7 Habits of Highly Effective People

 10/29/2022

    So week 7 has come to an end and I am starting to feel like I have taken 7 straight weeks of therapy.  All that I have learned thus far has taken me on a journey of redefining myself.  Pursuing my education has forced to do a lot of soul searching, reflection, and establish new goals and  gain new insights.  All of these things have been beneficial to me as I seemed to have lost myself along the way and sometimes felt as if there were no way out.  I found myself pondering three questions: "Have I done any good in my life?" "Is this all there is?" "What now?"  Surprisingly, I am learning that I have done much good, continue to do good, and look forward to doing more good!  I have learned that this is not all there is and it is what I choose to make it!  There are things I can control and things I cannot control.  So I will focus on the things I can control and continue on this journey with the Lord and Savior as my guide!

    What I related to this week was the 7 habits of Highly Effective People.

  1. Be proactive
  2. Begin with the end in mind
  3. Put first things first
  4. Think win/win
  5. Seek first to understand...Then to be understood
  6. Synergize
  7. Sharpen the Saw
    If we implement these seven habits into our lives we are creating a life of genuine happiness.  The first three habits lead us from dependence to independence.  Take action, focus on the "big picture", the end goal, purpose, or calling, and prioritize our lives.
    The next three habits are dependent on the first three.  Once we have achieved what Stephen Covey calls our "private victory", we are ready to share!  Thinking win/win creates positive energy, character, humbles us and build relationships.  If I win, you win, if we win, everyone wins!  This is synergy!  But, we need to be good listeners.  We will not always agree on everything, but we can be united through understanding each other and being understood.  The key is listening and try to understand first!  Then we have achieved interdependence and arrived at "public victory".
    Finally, "sharpen the saw".  This is revisiting, reflecting, fine tuning, throwing out what doesn't work and searching for solutions.  This is a continuous cycle of life and can be adapted to all situations.  These habits prove to be effective in unification, honesty and truthfulness, and even pure love among humans.  The best part is if we learn these habits it will bring our lives more inline with God's purpose and we serve him more diligently. 
    

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