The Seven Habits of Highly Effective PeopleThe Seven Habits of Highly Effective PeopleThe book that I decided to read for this assignment was “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” by Stephen R. Covey. Initially, my reason for selecting this book was because my boyfriend had begun to read it and I noticed a drastic change in his vocabulary, which was beginning to irritate me. He was explaining every word and action in terms of choices; I choose to do this or I chose to feel that. And, because I didn’t understand where he was coming from, I got aggravated and asked him to quit it with the list of personal choices. But, now that I’ve read this book, I’m actually impressed by the way Covey guides his readers towards better communication and improved relationships.
In the first chapter of this book, Covey works towards explaining the concepts that make up the foundation of his teachings. We learn that the Character Ethic (what we are) is much more important than the Personality Ethic (what we say or do), but that for the last 50 years or so, we have been relying on the short-term benefits of the Personality Ethic to help us through our relationships. Unfortunately, relationships based on personality without character are like houses built on a foundation of toothpicks. This concept made a great deal of sense for me since I grew up in Southern California where image was everything and no one seemed to have an ounce of integrity. If a manager is busy kissing up to his superiors and pacifying his employees, he is wasting his time on showmanship and will never accomplish solid and lasting relationships. It’s like living from paycheck to paycheck; there are no relationship benefits accumulated after each interaction. Also discussed by Covey is the importance of shifting from a world of dependency (“you”) to one of independence (“I”). This way, an individual is more capable of having interdependent (“we”) relationships. “Even though independent people may be good individual producers, if they cannot think or act interdependently, they won’t be good leaders or team players.” Lastly, Covey mentions what he calls the P/PC Balance. This is a balance between the production of desired results (P) and the production capability or maintenance of the producer (PC). An excessive amount of focus in either production or production capacity will have disastrous results according to Covey. This makes a lot of sense in the business world because employees wouldn’t have jobs without enough quality product and the product can’t be produced without the commitment and interest of devoted employees.
The first of Covey’s seven habits is to Be Proactive. He believes that individuals driven by feelings, circumstances, conditions, and their environment are living reactively instead of proactively. According to Covey, between stimulus and response, humans have the power to choose their desired responses. He feels that too many people blame the problems in their lives on genetic, psychic, and environmental factors and that, instead, we need to take responsibility for who we are and how we respond to our world. Well, as a psychology major, I got a little bored with this chapter because for me, it all boiled down to an internal versus external locus of control. Individuals with an internal locus of control tend to have higher self-esteem and lower depression scores than individuals with an external locus of control. So, if you were trying to “build a better individual,” it would make sense to help these individuals regain a sense of control over their own lives. This is where my boyfriend found his new vocabulary and why he walked around announcing his conscious choices in life. He was discovering his personal power and it made him feel like a participant rather than a victim of his environment. Personally, I think there needs to be a balance. In reality, an individual doesn’t have time to process every single stimulus that enters their personal universe.
Covey’s second habit, Begin with the End in Mind, is a great idea even though it is a little morbid. “Begin today with the end of your life in mind and use it as your frame of reference or the criterion by which everything else is examined.” Basically, he wants you to shape your perspective in terms of how you want to be remembered when you’re dead. By figuring out what you want to be when you grow up, you give yourself a mental pathway and are better prepared to identify the choices that will keep you on this path. Finally, someone is challenging the public to discover their own values instead of adopting those of the people or companies around them. It’s sad to say, but many of us can’t identify our core beliefs. So, I think this is a very important step in order for individuals to find the best fit in their personal and
n\t beliefs.” This post was originally published in the May 2016 issue of
Bible Seminary: The Bible Needs to Be Modernized
I agree.
‴I strongly disagree.‴
Well, at least that’s my own belief, but I don’t believe a religious body needs to be modernized. I’ll give you my opinion on why. The Bible is literally written in a form that does not have to be updated. The first three hundred pages have been in the Bible since the earliest time they have ever been written. So it has to be updated each time. The second, third, and fourth books of the Bible are written in the past.
As it is now, with so many books out there, most people may not have ever read a single book. We see this on TV shows, movies, books, games, books, and so on. They can probably go back in time, and have read the same books, or maybe even some of the same ones. But, when we have so many books out there – including, but not limited to, our books by Stephen King, and our books by Anne Frank, and so on – we have to adapt them, but we also have choices, and I think some things must be changed so that we can become just as relevant to those values we’re already familiar with or at least to those values we have in common as is to others. So I think we need a shift of focus around the Bible on the individual who chooses to live in an informed and meaningful light. But maybe we would just focus on those that we believe are in danger in some way.
I don’t think it’s a great idea to simply replace the Bible with something that doesn’t exist. I think it’s essential to put the Bible in our minds, as a whole, and not simply try to be a one-dimensional object like, ‘What I see I see.’ I think there is something very important about what we believe in, that’s missing. All those things that are there don’t actually exist. It just says more about us, than it does an individual the Bible. It just comes about the way in which the Bible perceives and deals with it, the way in which we live it. Just as with the sunsets and rain on the morning of the third sun, and the stars in that evening and on the evening of the fourth night. We have to make sure we live in the Bible as a whole.
Advertisements