7 Habits of Highly Effective People

    7 Habits of Highly Effective People - My Take                       aways from the Book

Hi, this is neither a summary for the book nor a bunch of copied facts quoted straightaway from the book. It is a 24 year old's takeaways from the highly rated life hack book - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This is a compilation of what I picked up from the various chapters of the book and how I intend to incorporate and use them in my life. I believe anyone at any stage of their life can interpret this book for himself/herself and carve out their own process which will help them develop in life through it. So, let's begin.

1. Principles and Paradigms 

• Values & Principles - It is important to have a good values and principles system in life because values are like the map of our lives and principles act as a lighthouse. Principles are perpetually the same and cannot be moved or changed.
• Perception - It is like the lens through which we see our world and if it is not clear then it has an effect on how we see the reality. It affects our decision making.
• Benefits of Habits - Just like the small amount we invest for our future habits are like that, if we have good habits then in the long term they will have a compounding effect and show its benefits. Similarly, negative habits compound and have a similar affect on us.

2. Production - Production Capacity Balance 

• Production Capacity is our asset and production is the end result given by that asset. To make sure we always have good results given by our assets we need to take care of our production capacity. If we maintain a good balance between production capacity and production then we can enjoy life long benefits by it. It can be applied to any facet of life.

3. Be Proactive 

• Between stimulus and response is our greatest power - the freedom to choose.
• See what you can do and what you can be rather than what you have.
• Focus on your area of influence and automatically your area of concern and influence will grow.

4. Begin with the End in the Mind - Make your own Mission Statement

• Mission statement is like a constitution for yourself. It will take you a long way in developing a sound culture for you and your loved ones.

5. First Things First 

•    Divide your daily and professional tasks using this matrix as it will help you decide more efficiently to work on chores that matter more. It is much more helpful than a simple to do list which doesn't have a priority order.
• Plan for the week not just for a day. Be flexible in your approach.

6. Concept of Emotional Bank Account 

• In life to work with people and be interdependent we need to have emotional bank accounts with our colleagues, friends, partners etc and we have to make small deposits in it regularly just like our financial bank accounts. This emotional bank accounts will help to sail through days when the journey is tough without taking a turmoil on the relationship that you have.

7. Think Win/Win

• In life many a times we are told that life is a race whereas it is not true. The world has everything in abundance and to succeed in professional and personal lives we have to have a win-win mindset as it helps us be happy in other's people success and lets us enjoy our own success. 

8. Principles of Empathic Communication 

• Listen to understand and not probe, judge or advice.
• Try to see things from other's point of view.

9. Sharpen the Saw

• Always make sure that you have a proper process in place and keep learning everyday.
• Have your own personal victory every morning by sharpening your saw everyday so that you constantly keep learning and evolving.
• Sharpen your saw in these four dimensions daily - a) Physical b) Social c) Mental d) Spiritual.

These were the 9 points that amused me the most and caused me to think and reflect on my own life and pondered me to think on how I can incorporate these to become a better human being. The one idea that impacted me the most was the idea of - Between stimulus (what happens to us) and response (what we do about it) is a space to choose, and what we do with that space ultimately determines our growth and happiness.  

I constantly remind myself of the above ideas before taking any decision and try to bring down my mind's impulses and reactions with a processed thinking manner, contemplating on pros and cons and always  trying to choose the better side.