The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People • Book Review
About to buy this book, I contemplated within me, "Am I really going to read this book?" It was way bigger than any other book I had read in a long time. And coming from a book that was one-third its size, it felt like a challenge. I would then be thankful a month later that I took it on anyway, because the journey through its pages turned out to be something I really needed.
My funeral. Imagining it and thinking about the things I would like people to say about me on that day, I quickly realized that it actually wasn't such a bad idea as I had initially thought. The idea was, if there's a certain way you'd like to be remembered, what are you doing here and now to attain it? This point in The Second Habit felt uncomfortable, but it was getting somewhere. And that's the thing about this book; it's central goal is to cause paradigm shifts.
Ever seen those images that seem ambiguous? The kind that one person could see an old woman when another sees a young woman. It could be so hard to begin to comprehend something different from your reality. The first thing that this book addresses is paradigms—that people experience things differently, and it causes us to have different views, opinions, and behaviors. I thought it was a great way to begin, as what would follow required an open mind to receive—the seven habits.
The first six habits fall into two categories. Private victory (independence) and public victory (interdependence). Stephen Covey discusses in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that to truly be able to achieve effectiveness between oneself and others, it must begin from within. They first have to step out of dependence. And the last habit focuses on continuous growth.
Through over three hundred pages of the book, it was about being proactive, defining vision and goals before taking action, focusing on what truly matters, thinking win/win in relationships, what it means to first understand, the collaborative power in synergy, and investing in oneself in different dimensions.
I believe the book was more enjoyable reading the paperback, but I'm sure I would have found it just as insightful and profound anyway. It already stands as one of my top books I have read so far. I'd totally recommend it. At some point reading, it doesn't even feel so big after. Or maybe 300 is a small number for you.
I should add, by the way, that The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People isn't like those unrealistic self-help talks that aren't practical. It doesn't present itself as such. It rather focuses on an inside-out approach to life and relationships—principle-based values and character ethics. It is also not the kind you want to rush. There's so much value and teachings that may need time to be processed.
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This book sounds like one I'd love to read. I like it when writers write based on their experiences and that of others they are closed with and from what you've said, I think Steph has similar writing style.
I can relate with the many pages that seems too much at first and starts looking too small towards the end, hehe.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this book with us.
He's late now, though, but he sure left golden value for generations to learn from. I believe many of his books are just like this one. What book are you reading now?
May his soul rest on. Thanks to good book writers, their words live on.
I’m not reading any book now. But I recently finished reading “The Battlefield Of The Mind”.
Wow, I've never read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, but after reading your reflection, I felt like giving it a try! I'm really drawn to the way you describe that exercise of imagining your own funeral to rethink how you want to be remembered. It sounds uncomfortable, but also super powerful for focusing priorities. The thing about paradigms and ambiguous images (the one about the old woman vs. the young woman) makes me think about how closed we can sometimes be to other perspectives, and how important it is to work on that. Great recommendation.
That right there, man. That right there was exactly the point. We're usually too closed to other people's perspectives, often leading us to adhesive coexistence. We could be so much more if we aren't so rigid.
Creating habits is quite complicated, especially in today's times, where we do not have enough time for all the pending activities, but it is all a matter of discipline.
I believe we make time for things we value. Making time for the things that positively influence us, however, does require discipline.
It seems in that book a lot of things has been discussed related to self improvement. Sounds like a good book but I won't dare to read the book in the present time as I am facing busy time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the book. I will read it if I get the opportunity to read.
It's a good book, yeah. You don't have to try to read it all at once, though. Took about a month to finish it, but I wasn't in hurry anyway.