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For many people, it is not just that they did not begin with the end in mind it goes a bit deeper - they did not ever get around to defining the end itself and so they simply could not begin with the end in mind. The reason for this ultimate dissatisfaction is that they did not begin with the end in mind. Being successful at their chosen career and committed to its progress they come to realise that it does not, in the final analysis, bring any sense of real satisfaction. Many people in the west identify with the frustration of success. The second of the 7 Habits is - Begin with the End in Mind. The other six of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People require that we first work on our basic character by becoming proactive and thereby transforming ourselves into men and women of integrity.
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#Stephen covey principles full#
When we are finally prepared to accept full responsibility for the effects that are manifest in our lives when we have the strength of character to admit it when we make mistakes (even big ones) when we are completely free to exercise the options available to us in every situation then it can be said that we have finally internalised this habit. For such people, this habit represents a bitter pill to swallow - but, says Covey, it is also completely liberating. For some people, the glass is always half-empty (by the way for fun, take a look at sometime) and the feeling of melancholy is a pleasant reminder that something is indeed missing. Now this notion that having a particular attitude of mind (which is really where this habit begins) can make such a huge and positive difference to almost everything we experience in life is foreign to those who have already internalised the opposite habit as a part of their personalities. We may have no control over what life throws at us but we always have a choice about how we are to respond. It is by the decisions we make, our responses to people, events and circumstances that proactive people can and do affect the future. Proactive people, on the other hand, simply will not accept that there is nothing that can be done about the unreasonable boss or the events of daily life - they will point out that there are always choices. If we really believe that we can do nothing about our unreasonable boss or the daily events in our lives, then we simply do not make the effort. And interestingly, for reactive people, it really is a truth, for whatever we believe in our heart affects our thoughts, words and actions. Reactive people, he says, are those who are resigned to the truth that whatever they do in the present can have no effect on their circumstances. We are told, in business, that we should be proactive and broadly what is meant by that is to focus our efforts and attention on the long-term and to think in terms of the long-term consequences of our actions.Ĭovey contrasts being proactive or having a proactive mentality with being reactive. It is perhaps a great compliment to Stephen Covey that today, the substance of this first habit is deeply embedded into the management psyche. The first of the 7 Habits is - Be Proactive. Many highly successful people seem to have naturally developed these seven habits of effectiveness.īe Proactive Begin With The End in Mind Put First Things First Think Win-Win Seek First To Understand Synergize Sharpen The Saw This popular book, published by Simon & Schuster, provides a useful, sequential framework for understanding much about the process of Personal Development. Perhaps the best overall prescription for achieving effectiveness is contained within Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (the title is often misrepresented as The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People or The 7 Habits of Effective People).
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Stephen Covey's Principles of Effectiveness