We all suffer from setbacks in life and the secret lies in how we deal with them, not in never having them. Remind yourself that the root cause of a problem is usually your reaction to it, not the problem itself. This means that you accept that not everything is within your control and therefore focus on things you can work on.Ĭovey’s first habit asks’ followers to take responsibility for their mistakes and respond in a proactive way. If you said something like “Let’s try to find a solution…”, or “I decided to …”, then it shows you have a proactive mindset. If you responded to the problem with a phrase such as “It’s out of my hands!”, or “It wasn’t my fault!”, you likely have a reactive mindset. How did you react?Īccording to Covey, people react in one of two ways: reactively or proactively. Think back to the last time that something didn’t go your way at work. Be proactive and take control of your own fate Let’s dive down the rabbit hole and explore what makes Covey’s bestselling book a must-read for any aspiring titan of industry. His seven habits are drawn from an understanding that people need to embrace these principals to succeed.
These principals, Covey argues, are so widely embraced that they function as natural laws. This approach was favoured by Covey the challenge facing him was how could people change their character? Embrace universal principalsĪ key prerequisite of adopting Covey’s seven habits is learning to embrace a set of universal principals such as honesty, integrity, and fairness.
This new approach took an ‘inside-out’ approach and held that people should work on developing their character if they wanted to see lasting change. The personality ethic called for an ‘outside-in’ approach and rarely resulted in lasting solutions as it didn’t address peoples’ underlying problems.Ĭovey noticed that after the 1920s, with the likes of Benjamin Franklin and others rising to prominence, the personality ethic was replaced with another approach the character ethic.
Covey noticed that this approach fell out of favour in the 1920s as it failed to address the fundamentals that hold people back. Proponents of the personality ethic held that superficial changes such as learning new types of body-language or mastering new communication techniques were the best way of changing someone’s behaviour. He named these two approaches as follows: He noticed that historically, there have been two main approaches to self-improvement. Stephen Covey studied over 200 years’ worth of academic literature prior to developing his seven habits for success. Address your character, not just your behaviour Let’s look at these two principles and see how to adopt them. Embrace universal principals such as fairness and honesty.Address your character, not just your behaviour.Seeking first to understand, then to be understoodīut before we discuss these seven habits in more detail, it’s important to know that there are two main guiding principles that you’ll need to embrace if you want to adopt Covey’s method of self-improvement.To become more successful, you need to adopt habits that will make you more effective, both personally and professionally. Like a gravitational force, our habits can pull us in certain ways and dictate the direction our lives take. They define what we eat, where we go, who we hang out with and how we work. What’s in it for me?Īt a fundamental level, we are all defined by our habits. This phenomenal guide teaches you the principles of effectiveness and shows you how to embrace them in your personal and professional life. In this post, we’ll show you how to do just that by following Stephen Covey’s (1932-2012) influential book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.Ĭovey’s book has sold over 20 million copies since it first went to print in 1989 and has millions of enthusiastic devotees around the world. We’ll give you the lowdown on this bestselling guide and show you how to adopt the principles of effectiveness.ĭo you want to be more successful in life? Are looking for a way to stand out from the herd? If you’re looking for ways to improve yourself, the secret lies in adopting powerful, effective habits. How to adopt the 7 habits of highly effective people Written by Leslie Hemmerechts on 27 July 2021 for Professionals