The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Saturated Market)

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Books 7 Habits is a very well-known entry in the world of self-improvement literature. Whenever I thought of self-help, I would usually think of this book. And I must say, I never thought I would read it. I said to myself, "self-help? There are a certain kind of people who read those, and that's not me!" But after having it recommended to me, I decided to give it a shot...and I'm glad I did.

I'm not going to sit here and regurgitate the book for you; instead I'll talk about what it sets out to do, and what it's done for me.

The first thing author Stephen Covey does is to establish that we all have a frame of reference for looking at the world, a paradigm. It determines how we work our way through the world and how we prioritize things. The key to changing ourselves, he contends, is to change that paradigm.

The first three habits: Be Proactive, Begin with the End in Mind, and Put First Things First, are part of what he calls the Private Victory. They teach us to be independent. We first learn that everything in our life is a choice, and is our responsibility. Covey asserts that we have to accept responsibility for everything in our lives, and that by acting instead of reacting, we can have greater control. Once we learn to choose for ourselves, we need to figure out what to do with our power. We have to learn leadership. The next step is to set goals for what we want to be and do, and figure out where our values lie. We have to centre ourselves around principles and values that we will not waver from. Finally, we have to get our priorities straight so that we can achieve these goals and live our lives around our principles.

The next three are called the Public Victory: Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand...Then to be Understood, and Synergize. With these we learn interdependence. The underlying theme of these habits is that in order to be truly effective and have meaningful relationships, we have to realize that if we work together to find mutually beneficial solutions by truly understanding each other, we can achieve so much more.

The final habit is Sharpen the Saw. It basically tells us to keep striving to improve ourselves and reinforce the habits.

Say what you will about this book, it's had a huge effect for me. I find myself more organized, things falling into place more often, and being far more optimistic and less frustrated. I found it very hard, but also very liberating, to say to myself, "the only common element in all my experiences-- good and bad-- is me." I highly recommend it for anybody who wants to be more positive or take greater control of their lives.

Until next time,