Journey to Effectiveness

(Not my image)      As I end this blog with a final post I want to reflect back on the last section of Habit 7 as well as reflecting on my journey to effectiveness. The last portion of Habit 7 covers control, balance, and the upward spiral. Covey talks about how we often try to control the lives of other people through "scripting". He warns us about this because of the negative effects it can cause on others through interference. Like the last blog post, Covey reflects back to balance once last time to the overall renewal balance. He emphasizes the role balance has on effectiveness. With a healthy body, mind, and spirit an individual can reach their maximum capabilities of being an effective person. Lastly, Covey introduces the Upward Spiral. The occurrence is watering yourself, like a plant. The better you are at watering the more you grow. In this case, watering refers to positive doings.     As I reflect back on my journey to effectiveness, I can't ...

     Habit 7 is all about renewal. Covey goes over the 4 dimension of renewal, physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional dimension. The physical dimensions is about taking take of our bodies through eating healthy, resting, and regularly exercising. The Spiritual dimension reflects back to your core, your center, like habit 2. The area in your life you feel makes you who you are. Whatever it is, focus on it and engage. The Mental dimension focuses on continued growth of our minds. Covey shares that this can be through education in school, books, media, and even television. However, he clarifies that an effective learner getting information from the media must be able to discriminate the different information circling the media. Lastly, the Social/Emotional dimension is about relationships and practicing empathy.      Reading this book has made me realize how important it is to pay attention to ourselves, our choices, and how we perform the...

     The second portion of Habit 6 prioritizes the practice of Synergy. The first area Covey covers is "Valuing The Differences". The "Differences" refers to the different beliefs, viewpoints, and mentality that people have. Covey claims, "And the key to valuing those differences is to realize that all people see the world, not as it is, but as they are," (p.464) further highlighting the different perspectives we have. To accomplish Synergy a person must develop an open mind, accepting that their way may not be the way of other people. Covey says this is a trait of an effective person, that there are no perceptual limitations.  (Not my image)     For this blog, I tried the "Synergy Celebration" activity.  A Synergy Celebration refers to the celebration of collaborative work. A few days ago, it was my nephew's birthday. Most of the family worked and those who were available helped with the cooking. Myself and a few of the younger kids were as...

  (Not my image)       Synergy refers to the cooperation of two sides and creation of something greater than what they could accomplish alone. In the first section of Habit 6, Covey analyzes the term Synergy and areas to find it. Covey says, "Synergy is everywhere in nature," (p. 440). Synergy does not only apply to humans but to everything else. Covey uses the example of nature to convey the depths of Synergy, when two seeds are planted near one another, they can combine and create a bigger plant. In a team setting, Synergy prioritizes the enhancement of everyone's abilities. Instead of taking apart each individual and creating conflict, it works on using everyone's best trait to produce the best outcome possible.      Synergy is a level of communication, the top level to be exact, Win/Win from Habit 4. It is the level of communication where all sides are benefiting. It requires heavy amounts of cooperation and trust in one another. Synergy is al...

     In the last blog post, I covered the importance of Empathic Listening, in this blog post, I will cover the steps of seeking to be understood. In the second portion of habit 2 delivering is the main point covered. The first step is to understand, after listening to the speaker think about what they said, don't just think about it, understand it. Perception is a crucial point author Covey makes. Perception helps a listener visualize and recognize why the speaker stands where they stand. A good listener must be considerate and fully accomplish Empathic Listening. Mutual respect is another step in good communication. Each individual must be considerate and not be stuck on their "own thing".   (Not my image)     At the beginning of Habit 5, Covey brings up The Emotional Bank Account. An Emotional Bank Account refers to the levels of trust, and respect people have for one another. Positive interactions deposit into the bank, while negative interact...

    (Not my image)      Today, I learned that I am not an Empathic Listener. Empathic Listening refers to the ability to listen and empathize, and eventually create effective communication with others. I am what Covey claims as "Listening with the intent to reply," (p. 393). What Covey describes in the text as a listener with only replying in mind fits exactly how I am as a communicator. I have a hard time putting myself in others' shoes so I reply with "Yes me too, here is my story," not exactly something many would want to hear. Empathic listening is a strong tool because it provides a listener with strong data, and from that the listener can create a strong and well-thought-out response.      Most of the time we only hear what we want to hear, like, selective hearing. This reminded me of bias, only wanting to read what we want to be true, completely blocking out other perspectives. In this section Covey also analyzes the different typ...

     In this blog post, I want to focus on the importance of the Win/Win mentality. In the second portion of Habit 4, Covey highlights the importance of developing a Win/Win mindset within personal and professional environments. There are 5 dimensions to Win/Win, character, relationships, agreements, support systems, and processes. Covey says, "Character is the foundation of Win/Win, and everything else builds on that foundation," (p. 353), implying the importance of beginning with character. A well-developed character fit for Win/Win involves integrity and maturity. The Win/Win paradigm requires a lot of agreements and compromise, which can be very difficult without maturity and integrity.      Healthy relationships are built on trust and respect. If you want a relationship to last you must start with strong foundations because all relationships face challenges. When confronting an issue it is important to discuss in a mature manner, listen to one a...

