As promised, I will share with you my thoughts on and gleanings from my current re-reading of Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. So far, in this re-reading to date, I have only read to the first habit, however, in those first 75 pages, I have gleaned a lot.
This book was first published in 1989, and the copy I am currently reading is from the 2004 printing. Interestingly enough, the first tier of the three-tier leadership development program where I work is also reading this book. The participants have been divided into groups of four, and each group is expected to develop and give a presentation based on one of the seven habits during the course of their program.
So, you can see, even nearly 30 years after it was first published, this book is still a worthwhile read.
Okay, back to what I gleaned from my current re-read of it thus far.
The subtitle for this book is "Restoring the Character Ethic." Per Covey, the character ethic is that which comes from the inside, based on life principles. He contrasts this against what he calls the "Personality Ethic" - using the force of our personality to get what we want rather than the strength of our character. We have to work on ourselves, ensure we are coming from and viewing the world from a place based on universal laws and principles. This is the kernel of "seek first to understand and then to be understood." Covey reminds us that we need to work on ourselves and perhaps question our perceptions before we can understand and influence others. He also reminds us that we are the creative force of our lives.
Covey reminds us that principles are natural laws that cannot be broken, and that how we view the world is directly related to how we are in the world. He focuses on the "inside-out" paradigm - what you are inside shines through to the outside.
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." ~ Aristotle
This harkens back to the TED video I shared last January, where Boyd White reminds us to "walk in the world as you want it to be."
Covey also touches on how we move from dependence (early childhood) to independence (adolescence and young adulthood) to interdependence (mature adulthood) in our growth continuum, and how we have to master self first.
"Private victories precede public victories. You can't invert that process anymore than you can harvest a crop before you plant it. It's inside-out." ~ Stephen Covey
He also tells us, "...the more you produce, the more you do, the more effective you are." This reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell and his 10,000 hours principle.
Covey touches on three kinds of assets - physical, financial, and human - and reminds us that in order to keep all in good running condition over the long haul, we need to properly care for and maintain them.
Marilyn Ferguson said, "No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal."
It took me years to get that concept - change is an inside job!
I have only gotten partway into the first habit - Be Proactive - however, already it reiterates something I have said before - each of us has the choice to react or respond to the actions of another.
Very powerful stuff!
I will continue reading this book and may remark on it more in future posts. And of course, I highly encourage you to add it to your reading list as well!
CALL TO ACTION: Think about what it is you are trying to change in your life. Are you tackling it from inside yourself or is the impetus from change coming from outside?
CHECK IN: In the last post, the Call to Action was when you are moving towards negativity, stop and write down three things you are grateful for in that moment. Did you do so, and if so, how did that refocusing change your outlook in that moment?
NEXT TIME: New month, new theme - Relationships. We will discuss the relationships we have with ourselves and others.
If you have a specific topic that relates to the theme of the month you would like to see discussed, please feel free to post about it in the comments or send me an e-mail about it.
Until next time, Namaste!
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Questions? Comments? Feel free to contact me at the e-mail address below.
Beth Henderson, MaXIMIzer
maximize.beth@gmail.com
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