Book REport Covey Seven highly effective habbits
Proactive. Covey tells us how we should be taking more initiative and control of our lives. We are the only ones that have control over our lives. Covey uses the story of Victor Frankl to explain the total control we have to shape our own thoughts and feelings. Victor was a Jew held in a German death camp during the second World War. Victor realized that even though the Germans had control of the environment that he was in and the ability to kill him at anytime, he could still have control of his thoughts and feelings. Victor could project himself into other places that he found comforting. By doing this, he would almost forget about where he was. His attitude changed and helped encourage hundreds of other people around him. Highly effective people understand and use this ability that everyone possesses. We need to take control of our selves and realize that we can shape our thoughts. By being proactive we are not as prone to have our environment shape the way we think or feel. Non-proactive people tend to be emotional butterflies: "when people treat them well, they feel well; when people don't, they become defensive or protective . . . allowing the weaknesses of people to control them."
The counselor in me sees ample opportunity to use and implement this strategy. Many people coming to counseling are looking at their lives and wanting more. Beginning with the end in mind would be perfect for a well functioning person with life achievement issues. It helps create a sense of power over their lives again. It allows them to stop and regroup themselves. They can create the ideal realistic person they want to become and set ways of forming themselves into that person. A down side of this occurs when people set standards or goals outside of their personal abilities. This only sets them up for greater disappointment and hardship on themselves. After reading this second habit, I can't help but think of Christianity. I often hear people talk about their new religious outlook and stance in life as being "born again." This phrase seems to be the essence of what Covey is saying. As Christian we can we can use this as the beginning of our new Christian life. Being proactive seems like one of the most important and fundamental attitudes one can have. It is the corner stone to other important aspects of a person. This is a theory I plan on using in my life. As a Masters student, and a soon to be counselor, control over your outlook can make or break you. For myself, I am working 30 hours a week, married, and trying to keep my grades the best they can be. I find it easy to feel overwhelmed with all these things. Having the ability to control my outlook on life right now is of utmost importance. As a soon-to-be counselor, I see this as an excellent aid in helping the recovery of my clients. Although I think all clients could benefit from this, there are some that would be better facilitated such as women in abusive relationships, children in abusive homes or any person who finds himself or herself in situations that make them feel helpless. This is a way of making them become more aware of the power and control they really possess over situations.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Mind Covey, War Victor, Understood Covey, Sharpening Covey, Synergize Synergy, Proactive Covey, Victor Frankl, Victor Jew, habits covey, covey argues, control lives, begin mind, covey discusses, feelings victor, positive outcomes, initiative control, control outlook, person realize,
Approximate Word count = 2207
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
