A Very interesting slide i found about 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
#1 Habit is : Be Proactive. The need to work towards our desired outcomes rather than waiting for (or expecting) them just to”happen”.
We have we have our own “Circle of Influence”, an area of our lives that we have control over and can do something about to have a better situation. The size of our circle of influence depends on how proactive we are; the less proactive, the smaller the circle of influence; the more proactive, the larger the circle of influence.
Ther’s also a “Circle of Concern”, areas of our lives over which we have no control. For example:
Circle Of Concern
- This month Target
- Annoying Bos
- Career Competitor
- Bad Traffic
Circle of Influence
- How to sell effectively
- Attitude towards Boss
- Learning a new skill
- Which CD to play during Traffic
The fact is we are often focusing on our circle of concern, things that we have no control over, rather than our circle of influence which we can directly control.
Covey also mention about paradigms – the “maps”and belief systems that govern the way that we live our lives. An excellent example that Covey gives is that if you were asked to find a certain place in City A, but were given a map to City B, there is no way you could reach your destination – except by accident and it would take a long time! We’d end upwandering aimlessly blaming poor street signage and the like rather than the map (and ourselves).
If we were to be more “effective” then we’d use Covey’s proactivity habit; we’d be proactive and ask someone for directions; we’d realise we were using the wrong map and buy a new one.
Thing I learned is that we seem to be lacking a sense of personal responsibility, that everyone else is to blame. This chapter drives home the fact that it’s not them, it’s me; it’s not I can’t, it’s I won’t.
If I am unhappy with a situation, it’s up to me to change that situation, it’s within my circle of influence so it’s up to me to do something about it. I could sit and wait for a change to magically happen and when it doesn’t I can blame my circumstances, family, friends, work – everything but the root cause of the problem – me and my inaction.
Upon reading this, I try to change the way I’m thinking; I change my way on looking at situations differently, seeing if the way I’m reacting is in a proactive way, which is not yet.
I’m being more proactive in situations and have been conciously seeing my actions a lot more and then, I realise now a lot of things happening are within my circle of influence, it’s my responsibility and that nothing will change if I don’t personally take control and do something about it.
I started to journal my paradigms’ shift and have noticing other peoples inaction, and realize that I can influence and help these people to a certain extent.
Sharing the following slide is one way i chose to influence others. Hope you like it.
I personally would advice you to buy 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
—-
