7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Habit Two
7 Habits Overview
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book written by Steven Covey that I have introduced in two previous posts. Reading the first two posts will help gain a better understanding of some of the terms used here.
Habit 1 helped start our journey, moving from being dependent to independent. Habit 1 is what Covey calls a private victory. That is, if we implement Habit 1 it is an inward-looking change. Habit 2 is a natural follow-on from Habit 1 and is also another private victory.
Prelude to Habit 2
Before we get into Habit 2, I want to do a small exercise with you. Make sure you are somewhere where you can let your imagination work uninterrupted for best results.
Imagine you are at your funeral. Ok, I know it is a bit morbid but stay with me. Look around and see your friends, family and loved ones attending to pay their respects. Someone you know is going to stand up and talk about your life - your eulogy.
What would you want them to say? What would you like them to say about what you did in life? What would you like them to say about what you were like in life? About your character?
Habit 2 - Begin With the End in Mind
To be effective, we need to know where we want to go because effectiveness has to be linked to moving in the right direction. If we are moving in the wrong direction - we are not effective. Sometimes we celebrate victories in our life that are not really aligned with where we want to get to.
When you imagined your funeral in the exercise above, what did you want to hear about yourself? People don't say that they wanted to hear, that they were the top of their maths class. Or very hard working in the office. We mainly want to hear deep principled character traits. She was honest, generous, inspiring. He loved his family and friends and selflessly looked after them. She devoted her life to helping others.
Covey talks about effective people being principle centred, as they use these principled character traits as the goalposts for their journey through life.
Inspire with a Vision
On August 28th, 1963. In front of a quarter of a million people in Washington. Martin Luther King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech.
King didn't say, "I have a 10 point plan." The inspiration that changed the US Civil rights movement forever, started from a vision. Others might have had a plan later - but that wouldn't have been inspiring. A vision inspires others and it inspires ourselves.
High performing athletes, also use this technique by visualising themselves run the race and seeing themselves winning. They are fully focused on the end result.
Don't just live day to day without knowing where you are going. For yourself, for your business, for your relationship with your spouse or partner - have a vision of where you are trying to be.
People are working harder than ever, but because they lack clarity and vision, they aren't getting very far. They, in essence, are pushing a rope with all of their might.
Dr. Stephen R. Covey
Covey says that everything is created twice. We first create something mentally by imagining what it will be like. We then create it physically by working towards our vision.
Imagine a young person doing school exams. Why are they doing it? It is not just because they want a good mark - that in itself doesn't matter. It is not inspirational and will not deliver effectiveness.
To be effective, Begin with the End in Mind. They want to have a better future where they can afford a certain lifestyle, have a particular occupation or support their loved ones. By concentrating on the end vision we become inspired and focused on where we are trying to go. The things we do have meaning when we know why we are doing them. We become independent and we become more effective.
Personal Mission Statement
One of the best ways of incorporating Habit 2 into our lives is to develop a Personal Mission Statement. Going back to the exercise at the beginning of this article - what type of person do you really want to be? The person that was spoken about in the eulogy. Set that as a goal so that you are focused. You are now leading your own life as you have a meaningful and true direction.
An effective goal focuses primarily on results rather than activity.
- It identifies where you want to be
- Helps you determine where you are
- It gives you important information on how to get there
- It tells you when you have arrived.
Next Post
We will look at Habit 3. Please comment below as to what you think about Habit 2.
After living to a certain age, one realizes that there is nothing to kill yourself over in life and it is at this point that we begin to wish we had done certain things differently and this is one reason why from a young age, we should begin to think about what happens after we leave this rough life.
Great post
hi @papa-mensa
The nice thing about the #sevenhabits is that they are universal and will help anyone with fulfilling their beliefs - whatever they are. A Christian could become a more effective Christian by implementing the habits just as a Muslim could become a better Muslim. At the same time, the habits are not religious in any way. They are truly universal.
By thinking about the end, we focus on what is important in life rather than waste time that we later regret.
Thanks for reading my post and commenting. I hope you come back for the next habits in my next posts.
I will come back definitely, stay safe dear friend.
And you buddy
Greetings friend @awah.
In short, you are recommending that we take as a habit, the fact of thinking or focusing on what the end of our entrepreneurship would be like, all this before starting it.
Initially it seems contradictory, but if we analyze it, it makes a lot of sense.
In fact, I think that we unintentionally do the same thing every time we start a project. This would be the Probability Study phase.
If we are not satisfied with the possible results, it would be sensible not to undertake, or take the necessary corrections before investing our time and resources.
Thanks for sharing.
Your friend, Juan.
Hi @juanmolina
It does sound a little contradictory. What I am arguing is, that when we embark on a new business, entrepreneurship etc. We should have a view of where we are going - where we are aiming. They might be very high-level objectives but we need something to aim for and to inspire us.
For my business, we aim to deliver value over price. Innovation over routine. We want to deliver solutions beneficial for the global society.
This paints a high-level objective and everything else we do is guided by this. It becomes the truth north on the compass that we aim for.
Without it, we are just doing stuff. But how would we know we have been successful and hence also effective.
The same principle should be applied to any process or relationship. So when I consider my relationship with my wife. What relationship would I like to have with her? Once I know that, I can work proactively (Habit 1) to that goal (Habit 2).
Thanks for responding to my post. :)
We are on the same page, friend.
Setting general objectives, as well as short-term goals, are the basis of any undertaking.
A lot of people act without having in mind what the end would look like for them and it is mandatory that every man has an end.
Thanks for your comment @ajewa - yes, we have to have an end in mind so that we know where we are going. Otherwise, we are not effective.
Sure, have a great day friend.
This statement makes a lot of sense to me. Definition of the destination is what gives credence to the journey. Obviously, no one can arrive at the destination (or result) that he didn't have in view.
Nice piece there.
Already voted through the trail
Thanks for your comment. You are right, we need to have something to aim for and effectiveness is a measure of how good we are in getting there. We can't be effective if we don't know where we are going.
yes, visualization is efficient.
I wait for the third-seventh.👍
Thanks for reading my post and commenting. The thrid habit will follow shortly.
Wow, I am glad I got to read about the second habit.
It is essential to have a peoper plan for whatsoever we have in mind.
Hi @oluwatobiloba
Thanks for your comment and happy that you found it useful. I hope that you will find the next habits useful too. I will be posting soon.
@tipu curate
Upvoted 👌 (Mana: 10/15 - need recharge?)
I usually laugh at people who live as though we are going to remain here forever, they hurt people and make them feel bad about everything they do.
We are supposed to live our life to the fullest, achieving our goals as well as ensure that we do not affect others negatively.
I agree, we waste time with no thought about what we are doing.
However, if we think about who we really are (or want to be) we become focused and do things that are really important. These important things can be building relationships or character traits. This will help us live our lives to the fullest.