The 7 habits of highly effective people
Habit 1: Be Proactive
To be proactive is to take responsibility for your life.
Proactive people recognise that they are “response-able.”
They work on the gap between stimulus and response. They don’t blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning, they know they can choose their behaviour.
They focus their efforts in their circle of influence, NOT their circle of concern.
Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind
To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.
You need to know where you are going in order to better understand where you are now
so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
It is to know your values, principles and goals.
Habit 3: Put first things first
Putting first things first means organising and executing around your most important priorities.
It is living and focusing on your values, principles and goals, not by the agendas and forces surrounding you.
the previous habit is personal leadership, deciding on those goals and values, habit 3 is personal management, holding yourself to them.
Habit 4: Think Win/Win
Win-win is a philosophy not a technique.
It is to see life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one.
It is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions.
Agreements or solutions often can be found through a new, third way.
Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Most people have conversations in order to be understood. They’re either speaking or preparing to speak. Seeking to understand, is to use empathic listening, with the intent to truly understand both the words and feelings of the person you’re talking to.
Not judging, but reflecting back those words and feelings to help the speaker understand their own position too. It requires a willingness to have one’s mind changed. Now having understood their perspective…
…having the courage to put across your perspective. It takes both compassion and courage.
Habit 6: Synergise
It is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the
adventure of finding new solutions to old problems.
Valuing differences is what really drives synergy.
It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one
equals three (or many more).
Habit 7: Sharpen the saw
Sharpening the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have — you.
It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life:
physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.
It keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits.