The book was published in 1989 written by Stephen R. Covey. The book explains an approach to being effective in managing people and yourself. After reviewing two hundred years of literature on success, the writer got to a conclusion that there is no book that explains long term advises, but rather all of them were to solve immediate issues. The book started to talk about Stephen’s life where he wanted to control his child, he was successful with his wife in maintaining a healthy relationship with their child and unlock different opportunities for him. Every human has his own unique character, and every character has its own collection of habits. Moreover, habits have a major role on everyone’s life. To break down habits we can say that habits …show more content…
After reading the book the first lesson that came to my mind is that our characters are critical, since I mentioned above that our character consists of different habits. Therefore, we must understand that character building is important and monitoring our habits because they determine our character and our character determine our lives. Second lesson I learned is that personal and family mission statements are required to plan the path we follow. To keep a healthy relationship with your family and your spouse, a person needs to plan ahead and write down personal goals and mission statement, then keep reading it to see if he or she is on track or not. Another valuable lesson is that the book introduces a simple tool to priorities our everyday activities. The tool is to divide daily activities to quadrant 1 that is urgent, quadrant 2 that is not urgent but important, quadrant 3 that is urgent but not important, and lastly quadrant 4 that is not urgent and not important. Using that tool a person could make a simple matrix of his/hers everyday activities. “Effective people stay out of Quadrants II and IV because, urgent or not, they aren’t important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II. Quadrant II is the heart of personal management. It deals with things that are not urgent, but are important.” (Stephen R. Covey, 1989). The last lesson I learned from the book is …show more content…
First habit is being proactive, in order to apply this habit in our lives or in the office we need to know the opposite first. Reactive people always focus on the things they cannot control. For example, their boss, the amount of work, distance to the office. A proactive person will look for solutions instead of problems, and that what sets us apart from animals, is our ability to differentiate and learn to adapt. To apply this habit in a work environment a person needs to tell him that complaining is not going to help me even if all of my problems were right a valid, then he needs to tell him that he will focus on what he can control. Questions asked, how can I improve myself? How can I make a good impression with people? To overcome my problems and build a network? Habit number two is begin with the end in mind. This habit and the previous one are focused on changing a person to go from being dependence to independence. Habit two gives us a tool to use to evaluate our purpose of hard working to achieve higher income, more money, and prestige. But have we stopped to think it over what is the purpose of all that? Do they matter? “It 's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busyness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover that it 's leaning against the wrong wall.” (Stephen R. Covey,
Habit 3 is Put First Things First. Personally, I struggled with putting first things first as I was a procrastinator but, I have finally conquered myself and I am no longer in Quadrant 1! You see, there are different time quadrants which tell you if you are a 1. Procrastinator, 2. Prioritizer, 3. Yes-Man and 4. Slacker. You need to always stay on top of things and stay in quadrant 2 but it’s not easy, so you must work very hard for it to become a natural thing for you. Another way to becoming a prioritizer is to realize what your big rocks are and what your small rocks are. In other words, take notice of what is important first and those will be your big rocks to accomplish first. Only then will you have space for all the small rocks. Lastly, don’t let fear control you, control your fear. It’s okay to make mistakes if you’re trying to do the right thing. On page 121 in the 7 Habits book, Sean Covey says “Winning means rising each time you fail.” This is telling you that although you failed, if you are willing to rise and try again and pick up your broken pieces, that is winning. This is a hard habit to conquer but once you do it, it will change your
Wilson-Smith, Anthony. 1993. "How to succeed, frugally." Maclean's 106, no. 45: 18. Accessed February 25, 2014. EBSCOhost Academic Search Premier.
There are many interesting quotes and advice given in this book; five statements stood out that I felt are worthwhile.
"Stephen R. Covey Quotes." Stephen R. Covey Quotes (Author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.
Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, acknowledges how habits control our daily lives in every decision we make. For Instance, an ambitious woman named Lisa Allen, has not always had a fruitful life. Previously, she had abused her body with harmful toxins such as tobacco and alcohol since the beginning of her teenage years. Carrying out these habits everyday resulted her into being unmotivated and unconfident. In fact, she never kept a job longer than a year and began to fall into major debt. “She needed a goal in her life, she thought. Something to work toward” (xii-xiv). It begins with the “three-step loop” a cue that triggers our brain to do the habit. Next a routine, a set of actions that are either physical or mental. Finally a reward of satisfaction that determines whether or not this habit will be continuous (19). Not all habits can be good, but this is where the golden rule applies. Duhigg explains that in order for you to change your habit “ you must keep the old cue, and deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine”(62). “However, simply understanding how habits work- learning the structure of the habit loop makes them easier to control”( 20). Reading The Power of Habit, helped me understand the process by which I made a positive change to fight procrastination.
