Stephen Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Response Paper on Stephen Covey`s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
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Covey`s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is a very interesting and useful read for people belonging to all age groups and all the professions. There are certain generic characteristics in human nature that, if recognized, can lead a person to success in any profession at any step of his life. This book is very helpful in recognizing those traits in one`s personality and developing them further. Covey`s main idea is that every individual is capable of great deeds if provided the right surroundings and enough space to explore one`s own personality traits. According to Covey, there are certain character ethic principles that have been forgotten by most people these days and instead, certain quick fix principles are being used. Those principles of character ethic have been described as universal and effective in any time period.
In Part One of the book, Covey describes the effect of principles of character ethic on his own life and how he found out about them. This was one of the most inspiring parts of the book. Covey describes the change in the personality of his son due the change in the perception of his own and his wife. Initially, his son had problems with social interaction, he was unable to focus on his academic studies and he was not good at athletics. Covey describes that he and his wife tried to motivate their son using the quick fix principles that are effective communication, personality growth and positive mental attitude; however these tools resulted in opposite results. There was no change in their son`s personality. Then Covey researched literature regarding success and the factors that can help a person be successful. Only then did he realize that the factors that actually result in success have been forgotten for over fifty years. Such factors are; integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, and modesty.
According to Covey, our character is a consolidated form of our habits. The maxim given in the book is; "Sow a thought, read an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny." Thus, from this maxim it can be inferred that to change one`s destiny, thought is the point of origin. Thought is the point where everything starts.
Covey describes habits as consistent and unconscious patterns that express our character and define our effectiveness or ineffectiveness. In order to change one`s personality, a person might need to change his habits. Habits are very hard to change and Covey compares the change in habit to the landing of man on the moon. The initial few minutes of the journey took most fuel than the next several days in order to break out of the gravitational pull of the Earth. Habits are also like that gravitational pull; a person requires so much of energy and determination to break out of his previous habits and to embrace new ones. This fact has been highly helpful for me. Only after reading this book I realized that a shift in personality is not impossible, however it is not easy as well. In order to break out from one`s previous personality, a massive amount of energy and determination is required. I have applied these rules in my practical life and I have observed positive results.
The first three habits described by Covey are regarding self-awareness. They are about shifting from dependence to independence. The first habit described in this book is about being proactive. It is about becoming self-aware. The main idea of this habit is to understand the fact that our life is shaped by the decisions we take therefore we must be responsible for our own decisions. To be proactive means to be aware of one`s own behaviour. According to Covey, we control our own lives and if we think that we are being controlled, this is because we let other factors, by our own conscious decisions, control our lives and we must admit this fact. Proactive people are not affected by the way they are treated by their surroundings. They feel good only because it is their own choice and if they even feel bad, it is also their own choice. Proactive people do not need their social surroundings to make them feel good or bad. On the other hand, reactive people are those who are affected by their surroundings. They do not understand the significance of their own decisions and they just delegate this authority to their social surroundings.
Proactive people are also affected by external stimuli that provoke certain response in the people; however the difference is that the proactive people respond to those stimuli through a value-based choice. Their response is processed in accordance with their own values and understanding because they understand the fact that their response will affect their life in one way or the other. Covey also describes Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence. According to him, reactive people utilize the time and energy focusing on their Circle of Concern which only worsens the scenario because Circle of Concern is not controllable; however Circle of Influence is the circle which is controlled directly by the person and it is the point of focus of proactive people. By focusing on the Circle of Influence, people become aware of their responsibility and the degree of change they can bring in their lives.
This habit has affected my own life in a very positive manner. The example of being proactive as described in this book has made me self-aware. It is now that I understand that nothing in my environment can affect me unless I let it do so. If someone in my surroundings is trying to make me feel miserable, it is stimuli seeking for my response; and if I respond by being miserable, it means I am reactive and I let that person control me; however if I respond by being indifferent and happy, it means I am proactive and I understand what is good for me. This simple habit has changed my personality significantly. Being proactive has taught me how to remain happy and how to respond to the most disturbing and stressful stimuli.
The second habit described by Covey is; ‘Begin with the End in Mind`. One of the best characteristics of Covey`s writing this chapter is that it involves the reader completely unlike other books. Covey makes the reader do exercises while reading the text and due to this involvement, the reader starts feeling the difference right at the moment he reads the text.
This chapter is all about creating a habit of determining the destination a person has to reach before even starting the journey. A person must have a clear head before initiating any set of actions. A person must know the results his actions would bring and the influence his actions will have on his own life and the lives of people surrounding the person. According to Covey when a person begins with the end in mind, he gains a different perspective. This new perspective helps the person make right moves at the right time in order to achieve the ultimate goal. People who do not have the habit of beginning with the end in mind are the ones who are not sure in which direction they are supposed to move. Even if such people are achieving success at every step and they are highly efficient; it would not matter if such people are not heading in the right direction, that is, their ultimate goal. Such successes will not bring any satisfaction to the person.
Covey has based this habit on the principle that all things are created twice; once in the thought process and once in their physical form. When a person sets his ultimate goal in his mind, he is actually creating a goal for himself. This stage has to be very comprehensive. A person needs to ensure that the goals he is setting up for himself are actually what he wants because he has to be determined and there would be no turning back. At this stage, the goal is created once, and the transformation of the goal from a thought to physical achi...