by DJ Schofield |
Last Updated:April 15, 2019 Reading self-help books does come with unparalleled and priceless benefits including knowledge, creativity and critical thinking. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book that has helped me in many areas of my life. The habits in this book are applicable to almost every area of a person’s life.
What is this book about?
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, authored by Stephen R. Covey is a masterpiece that seeks to shift your deep-rooted unproductive habits and beliefs into a lifestyle of great success in all aspects of your life. This self-help book outlines 7 habits that have been practiced and proven to work by the most successful people over the past centuries.
What I liked and didn’t like about the book
What I loved most about this book is Covey’s diverse view of success. He doesn’t base success on short-term trends, but on timeless principles and values such as integrity, honesty and fairness. This makes the book life-changing for even the most affluent readers. I also liked that this book guided me systematically into discovering who I really am in terms of my strengths, weaknesses, roles, priorities, goals and fears.
The only thing I did not like about this book is that I did not fully understand some of its charts and tables. However, some of them proved quite helpful, especially the matrix of importance vs urgency that helps on prioritization of tasks and goals based on urgency and importance.
My main takeaways from this book.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is rich in knowledge and motivation. The most important kernels of knowledge I gained from this book include these 7 habits.
1.) Be Proactive.
This book encouraged me to always take initiative rather than sitting and waiting in a reactive mode. By being proactive, you expand your circle of influence and reduce the circle of concern, which is the opposite of what a reactive state does.
This means that it is important to focus on tasks that you have power over rather than those that you cannot change. Not only will this approach save a lot of time and effort, but it will also prevent negative energy.
2.) Begin With the End in Mind.
Working without a clear destination in mind is like walking in the dark without a spotlight. For this reason, this book taught me always to envision what end goals I want to achieve within a specific timeframe and then use that vision to decide the steps that will guide me in the direction towards achieving my end goals.
As you plan, you must think about how to execute your plan, as well as the results and consequences of your actions before you carry them out.
3.) Put First Things First.
Effective people are good planners and they understand how to set priorities. According to this book, anyone should be able to group tasks into four levels of priority as follows. The urgent and important quadrant should be your first priority and it requires you to perform the tasks immediately as it includes important deadlines and crises.
The second quadrant, which is the second in priority is the not urgent but important, and this requires you to plan immediately as they are vital long-term development goals.
The third quadrant is the urgent but not important and these require you to delegate as they are unimportant deadlines that will keep distracting you.
The last quadrant includes frivolous distractions that are not urgent and not important, thus should be eliminated. This habit is summarized under the Matrix of importance vs urgency.
4.) Think Win-Win.
The best long-term deals in life are mutually beneficial solutions and agreements. Whether it is in a relationship or a business deal, this book advises us to always settle for a win-win deal or no deal at all. Rather than having only one party getting their way in a deal, we should be able to settle without a deal as this would only lead to a strained relationship.
Thinking win-win isn’t about being nice or weak, rather it is an effective code for peaceful and successful human interaction and collaboration as they build better character, relationships and agreements.
5.) Seek First to Understand, then to Be Understood.
Be a good listener and understand others first, as this will compel them to reciprocate the same towards you. By practicing this, you inspire credibility, empathy and reasoning, thus making you a better leader and team player in every aspect of your life.
6.) Synergize.
By combining the strengths of our team members, we are able to open up new possibilities and come up with unbelievably great solutions especially during times of crises. Positive teamwork and unity must take both restraining forces and driving forces into account and find the perfect balance between them for a long lasting solution.
This book teaches us to value the differences in our team members and use them to the advantage of the team as a whole.
7.) Sharpen the Saw.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln
A successful life is always about self-renewal and self-improvement. Whether it is physically, mentally, socially or spiritually, we have to learn to preserve our greatest assets and keep enhancing them for the future. We must continually educate our conscience to keep growing and developing on the upward spiral for a life of freedom, security, power and wisdom.
Overall opinion
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a great book if you are willing to work on improving your habits. Its step-by-step approach acts as a great guide on what aspects to improve and which ones to discard, which is very valuable.
Book Rating
On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give this book a 9, as it is a powerful read. Not only does it guide you systematically on how to change your habits, but also gives you a totally different positive view of life. You will stop depending on quick fixes and focus on improving yourself.
Who would benefit from this book?
This book is perfect for anyone that wants to improve their life regardless of their economic, social, religious or mental position. It only requires a positive mindset as it is not a quick fix to life, but a gradual development process for the reader.
I think it is applicable to any career path and no matter where you are on the particular path. You will find that this is a book you will frequently look back to at times… at least I do!
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Have you read this book?
Leave your thoughts on this book in the comments below! If you haven’t read it yet let me know if you plan to!