For a very long time now, I had been slowly reading my way through a book that my sister
purchased long ago and often recommended me to read it. The book is called “7 habits of
highly effective people’ by author Stephen Covey. There were two habits in the book that I
deeply resonated with, and I will talk about those in this blog.
Before I read this book, I felt like I was living life on auto-pilot day in and day out. Days were
turning into weeks and weeks were turning into months and I constantly felt like I had to break this mundane cycle by adopting a structure to my day and breaking habits that were no longer serving me. After reading more than half of this specific book, I can definitely feel a shift in how I am now viewing things and adopting small positive habits that is helping me improve the overall quality of my life.
The 2 habits I resonated with the most..
The first habit is to ‘Be Proactive’ and when this habit is evaluated further it means to choose
the scripts by which to live our lives. It serves as a guiding block of whether we react in all
situations in our lives and how we take responsibility of our own actions. The second habit is to ‘put first things first’ that helps us manage ourselves effectively and gives us a sense to
prioritize day-to-day actions based on their importance.
The first habit of being proactive when adopted teaches one to shift our mindset from the fact that things don’t just happen to us but it is how we react to those things that define us an individual in the long run. Humans have this inherent ability to examine themselves and their surroundings and eventually control their effectiveness in every situation. Reactive people let situations get the best of them, feel victimized and often feel out of control in the situation they are in. On the other hand, by consciously being aware of their emotions, proactive people know that in any given situation they have a responsibility to steer things in the direction they want. By doing this in all aspects of life – proactive people initiate a momentum where a positive outlook becomes a way of life. The second habit of putting first things first helps one prioritize their goals and gives the willpower to walk towards those goals. This habit teaches us that instead of only tending to urgent matters in our routine, we should focus on things like long- term planning, effective management and preparation to achieve our end-goal in sight.
How I adapted these 2 habits..
By adopting the above two habits in my routine, I now feel like I am more in control in any
given situation and that I am able to think with a clear mind on what tops my priority list any on any given day. The way I track my personal progress is by writing down my reflections in a
journal at the end of the day and noting down lessons learnt if I faced a challenging situation
and how my brain responded to it instantly as the first course of action vs when I consciously
tapped into my skill of being proactive and then altering my reaction accordingly. Moreover, I also no longer delay the deep work when it comes to any task/responsibility because that is
what helps me build resilience and get a fruitful outcome. Being proactive and prioritizing
matters in my life will hopefully unlock many opportunities for me in my life.
References:
Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic. [Rev. ed.]. New York: Free Press, 2004.
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