guide you. It follows along with the quote from Malcom X, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.” To begin with the end in mind means to start the day knowing that the tasks will follow along with the person and vision you want to be through your ambition and ethical/moral beliefs. This habit uses the proactive habit to set the vision and form the path to your destination. A written vision statement helps this habit become more valuable and bring goals to life.

The next habit is putting first things first. Not everything that comes along has to be done, and it will be ok. This habit brings uses the other habits. Set up priorities and be proactive in saying no if it gets in the way of other tasks that matter much more to you. It takes the habit of looking into the future at where you want to be and deciding now through time and life management, what is going to get you there. Do not let the little things divert you from putting first things first.

The next big habit is to think in a win-win mentality. Life does not have to be like gambling where if one person wins someone else loses. Figure out a way where both can come to an agreement that neither one takes a loss. Competition is good, but allow yourself to see an opportunity where the other person wins as well. The game of life is not like pie. There is more than plenty to go around for everyone. Look for co-operative opportunities not competitive ones. Characteristics of a win-win mentality has integrity, maturity, and abundance. Integrity is to follow through with commitments. Maturity is to be able express ideas with one another. Abundance allows for this fear of scarcity to be locked away and come up with solutions that are beneficial to relationships rather than detrimental. A win-win mentality requires a person to be nice and tough. You must be able to listen to the problems or be empathetic, but you must also have the confidence to speak when it is you feel you must speak up.

The next habit is to understand before being understood. Communication is one of the most important if not the most important skills in life. When you focus on understanding the other person before making yourself understood, you are listening with the purpose to listen. Sometimes we listen to look for gaps in the argument or to be able to turn words against them. You are only picking out certain phrases in the conversation and not grasping the true meaning of their point. People get sucked into the conversation and want to reply but do not take the time to understand the point of view. You focus more on your own response while they are talking. People want to sound smart when they reply, but in a conversation, it is much more important to be genuine. You respond in multiple ways. You will evaluate whether you agree or not based on your own understanding. You give advice based on your own experiences. Sometime, just stay quiet and listen to the other person without implementing your own thoughts. Allow the person to speak and the questions that you do ask to make sure it allows the person talk and look deeper. It is their story not yours.

Synergizing is the next habit. It means to work together and allow new ideas to flow. Sometimes putting ideas together can turn a bike into a motorcycle. A lot of innovation is done as a team, but be careful of group think or uniformity. Combine different minds or ideas to be able to create change and explode a product or innovation. Diversity in departments can cause great teams to look at things in a 3D view instead of 2D to improve.

The last habit is to sharpen your saw. This mean to improve yourself. You are your best investment. Make sure to always improve and rejuvenate your different parts of life. Be healthy to have energy to take on the days. If you are a believer, pray and grow your faith or you can focus on meditating and improve your mental stability. This habit is important to keep healthy harmony with work and relationships. It helps to wake you up with purpose every day and feel recharged every time you get up or hit a rough day.

I have read so many books on self-improvement and psychology, but doing this report has completely changed the way I learn and read. Sometimes I listen to books on my way to work or school, but to take the time to pull the most important parts of each section and interpret or put in my own words has made reading so much more beneficial. Taking apart every chapter or point the author makes allows me to keep it in my head longer and clearer. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been an amazing read. I scheduled a time in my day to read and write what matters down.

What I love the most is the author not only tells you what the path is of the habits, but also how to put those habit in your life and why they should be important to you. It focuses on career and relationships while, being an easy read. I have to say I am very blessed for this report because my reading method and the amount of information I can take from it has changed the way I set things up in my day and giving even the smaller things their place and time. I chose this book because I had read almost all the others in the past year. After doing this report, I feel I need to reread to take the time needed and get more information out of the small library I am working on.