The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Habit 1: Be Proactive

"Habit 1 is the key to unlocking all the other habits and that's why it comes first. It says, "I am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I'm responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the driver's sea of my destiny, not just a passenger."This is very important in our daily lives. For people who are unfamiliar with the word, proactive means, well, being active. By that, I mean not laying in bed all day, using your phone, and do nothing else all while laying down. Have you ever heard people tell you to be proactive, not the commercial for clearing acne but do you hear that sometimes. I sure hear here it plenty of times, it also counts if they say, be active. Playing a sport, exercising, drawing, doing chores etc. are all parts of being proactive. Sure you might be lazy an d ask yourself," I don't want to go outside,"you have to silly. I'll even say your proactive if you go outside sometimes. Being proactive is like an addiction, once you actually, and I mean actually have fun and do something you are interested in, you'll never be on lazy again. It also helps the mentality get rid of that laziness if you really try and not give up. Like if you have to do chores, not even hesitate and you complete the chores and the ones you weren't even told to do. To be honest, it works, I was very proactive to a point that my mom put a big smile on her face. That moment, when I saw that, I never wanted to make that smile fade away.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

"Control your own destiny or someone else will." (Jack Welch)

Destiny is what is meant to happen for your future. Everyone has a destiny, whether you know, I know it, your friends know it, family knows it, neighbors etc. Basically, you here the word destiny in many places. Whether people say it in general, in movies, video games, the list goes on really. For me, I would say my destiny is to become a high ranking officer, have a family, and have my own kin. What's your destiny, ask yourself for a minute. Think hard and long about this. If you want you can comment about it,"just saying." Like I said, everyone has a destiny whether you agree with it or not. You could try to change your destiny, I'll give an example."Imagine that your a bad kid right, and you do bad stuff of course. But people say that he is a troublesome kid to you specifically. And say that if you keep this up, you won't survive the board game called life. You wonder, is that my destiny, to fail and not be what I want to be. Many just don't care but you, you can change that destiny and rearrange or discard it all together. It is possible to change it, succeeding will mean that you do it, a new destiny, a new you." Well, you control your destiny after all, don't let people control or change or destroy your destiny, it's based on your decisions that make your destiny come true.
Habit 3: Put First Things First

"Organize and execute around priorities." 

 This habit talks about how you should put the urgent things first. For example if you have a test for one of your classes the next day, you should stay home and study for it. You always put what's important first and then do everything else that isn't important after. You may have an essay due but you chose to listen to music, hang out with your friends etc. That's being a procrastinator. You always say you're going to do it but you get busy doing other things that it never gets done. 

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

"Think win-win or no deal."

This habit is talking about how you should always think positive about yourself and never negative. Positive thoughts will help you be successful in life and it will let you know that you are going to achieve all those goals you have set for yourself. If everyone you know is giving you a hard time then ignore them. Don't let their negative comments affect your way of living and succeeding. Just always keep in mind that you can do it or you are going to make it. That will help you stay confident with your school work by just repeating to yourself those words. In the end you will only have yourself and your happiness. You are the only one that knows what you want to do and how you are going to achieve that. You will be the one to pick yourself up every time that you feel like falling and giving up.

 Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

"Diagnose before you prescribe."

What this habit is talking about is that you must first understand what is going on and then you will be understood by the people. You can't expect for someone to understand what you are teaching them if you don't understand what you are learning. Before you do anything you must stop to think about what you want to do. If someone is talking to you, you should listen to what they have to say and then add after any comments or questions you have for them. Don't interrupt them if you don't know what is really going on. Don't assume someone is doing good because they have a smile on their face. Take the time to understand what people are going through in order for them to understand you. You both can understand each other by listening first and then talking after. Before you criticize someone, wait until they tell you the whole story. In life there is always going to be a "listen before you speak," a "try before you want to quit" etc. You must know how to do the things before you want to jump into conclusions and judge someone by the outside. Don't judge a book by it's cover will take you a long way. You learn how to take the time to get to know someone without being judgmental. 

Habit 6:  Synergize

"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts (1+1=3)"

To be honest, this word is kinda hard to understand by itself. I'm going to try to explain this word the best I can. Synergize is teamwork, and we all know what teamwork means. To help each other accomplish a goal, rather than doing it by yourself. We are all smart, but sometimes we struggle to handle it all on our own. By synergizing with someone else, they give you even more ideas or help in their point of view. You may know what the project is and what to do, but even you run out of ideas. Having someone with you can help you, tell you what they know and what to do, the more the better. That's teamwork for ya, more ideas, more help, synergize can really change what you are trying to accomplish.

Habit 7:  Sharpen the Saw
Four Dimensions of Self-Renewal: Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Social/Emotional

Sharpen 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.

As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it? 

 Feeling good doesn't just happen. Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew yourself. It's all up to you. You can renew yourself through relaxation. Or you can totally burn yourself out by overdoing everything. You can pamper yourself mentally and spiritually. Or you can go through life oblivious to your well-being. You can experience vibrant energy. Or you can procrastinate and miss out on the benefits of good health and exercise. You can revitalize yourself and face a new day in peace and harmony. Or you can wake up in the morning full of apathy because your get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone. Just remember that every day provides a new opportunity for renewal--a new opportunity to recharge yourself instead of hitting the wall. All it takes is the desire, knowledge, and skill.

7 Habits Reflection:

The 7 habits was good way of becoming a better person. Helps me a lot to change myself in different ways. One of them being proactive.