The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey | Animated Summary

hello beautiful friends and viewers I'm your friendly guide mr. smart today I'm gonna share with you my journey to becoming proactive in my life and work being proactive is the first of the seven habits that Stephen Covey advocates in his best-selling book the seven Habits of Highly Effective People this animated video is part of the seven Habits series based on Covey's book it will guide and help you take an important step towards smart living subscribe and join us in our mission if you want to know how to live smartly on four levels physical mental emotional and financial now let us come back to our topic of the day once upon a time I was what Stephen refers to in his book a reactive person my mood and my performance were dependent upon external stimuli if people treated me good I'd feel good and perform well if the weather was bright and warm I would outshine anyone else but if I felt someone treated me badly or maybe the weather was too wet or too cold I would feel terrible but once I made a plan for a picnic with my family and friends all the preparations were in place we were all ready to go but the weather turns stormy and it killed our plan I felt terribly my whole day was ruined I asked myself why does this keep happening to me then Stephen Covey and his book became my friends in my journey to becoming an effective person so France come closer a bit more closer let me share with you what Stephen Covey has taught me to be proactive means to take the responsibility of our own actions let us get out of the bad habit of blaming our surroundings or circumstances or other external conditions for our own behavior we are responsible for our own lives actions decisions and behaviors they're all ours in fact our behavior is a function of our own decisions not external conditions and stimuli external conditions can be favorable or unfavorable but it is we who are responsible for our own decisions and responses to that our responses are based on our values and we have the ability to subordinate our feelings to values the ability to exercise this control and impulse for a value is the essence of what a proactive person is yes proactive people are driven by their values while the reactive person is driven by feelings in external circumstances let's just look at the word responsibility it simply means the ability to choose your own responses mm-hmm proactive people take the responsibility of their actions their behavior is a product of their own decisions based on values rather than feelings proactive people are not dependent on external stimuli their mood and performance are not dependent on how the weather is or who said something nice about them on social media they carry all the stimuli they need to accomplish their task within them the exact opposite is reactive reactive people say that the rains Boehner plan negativities will prevail in their lives as they perceive external forces to be in control in adversity to be in abundance now that's not to say that proactive people are not still influenced by external conditions and stimuli these by the way can be physical social or psychological but the responses of proactive people to these stimuli are based on their values and by choice former First Lady of the United States of America and political activist Eleanor Roosevelt profoundly said no one can hurt you without your consent let that settle in for now Friends of mr. smart you should be clear that being proactive and taking initiative does not mean being pushy or aggressive at all it simply means that you recognize your responsibility to make things happen proactive people are not pushy or insensitive rather they are smart and value driven they read the situation and know what is needed my friends I told you at the start of this video that I used to be a highly ineffective person before I started to practice what Stephen Covey has outlined in this book I was in a habit of covering up my mistakes stead of addressing them and learning from them when I made a mistake I would employ circular logic to somehow turn it into anything other than a mistake or even if I had to admit it was a mistake I would do my very best to shift the blame to my circumstances the weather traffic or any innocent soul around me I didn't realize at the time that committing the mistake wasn't the problem but not acknowledging it not correcting it and not learning from it certainly became a big problem in fact it's the biggest mistake of all it will set you on a self-deceiving and self-justifying path it is the rationalization of our mistakes to self and others I learned from Stephen Covey that a proactive person makes mistakes but he will acknowledge it correct it and certainly learn from it after all chasing a poisonous snake after it's bitten you instead of seeking medical attention will only drive poison through your body faster covering a mistake is just like chasing that poisonous snake instead of covering his mistakes a proactive person will focus all his energies on correcting it my friends do you think that being proactive can improve your life and work what challenges do you face on your way be something highly proactive in your life let your fellow viewers and mr.

