Habits of Effective People

Make out a list through discussion of what you think to be the habits/characteristics of people you admire and/or are successful.

 

Define what you consider to be success in your own life.

 

What ways can you move closer to the goals you set yourself

 

 

Stephen R Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People considers these habits most important.

 

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

 

Think about those phrases and see can you figure out what he means.

 

 

Habit 1 - BE PROACTIVE

 

Ø     Act on things rather than be acted upon by others.

Ø     Using our mind, imagination and conscience we can determine how events affect us.

Ø     We have the ability to choose our response.

Ø     Circumstances (weather, environment etc.) need not determine how we feel and what we do. Carefully thought out values/goals can.

Ø     “No one can hurt you without your consent”, Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Act or be Acted upon

Our basic nature is to act and not be acted upon.

We can create circumstances rather than be controlled by circumstances.

 

Sell the Solutions

Seek to solve problems rather than be overcome by them.

Ask, “What can I do to overcome this” to each problem that arises. This is known as Solution Selling and makes it easier to get promoted in the workplace.

 

REACTIVE THOUGHTS	PROACTIVE THOUGHTS
There is nothing I can do	Lets look at the alternatives
I Can’t	I Choose
I Must	I will

 

Work on the things you can change

Concentrate on the things that you can change rather than those you can’t. Keep your mind on things you can do something about.

 

 

 

 

Note down things that you are concerned about (things within your Circle of Concern)

 

Now note down things that you are concerned about that you can do something about (things within your Circle of Influence)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn from Mistakes and Failures

Past mistakes are outside your area of influence but how you react to them is not.  The proactive approach is to acknowledge a mistake, correct it and learn from it.