04 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

 

The article about "7 habits" is an excellent guide to help people be highly effective, giving the ability to work the inside out to build the character of total integrity. The seven habits in this book will help you move from a state of dependence to independence, and finally to interdependence. While other books on the market point independence as the highest achievement, Covey argues that and explain that interdependence is the most exceptional result. The seven habits are breaking into three sections:

1. Dependence: Private Victory

Habit 1 – Be proactive. I remember one of our lessons that I think we can include here: get up early and be proactive. Covey suggests taking a 30-day proactivity test where you make a series of small commitments and stick to them. We can influence our actions, but more than just taking the initiative, being proactive means taking responsibility for your life. The best way to show proactivity can be to stick to the commitments you make to yourself, and others include self-improvement and personal growth.

Habit 2 – Begin with the end in mind: Covey recommends that as much as you think about your life goals, you also think about who you want to be.

When you have that clear, you can choose principles and values per that person. I think this change along we grow up and our responsibilities change. My goals are not the same as what they use to be. Covey invites you to imagine your funeral. He asks you to think about what sort of things would you like to be said about you? And this makes me think of how I want my kids and family are going to remind me? Am I doing my best?  He invites you to imagine your 50th wedding anniversary too. What kind of family relationship do you have?

Habit 3 – Put first things first. To manage ourselves effectively, we need to put first things first. We need to have the discipline to prioritize our day-to-day actions based on what is most important, not what is most urgent. There are four basic types of activities:

 1. Important and Urgent Activities These include responding to a crisis, pressing problems, or a tight deadline.

2. Important But Not Urgent Activities Preventative maintenance, relationship building, creative thinking, planning, and recreation. This area is at the heart of effective personal management and holds the key to business efficiency.

3. Not Important But Urgent Activities Phone calls, mail, some meetings, and other pressing matters. These tasks are often only urgent because someone else has that expectation and some people spend time here thinking they are covering essential issues.

4. Not Important And Non-Urgent Activities Include trivia, some mail, time-wasters, and pleasant harmless activities. 

2.Independence: Public Victory

Habit 4 – Think win/win: I like this one, Convey states that this is the best way of human relationships focused on results, not methods. Both people win. Agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying to both parties.

Habit 5 – Seek first to understand: we must first seek to understand and then to be understood. To attempt to understand, we must learn to listen. "You have to build the skills of empathic listening on a base of character that inspires openness and trust." -Stephen Covey

Habit 6 – Synergize: Synergy means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. "Without a doubt, you have to leave the base camp's comfort zone and confront an entirely new and unknown wilderness." -Stephen Covey 

3.Interdependence: Personal Effectiveness

Habit 7 - Sharpen the saw:  To be effective, we must devote the time to renewing ourselves physical, spiritual, mental, and social or emotional dimensions. Focusing on our physical health, you inadvertently improve your mental health, too. 

To conclude, I want to reflect on my favorite video of the week "Good Things to Come". It is so powerful the words of Jeffrey holland:

 "Don't you quit! You keep walking. You keep trying. There are help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late, and some don't come till Heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God, and believe in good things to come.". I feel so blessed to have found my church. After my baptism, many things changed. I began to have more challenges and, at the same time, different blessings in my life. I am thrilled with all the teachings, advice, and guidance that all our leaders give us. They push me to be better every day together to the gospel of Jesus Christ.