smart know about your opinion in the comment section below habit number two of Stephen Covey's best-selling book the seven Habits of Highly Effective People which is to begin with the end in mind here I need to remind you that this animation is part of the seven Habits series based on what I've learned from Stephens book our mission is to help you and becoming smart physically mentally emotionally and financially so subscribe and join mr. smart to learn practice and promote smart living now let us dive back into today's topic begin with the end in mind it's exactly what I used to struggle with in my life I would often get distracted with individual daily chores forgetting everything I was supposed to accomplish for the entire day this tendency I had to get bogged down by each chore rendered me ineffective I was busy but not effective not really productive I felt as if I was working but no goals have been achieved then I befriended Stephen Covey in his book I got to realize that my ladder was leaning on the wrong wall and I was moving fast in the wrong direction Covey suggests having a very clear mission of your life then every step we take every bit of our work will move us closer to our ultimate goal without a clear sense of direction and priorities we tend to get easily distracted and diffused ie we may end up achieving professional competence recognition or money at the cost of our health relationships and peace of mind only to late would we realize that we've achieved empty victories at the cost of what was most important and dear to us oh god oh Jesus imagine being at your own funeral and see what people are saying about you and then pick a destination that you want to get to in your life and start your journey right from this very moment in the direction of your chosen destination this intentional effort is necessary otherwise you will end up any place other than the one you truly wanted another good way is to write out your personal mission statement which clearly defines what you want to achieve in your life and what your principles are yes my friends I hope you are enjoying this animation you'll find into animations very useful if you're interested in living a smart life physically mentally emotionally and financially subscribe to this channel and join me in this endeavor to promote smart living like much of the discussed topics in Stephens book this habit is equally important in business life it creates leaders who can carry a business in difficult and uncertain terrains such leaders build positive organizational culture and harmonious teams these effective leaders can read the changing trends in business that efficient managers often overlook the sad demise of Nokia from being the world's best mobile phone company to losing it all by 2013 was quite noteworthy this spectacular failure was the result of a culture of arrogance and fear in spite of the best human resources employed with Nokia this culture starts at the top and boozes towards the bottom in this regard Nokia failed miserably mm-hmm there were many efficient managers at Nokia to handle daily tasks no effective leaders who could read the changing trends and identify internal weaknesses without being drunk with arrogance and overconfidence with past successes they were more bureaucratic in their structure which compelled their people to do things by the book truly effective leaders do the right things while efficient managers do things by the book only the leaders who begin with the end in mind have the courage to do the right things this can be the fine-tuning of the overall direction of a business or correcting the prevalent organizational culture in Nokia there were plenty of efficient managers with short-term goals agendas and targets but there was no leader who began with the end in mind who could correct the trajectory of Nokia technically speaking the software of Nokia phones were inferior to that of Apple's iPhone but leaders at Nokia were too Eric to accept it and take corrective measures on the other hand efficient managers were too busy in achieving their quarterly targets plus they feared losing their jobs if they spoke the truth in front of top management and leadership that's the culture of failure Oh God oh Jesus my fellows my friends what have you learned from the failure of the mighty Nokia how can a habit of begin with the end in mind improve your life and work let your fellow viewers and your friendly guide mr. smart know in the comments section habit three put first things first this episode is part of the seven Habits series based on what I've learned from Stephen Covey's best-selling book the seven Habits of Highly Effective People I highly recommend for you to watch the following three episodes of our seven Habits series in order to fully understand and practice the habits of highly effective people they are guidelines to the seven Habits of Highly Effective People what does habit mean and how to form habits as always you can conveniently find the links to these videos in the description below now let us come back to today's topic put first things first now habit 3 is the time management habit it means to put those things first which are more important in other words the activities that matter most should never be left to the mercy of activities that matter least get it yes I thought you would but what's really special here is that habit to begin with the end in mind should have already come to our aid previously it separates the important activities from the not so important ones with a clear mission goals and roles so we can profoundly say that habit 3 is piggybacking off of habit 2 and making things happen habit 2 is about mission goals and roles destination while habit 3 is the schedule to achieve them habit 2 is about setting the priorities while habit 3 is the discipline to take action now time is your servant not your master ie habit 2 is a mental and philosophical creation while habit 3 is the physical one so all things are created twice first in our mind and then in our physical life and ever think about people in terms of efficiency rather manage things for efficiency people are more important than schedules a schedule is not important in itself what is more important