MaXIMIze - Habits

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

MaXIMIze - How Are You Walking in the World?

Many of you who follow the blog regularly or who know me personally know I"m a great fan/follower of TED Talks and TEDx. In fact, I find a lot of inspiration and motivation by listening to these talks, which are held in venues all over the world.

One recent talk in particular hit a chord with me for this month's blogging theme.

In the talk, titled Fool or Football Coach, Boyd White starts with a story of a young man Mr. White meets in the principal's office of the young man's high school. Mr. White asks the young man three questions.

Why are you in the principal's office?

What do you want to be when you grow up?

How do your classmates currently view you?

The young man wanted to be a football coach, however, his classmates viewed him as a fool due to the way he behaved.

In this talk, Mr. White reminds us that the journey is as important, if not more so, than the destination. It's the "how" question - how do we deal with the obstacles we encounter along the way, how do we move towards our dreams.

At one point in the talk, he hones in on the point that what you practice, you perform. You can't just "turn it on" in life - you have to practice being what it is you want to be in life - walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

So I ask you, where are your steps taking you today? Are they taking you toward your dreams, your goals, or away from them?

If they are not taking you where it is you want to go, you need to stop and redirect your path. You need to "walk in the world as you want it to be," as Mr. Boyd says in his talk.

And, as the immortal Led Zeppelin song Stairway to Heaven says, "there's still time to change the road you're on."

So, are you truly on the path you want to go down, or are you willing to do the work to reach your dream destination?

As you ponder on that, until next week, Namaste!