The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Habit 1. Be Proactive 

Habit 1 is the key to unlocking all the other habits and that's why it comes first. It says, "I am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I'm responsible for my own happiness or unhappiness. I am in the driver's seat of my destiny, not just a passenger." 

Quote: "If you are waiting for someone to help you, you may end up waiting a long time; Take charge and be proactive, take charge of each day."

-Adrian Michael

In order to do good in life you must take full responsibility and make sure you do everything that is needed in order to obtain success. You should not wait on others and depend on them to help you make your decisions. You must take charge, make your own choices (good choices), and work to becoming  a better person.. Only you are responsible for your future life and whether you are happy or not. 

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind

"Control your own destiny or someone else will." 

Quote: "You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct, and control your environment. You can make your life what you want to be" 

-Anonymous 

You are the only person who can control your life and future. You make your choices and choose the environment in which you decide to live in. Do not let anyone try to dictate you and force you to do something you don't want to do. You must take full control of your life and make good, positive decisions. Do not make any negatives choices or you will experience negative consequences. Remember that what you do now, will affect what you will do in the future.

Habit 3: Put things first

"Organize and execute around priorities." 

Quote: "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."

-Stephen Covey

In order to succeed in life, you must prioritize and set your goals, then follow through with those goals and priorities. This means that before you attempt anything, you must map out what you will do, and what should be done in order to accomplish those items. It is important to map out what you are going to do because it will make the path to accomplishing your priorities much easier. Remember to make positive priorities and not ones that can hurt you. 

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

"Think win-win or no deal."

Quote: "Win-win is a paradigm, a mindset... You genuinely want to achieve a win-win solution and not just aim for it- and then just settle for win-lose; if it proves too difficult."

-Anonymous

It is important that you have a winning and positive attitude because that is what will help you guide you through life and achieve your goals. Having a losers or negative attitude will greatly affect the outcomes of things in your life. You must want to win, or do good, in your tasks/goals//etc in order to achieve them and succeed. You should never give up your winning attitude because it seems too hard, that is not the right way to think.

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood

"Diagnose before you prescribe."

Quote: "We are all so desperate to be understood that we forget to be understanding."

In order for people to listen to you and pay close attention to what you have to say, you must do the same to them. You must be extremely attentive and take into consideration everything they have to say. The person you are talking to will then deliver the type of attention you're giving them back to you. If you ignore the person and do not listen to what they have to say, they will deliver the same type of treatment back to you. So in order to be understood, you must understand.

Habit 6: Synergize

"The whole is greater than the sun of its parts (1+1=3)"

Quotes: "Synergy- the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously."
-Mark Twain

Synergize, or the habit of creative cooperation, is one of the keys to achieving a happy life. Synergize and working well with others can lead to you making good relationships, learning new things, and continuing your path to success. In order to properly synergize, you must be a cooperative partner, not criticize, and give supportive feedback. This will help you and your partners to make a great final product.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Four dimensions of self-renewal: physical, mental, spiritual, social/emotional 

Quote: "Sharpening the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have-you."
-Stephen R. Covey

Sharpening the saw means that you should work to maintain a healthy physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional state. Which means that you should work hard and make sure that you fill your life with positivity and good thought/actions. If you fill your life with many negative things, then you will encounter problems withing your physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional state. This will then lead to an unhealthy life, which is something you don't want to have. So make sure to maintain your physical, mental, spiritual, and social/emotional state at a high level.

Reflection:

I believe that these seven habits of highly effective people can really help me in the future. I can use these seven habits to help me become a highly effective person. I can do this by following all the seven habits, which include: being proactive, beginning with the end in mind, putting things first, thinking win-win, seeking first to understand then to be understood, synergize, and sharpening the saw. By performing these seven habits everyday, I can improve upon myself and make my self more effective in life. However, if I do the opposite of these seven habits it will lead to a bad life, one in which I am not effective, so it is futile that I follow all these seven habits.