      I started off this week by reading about habit 4, "Think Win/Win". The first section of Habit 4 covers 5 subtopics, Win/Win, Win/Lose, Lose/Win, Lose/Lose, and Win. All 5 subtopics analyze the different mentalities people have and how it affects their decision-making process. Win/Win is a mindset of equal benefit. Win/Lose is described to be the authoritative approach. Typically found in people with a leader-like mentality, always reaching for the best. In comparison, a lose/win mentality is quite the opposite. Those with the lose/win mindset are likely to be insecure, wanting to please others first. Lose/Lose occurs when two win/lose people get together.  They will fight a battle and neither will win, causing a need to "get even". The Win mentality is described to be looking out for yourself, there is no need for others to lose as long as you get what you want.      Surprisingly enough, I have experienced all of these mentalities in th...

(Not my image)       Habit 3 focuses a majority of its section on time management, introducing the four quadrants. The time management matrix is weighted by importance and urgency. Quadrant I is "Necessity", most important and very urgent, for example, emergency meetings. Quadrant II, "Effectiveness",  has a high importance but is not as urgent. Following those two are quadrants III and quadrant IV, decreasing in urgency and importance as it get lower.     This scale was very helpful in providing me with a visual image of time management. A problem I face when doing assignments is the feeling of defeat after finishing one thing and coming to realize there is more. It feels like a never-ending cycle, and it can be overwhelming. Sometimes I feel as though this a leading cause of my procrastination, the unnerving feeling of never-ending assignments. Before reading about this habit i had already practiced putting the first things (biggest, most import...

Question 1: What one thing could you do (something you aren’t doing now) that, if you did it on a regular basis, would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal life? (p. 232). If I were working right now, I know it would make a tremendous positive difference in my personal life. Since I had a hefty load of courses this semester I had to put a pause on my job to have time to focus on my school work. However, I can't help but imagine the opportunities I lost out on to make money before I move to a University next school year. A stable income would have been helpful for my family as well as my savings. Question 2:What one thing in your business or professional life would bring similar results? (p. 232).   (Not my image )      I believe networking early on would benefit my future career. Making connections whether it be big or small, through volunteer work, or online communities, can prove to be beneficial once I start looking for jobs upon receiving m...

             (Not my Image)     Expanding on habit 2 " Begin With The End In Mind", Covey introduces mission statements. It can be personal, work, or for a family. Covey provides a free mission statement builder msb.franklincovey.com , but also provides steps into creating your own mission statement. The foremost component of creating your own mission statement is figuring out your center. Covey analyzes the different centers you can have, but what makes them all similar is their connection to you as a being and how you live your life.      Through the help of the mission statement builder that Covey provides I was able to create my own mission statement. I strive to my life to the fullest with the guidance of God. I will live with purpose, compassion , and balance. I am rooted in the love of my family, and my friends, and my dedication to success. I want to inspire others, and show them success is attainable. I...

                                                                                      (Not my image)      The phrase "begin with the end in mind" has always reminded me of people who choose to know the ending first before beginning a story. A few years back I had a friend tell me she had already known the ending of a book we were reading together because she had read the last page first before we even began the book. She said it helped her get interested in the story, and I had thought, ridiculous, she had practically spoiled it for herself. I told her how odd she had been for doing so, but as I went on my next read,  I had secretly done the same thing. It was shockingly effective, I had the end in mind the whole ti...

  Habit 1: Be Proactive Part 2      In the second section of "Be Proactive," author Stephen Covey focuses on the power of actions and words, control, commitment, and influence. Covey begins with analyzing initiative, and how taking the initiative makes you an effective person. Being aware of a concern is different from doing something about it. Covey explores proactivity through a real-life example of the economy. Additionally, Covey examines the importance of language. Phrases like "I can't" and "I have to, are typically used by reactive people, and "I can" and " I will", typically used by proactive people, can inflict high messages into our minds.  Covey ends the first habit by reflecting back to Proactive vs. Reactive. Proactive people will take the initiative, admit to mistakes, and take responsibility, while reactive people will analyze the negativity of it all, blaming others around them. From the examination of Proactive vs. Reac...

  Habit 1: Be Proactive Part 1     The first habit of a highly effective people is being proactive. Going into the first section of the proactivity, Covey mentions The Social Mirror. Covey connects this term to the way we portray ourselves and how the way we see ourselves is affected by the way others portray us. He uses "projection" as an example, comparing our need to project weaknesses we spot in characters (ourselves or one another).  Following The Social Mirror , Covey explores different aspects of pro-activeness through the life story of Victor Frankl, who was a psychiatrist and a Jew. Covey shares Frankl's story about being a Jew imprisoned in Nazi camps, he was tortured and lost a majority of his family to the Nazis. However, one day he realized freedom is a man's choice, because although the Nazis seemed to control him, his life and, his environment, he still had a choice about remaining an observer. Later in life, Frankl learned the first habit of be...

Overview - The 7 Habits In the first few pages of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” author Stephen Covey highlights the importance of habits. He covers what a habit truly means and the crucial role they play in sculpting personalities and productivity.   I chose this book because I want to really enhance my habits for the better. I have quite unhealthy habits when it comes to productivity and I feel as through this book will help me improve those habits. Join me in my journey in learning about the 7 habits of highly effective people!