It is true; there will always be obstacles and struggles in operating a business and/or company. I think the lessons from this book can be applied almost anywhere in life, even if it’s not with a specific company. In reading this book, I see the “constraints” within the company as obstacles in my life that I have to overcome. So, just because I do not own a company, does not mean that this read was a waste of time. It gives me a sense that if I work hard at something, even if it is not going how I want it, I always have a choice to amend the problems to get the outcome in my favor. I will apply what I have learned in this book to my everyday life. I will not be so easy to give up and reluctant to take another stab at something if it does not work out the first time. When I finish one goal, I will only think about what is next to accomplish. There is constantly something new to conquer, and as long as there is, I will nevertheless, be delighted to go for
I will use what I have learned from this book in the future by creating more urgency in myself when I know that something needs to be changed. Also, if I ever find myself in a position of leadership, I will be sure that every employee working for me understands why we need the change, supports it, and has a sense of urgency to get it done. Next, it will help me be more careful about my communication, and making sure that everything I do, verbally and nonverbally, should be showing that I am incredibly dedicated to the change that I am trying to introduce. Also, there was a time where we very briefly talked about the importance of change in a business; this book would help in those times wherein changing something proves to be difficult. If you make it appear to yourself and your employees that the change is absolutely needed, then they will all work to accomplish the
As I watched this film, I couldn’t help to acknowledge a part of myself in Antwone Fisher. I found Myself understanding and empathizing with him on his coping mechanisms and protective factors displayed to survive his trauma. As a young child Antwone was able to develop physically according to his age. He did not show any physical health concerns, regardless of the circumstance’s. Growing up Antwone learned to lie and hide in order to protect himself from his life. I understand this as a positive factor even though it can be seen as negative or a risk. When you are able to avoid or deny, you are able to hide events and therefore creating a sense of wellbeing for yourself. As a boy he learns to be alert leading him to be able to adapt and overcome his
The first part highlighted choices that individuals must make on a daily basis. I do not agree with this. Any book will become outdated. I believe the first part of the book served the intended purpose. It showed a variety of examples that related to the evidence presented. The only communication principle that we discussed in class addressed by the reviewer was the use of social media. Joly states that she believed three calls to action were the greatest points to take away from the reading. She gathered that Schwartz’s message was overall geared to inform us to choose when to choose, satisfice more and maximize less, and learn to love constraints. I agree with the take aways she chose to mention. Although, I do believe there was one more major take away. Schwartz mentioned that we should regret less when we make decisions. A great portion of the reading was focused on regret, and it plays one of the largest roles in decision
Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
The seven habits Covey summaries in the text are Be Productive, Begin with the End in Mind, Put First Things First, Think Win/Win, Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood, Synergize, and Sharpen the Saw. He describes how adopting these seven habits teach one to be their true selves, to be authentic, to live with self-respect, and to do things with honor. He emphasizes that it is necessary to identify the interdependence that individuals each required with the specific skills it takes to become highly effective. The authors’ intent is to empower persons to significantly enhance their routine competency through awareness by embedding these seven habits.
...o put Covey into our family life as my son grows into manhood and my husband and I find ourselves rediscovering each other. I have posted my mission statement where I can see everyday and beside it are the seven habits. I know I must make these habits and the principles listed in my mission statement a part of my life and the only way to do that is to live them. Covey has taught me that there are elemental components that are applicable across the many roles that I have in my life. Those universal elements are integrity, vision, discipline, and passion. Embracing these ideas has opened my eyes to the endless applications and benefits of living the seven habits.
Next, the action plan provides the tools you need to be successful. Lastly, they provide a learn more section to encourage you to broaden your knowledge. On occasion, they share some of their favorite readings and tips. This book is a staple; you have 71 simple habits, each with a separate description and technique, to support you in becoming a more mindful individual.
I like to refresh my memory on the concepts this book has to offer. Every time I go back and read it again, it always offers new information that I have seemed to look over, so I’m constantly applying that new information that I catch. This is a great book because it actually offers helpful information that you are able to use in your daily life. It provides daily exercises that you are able to do throughout the day to remind yourself to stay on track. “One of the best ways to bring more truth into your life is to conduct a quick self-assessment. Assign a numerical rating to each area of your life using a simple 1-10 scale” (pp.20-21). The assessment list it provides things such as money & finances, career, habits, daily routines, health, social life and spiritual development. This activity makes you go into introspection and really look at how your ratings and see what area of your life is needing improvement and what areas is your life you are already doing well
Habit 3: Putting first things first- Pick up a planner and be a prioritizer and not a procrastinator. Never let your fear make decisions. Get out of your comfort zone and into the courage zone. I am good at getting out of my comfort zone but I need to work on being less of a