The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Hardcover book

I have read many books on management and yet I didn’t find any book that comes close to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the book will give you a clear idea of how you can finish your work on time and how you can achieve everything.

We all know that everyone on this earth has 24 hours, you just have to manage those 24 hours and do the thing that adds value to your life, and everything else can wait.

Here, let me share with you some of the lessons that I have learned from this book and a lot more.

Powerful Quotes From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“But until a person can say deeply and honestly, “I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday,” that person cannot say, “I choose otherwise.”

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are or, as we are conditioned to see it.”

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Summary

The author Stephen R. Covey has shared the 7 habits that will help you to live a simple yet comfortable life and will give you a clear idea about time and management.

Let’s first talk about self-awareness…

Think about the mood you are now in. Can you identify it? How are you feeling? How would you describe your present mental state?

Now think for a minute about how your mind is working. Is it quick and alert? Do you sense that you are torn between doing this mental exercise and evaluating the point to be made out of it?

Your ability to do what you just did is uniquely human. Animals do not possess this ability. We call it “self-awareness” or the ability to think about your very thought process.

This is the reason why man has dominion over all things in the world and why he can make significant advances from generation to generation. This is why we can evaluate and learn from others’ experiences as well as our own.

This is also why we can make and break our habits.

We are not our feelings. We are not in our moods. We are not even our thoughts. The very fact that we can think about these things separates us from them and from the animal world.

In fact, until we take how we see ourselves (and how we see others) into account, we will be unable to understand how others see and feel about themselves and their world. Unaware, we will project our intentions on their behavior and call ourselves objective.

By the way, these are the 7 habits that the author has talked about in his book, so let’s talk about them…

  • Be proactive
  • Begin with the end in mind
  • Put first things first
  • Think win/win
  • Seek first to understand, then to be understood
  • Synergize
  • Sharpen the saw

Be Proactive

The book has two concepts: Proactive and Reactive

Proactive are those people who don’t care about what people think, they will do whatever they believe in. They don’t care if people are commenting on their clothes, looks, or the work they do…

In short, they’re happy with what they are…

On the other hand, Reactive people care much about what people say, let’s say, I’m a Reactive person if the other person comments on my looks, my work, or even my family then I will get upset, and I will overthink everything.

Now, Do let me know what kind of person you are, Reactive or Proactive?

I’m Proactive which means, I don’t give F about people (I mean, what they say about me)

Learn To Say No

I think you already know what I’m about to talk about,

Sometimes, it’s better to say NO to something rather than say yes to everything.

Let’s say, someone from your family asks you, “it will mean a lot to me if you can deliver this item to my friend’s home”, now, at the same time, you’re working on your office project or doing something else which is very important then delivering the item.

In this case, you have two options,

If you say, YES then your family members will be happy.

Now if you say, NO then you will make your family member upset and he or she will keep that NO in their mind.

Choose what is important at the movement, don’t say YES to make someone happy because people will take advantage of you.

By the way, I was YES guys about a year ago but now, I can say NO, if I’m working on something which is important, if I’m not doing anything then I will say YES.

In short, learn to say no, don’t think about what he or she will think.

Seek first to understand, then to be understood

SUPPOSE YOU’VE BEEN HAVING TROUBLE WITH YOUR EYES and you decide to go to an optometrist for help. After briefly listening to your complaint, he takes off his glasses and hands them to you.

“Put these on,” he says. “I’ve worn this pair of glasses for ten years now and they’ve really helped me. I have an extra pair at home; you can wear these.”

So you put them on, but it only makes the problem worse.

“This is terrible!” you exclaim. “I can’t see a thing!”

“Well, what’s wrong?” he asks. “They work great for me. Try harder.”

“I am trying,” you insist. “Everything is a blur.” “Well, what’s the matter with you? Think positively.”

“Okay. I positively can’t see a thing.”

“Boy, are you ungrateful!” he chides. “And after all, I’ve done to help you!”

What are the chances you’d go back to that optometrist the next time you needed help? Not very good, I would imagine. You don’t have much confidence in someone who doesn’t diagnose before he or she prescribes.

We have such a tendency to rush in, to fix things up with good advice. But we often fail to take the time to diagnose, to really, deeply understand the problem first.

If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.

Time Management

I’m sharing with you, the things I have learned…

Important task: These could be those task which doesn’t need your attention but are important, again, you don’t have to do them right away. 

For example,

You have to go to the supermarket because you have a list of items which you have to buy for your home, this is important because you need those items but it’s not very urgent, so you can do it after some time.

Urgent Task: These are those tasks that require your attention right away. 

For example,

You need to finish the project which your boss has given, you have a meeting that is very important for your business, or something else that is needed to do right away.

Nor Urgent or Important Task: These are those tasks that are not important or urgent but you like doing them.

For example,

You want to watch movies, and TV shows, go to parties, spend time with your friends, use social media, and many more. You don’t have to do all these things but you like doing them because it makes you happy.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Review

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will make you think about how you spend your time. Time is a key part of every human being and if they can understand value then people can do whatever they want and this is what Stephen R. Covey has talked about in his book.

It’s an absolute classic and everyone should read it to understand how valuable time is.

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One Comment

  1. Your content offers something for everyone; it’s useful for both seasoned and newbie readers.

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