Week 8 @ 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

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. I love the ball game. One week after the course, I can still recall all the 7 habits perfectly. Other than learning the 7 habits, we got two extra things from the class. A new organizer and a new bank account, the emotions bank account.

The 7 habits start off with being proactive. Without being proactive, the other 6 habits do not apply. Being Malaysians in general, people tend to be reactive rather than proactive. It is a common sight in Malaysia that when a question is thrown to the floor, we take a step back and let others take the lead. Most of us prefer to see how and what other people do, in order for ourselves to have a benchmark. I had learnt that in order to be proactive, we must make ourselves the benchmark.

According to Covey, there is a maturity continuum among the 7 habits. High maturity requires well practiced private and public victories. In terms of private victory, I would say that I have been doing all 3 habits prior to this. I just need to sharpen them. What I really wanted to learn from Nuri is the public victory.

Firstly, is to think win-win. Personally, this is going to be difficult. I honestly don’t see how this habit will work. In every gain, there is a lost. For every penny earned, the money has to come from somewhere. It is just a fact of life that, it is impossible to make everyone wins. My motive is just to ensure that, in everything I gain, the least damage will be caused, including emotional damages. Secondly, I need to learn to understand other people first. More often than not, I ignore what other people think. I am also quick in making assumptions and jumping into conclusions. Habit 5 reminds me that most of the time; my old habit could be devastating. Habit 6 will be the eventual step after Habit 5. I want to apply all these habits into my life.

The most important thing about the 7 habits is not to know about it, but to really apply it. “To learn about it, but not to apply it, it is really not learning it.” I quote this from Stephen Covey. I am ready to take the step forward to be a highly effective person not just at work, but my life.