The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
According to Steven R. Covey, to live with security and wisdom, and to have the power to take advantages of the opportunities that change creates, we need fairness, integrity, honesty and human dignity. Quite a tall order when you consider that most of us live our lives in a permanent state of flux, questioning our ideals and values and fighting a daily battle with the lack of self-confidence that stops us from taking risks of any kind. But, in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, C
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Might change your life – or sit on the shelf,
This is a powerful guide to self-improvement. The “habits” are common-sense: be proactive, or “seek first to understand, then to be understood”. The writing is clear, presenting each habit in a way which is easy to apply to oneself. If you’re looking for a self-help guide to living a more focused, targeted life, you can hardly do better than this.
The downside is that this is a massive, densely-written book. Just reading it, let alone internalising and acting on it, is a major project. Many readers will dip into it; lose interest; and let it gather dust on the shelf.
Summary: excellent self-improvement guide, won’t work for everyone.
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|Great summary of a manual for life,
I am busy and therefore did not find the time to read the book. As a Consultant Psychiatrist I was readily able to follow the concepts alluded to and found them refreshingly simple. The folksy Americanism of the presentation can be grating but again that becomes less of an issue with time. I have recommended this to many patients who uniformly have found it of benefit to some degree. Having listened to the CD on several occasions I find my understanding has deepened to the extent that I regularly use the concepts in treatment (always giving Covey credit for his easy conceptualisations). Most people who need to read this book do so at a time when they are less receptive to reading and have less time on their hands therefore sticking it into the CD or tape player in their car to and from work allows the passive absorption of seriously good stuff.
If you are not prepared to honestly go about the changes suggested in this CD maybe this is not for you. If you want to hide from the realities of your choices and mistakes then avoid this. If you are prepared to embrace a set of sensible principles then this presentation is for you. The best money you will ever spend!
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|An inspiring and well balanced piece of literature,
I first read about Dr Covey’s habits when I was a young teenager, although at the time I only briefly skimmed through the pages and neglected to absorb, or completely understand, the principles he is sharing in his book. Having recently purchased the book and tried putting the habits into practice, I must say that personally I have found it rather difficult if not frustrating to plan my week to such a strict agenda as he suggests. Dr Covey claims that his scheduling technique is flexible, but is it? Perhaps over the long-term with regular consistant practice his technique works, something which I have not yet accomplished, but the immediate effect it has had upon me is one of irritability and rigidity rather than a sense of purpose.
On the subject of ‘happiness’ as described by another reviewer, I firmly believe that your happiness is ultimately your responsibility, and in achieving more fulfilling relationships with others, and planning your goals more effectively, both of which the 7 habits claim to generate in your life, I think your happiness will increase naturally as you grow in purpose and personal stature, provided you are committed to putting in the effort.
Overall, I would agree that the book can be rather ambiguous at times, and some of the habits are difficult to produce consistantly in practice. Perhaps other readers will have more success in their attempts.
Otherwise, the book is definitely worth a read, as I think some of the principles the book describes could be a valuable lesson to us all.
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