as your mission as a whole if there's an emergency situation that pops up relating to a dear family member you should be flexible enough to be able to immediately adapt your schedule accordingly it is exactly what put first things first was created for caring and building relations with your family members is in Quadrant two in the time management matrix I've made a separate animated video for your understanding of the time management matrix you can conveniently find the link to this video in the description as well but think win-win which is based on the abundance mentality when when is a frame of mind which seeks mutual benefit for everyone all people involved in win-win interactions are winners so no one has any reason for resentment all the solutions or agreements are mutually satisfying and beneficial win-win is neither your way nor my way in fact it is the better way or the third alternative however this win/win frame of mine needs an abundance mentality it means there are enough resources success prestige rewards a recognition for everyone if you get something good there will be enough left for me as well there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everyone this mindset enables people to share prestige recognition profits rewards and decision making power but this abundance mentality requires a deep inner sense of personal Worth and security this win/win frame of mind and abundance mentality leads to cooperation not competition now let us look closer at habit 4 think win-win by contrasting it with the following three paradigms they are win lose lose win and lose lose win lose paradigms mean that I win in all arguments negotiations and solutions while you lose I get my way but you don't get yours I get all the rewards resources recognition prestige benefits and success and there is nothing left for you this frame of mind is deeply rooted in a scarcity mentality we learned this behavior as a child when we're told to do a certain task or exhibit a certain behavior to gain love and affection at home in this way a child learns that he is not intrinsically valuable but that the value lies outside not inside him he will compete with the siblings to get more love care and attention from his parents that is how a win-lose mindset gets instilled in his mind afterwards peer groups academics and athletics only this paradigm third paradigm is lose-win which means having no demands no vision and no expectations loose wind people are quick to appease because they have no courage and no spine of their own in negotiations they're always ready to give in lose win means being that nice guy who always finishes last wind blues people love loose wind guys because they can feed on them the grief problem with win lose people is that they bury their feelings alive which can later re-emerge in uglier ways this does not always mean that a lose win guy will always remain so in fact many people swing back and forth like a pendulum between lose win indulgences and win lose in consideration this causes great uncertainty and confusion around them the fourth paradigm is lose lose which is the situation where two ultra stubborn people interact one person wants the other person to lose even if it means that he will lose it to offers by an extremely destructive endeavour to all who indulge in it to be sure five that is seek first to understand then to be understood before reading Stephen Covey's book I never realized that we don't get any training for effective listening which is one of the four ways of communication these include reading writing speaking and of course listening we get rigorous formal training for reading writing and speaking in academic institutions but listening is ignored altogether that is the reason we excel in reading writing and speaking but lose it all when it comes to listening EEE try to recall any training or education we've received that enables us to listen and deeply understand another person from his point of view know exactly there has never been any training whatsoever that involves how to interact with another person effectively in order to do that first we need to understand that person and their frame of reference so a sympathetic ear and empathetic listening is key in our interpersonal communications this can create emotional bank accounts that lead to commerce between hearts that is why Stephen Covey suggests seek first to understand in our daily lives we listen to reply not to understand according to experts words represent 10% of our communication sounds 30% and body language 60% so we need to engage not only our ears but also eyes and heart that is the way to empathetic listening and to the see first to understand paradigm we need to diagnose first then prescribe a professional engineer will first identify and analyze all forces and stresses on a bridge before designing it there are four typical responses when we listen to someone these are probing we ask questions from our own frame of mind evaluating we either agree or disagree advising we get council based on our own experience interpreting we give meaning to their motives and behavior based on our own motives and behavior that is anything but empathetic listening we should instead step into the other person's shoes to understand him his emotions his frame of reference and is intent the seek first to understand paradigm is universal it is equally applicable to family members friends colleagues and business associates six synergy what the synergy mean well in short it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts for instance two brains working in one team is better than two brains working on individual teams no one in the group is smarter than the whole group collectively so together everyone achieves more one plus one equals two when it comes to arithmetic but in positive synergy it can be three four or more before discussing synergy any further I would like to recommend you to watch the following three episodes of our seven Habits series to fully understand and grasp these principles guidelines to the seven Habits of Highly Effective People what does habit mean and how to form habits you can conveniently find the links to them in the description my fellows subscribe and join mr.

smart to learn practice and promote smart living this seven Habits series is part of our efforts in doing that we here at mr. smart know how hard it is to find time to read books that can help us dramatically books that have information we need in order to change our lives for the better we realize nowadays we're all too busy trying to make ends meet feed our families make sure our kids have a roof over their heads we know it's hard that's why we do what we do we make animated videos about powerful and effective principles and practices in an entertaining and easy-to-understand way so all you have to do is have the desire to listen and a means to do so Stephen Covey's the seven Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the books that's deserving of our work and dedication to bring to you in such a creative way now let us discuss how to produce positive synergy I often used to wonder about it until I understood and practiced habits 4 & 5 those being think win-win and seek first to understand then be understood in fact synergy is the fruits of these two habits two individuals cannot synergize with a lose-lose win or lose lose mindset moreover synergy is simply not possible unless we empathize and deeply understand others from their point of view you need to throw selfishness away and start thinking as a team player are you getting the point if not please watch the following episodes of our seven habits series in sequence be proactive begin with the end in mind put first things first think win-win seek first to understand then to be understood you can conveniently find their links in the description and cards you can bring about phenomenal positive changes in your personal and work life if you thoroughly understand and practice these habits in letter and spirit take my words for it I'm saying this from my own experience when we trust and open up to each other we get genuine insights from one another we learn from each other's experiences we forego my way in your way we instead explore the third alternative which is in fact the better way as a whole we produce more than what we could produce individually the fundamental requirements of habit 6 synergy is to always value the differences it's not something you accept or tolerate instead you should celebrate these differences here the strength lies in differences not similarities these are not just fancy words to convince you to value the differences value literally lies in the differences however there is need of a common purpose goal instead of principles without this commonality there will be negative synergy in which one plus one will be less than two a group of people in this scenario will achieve less than what they can achieve individually here differences can lead to chaos and prejudices the effect of people sharpen the saw it means to renew and refresh your potential on four levels physical mental spiritual emotional or social only a healthy body can maintain a healthy mind in today's busy life we tend to ignore physical fitness and exercise because we don't have time the majority of us don't even stretch in the mornings you should be doing that by the way each and every morning anyhow I just want to stress that we lose our health and vigor when we don't tend to them which has disastrous effects on our work and social life by allocating a few hours a week to physical exercise we can add multiple years of extensive work in our life an ideal physical exercise plan builds endurance flexibility and strength let me explain these one-by-one endurance is related to cardiovascular fitness for endurance I shall recommend brisk walking jogging running biking or my favorite swimming our endurance is directly linked to our heart which can be best pumped and exercised by leg muscles besides this one stretching session before endurance exercise for good warm-up and another session after the exercise for cooling down are good to increase flexibility in our body to increase strength I find chin-ups push-ups and sit-ups quite handy and effective a good combination of endurance flexibility and strength exercises can make all the difference these physical exercises will not only make you fit physically but also sharpen your brain and cognitive abilities according to the anxiety and depression Association of America regular exercise elevates and stabilizes mood decreases tension and improves sleep and self-esteem you can achieve several hours of relief from anxiety by going on a brisk walk it has the same effect of taking an aspirin to fight a headache this description alone should be enough to motivate you to start exercising immediately without any excuses yes exercise alone how is not enough as I've learned from Stephens book we also need to take in the right kinds and quantities of food avoid excessive intake of sugary and fatty foods of course even try switching some of those out for raw vegetables and then there's the need for sufficient sleep and relaxation here again exercise plays a part in that partaking in it usually leads to good healthy sleep patterns so take care of your health and sharpen your axe so that you can smartly work for longer hours and enjoy your life at the same time my fellows are you enjoying this video if yes subscribe and join us in our endeavor to promote smart living we all lead busy lives in which we don't find ample time to read books which can bring about powerful and dramatic change in our lives so mr. smart researches the topics reads worthy books and creates entertaining and easy-to-understand animations to help pass on the pearls of wisdom and treasures of knowledge he finds to help you learn and practice smart living now let us come back to the second dimension of sharpen the saw that is to rejuvenate and refresh mentally if you're still watching this animated video you're already learning and thereby sharpening yourself mentally let your fellow viewers in mr.

smart know in the comments section if you are watching this video at this point watching quality videos on YouTube is the most convenient if not the best way to renew mentally however your choice of videos is a critical factor Stephen Covey recommends reading and writing in this regard reading good books is to communicate directly with the best minds of human history you acquire years of experience by reading a good book on the other hand writing enables us to think rationally and clearly I would strongly suggest you keep a diary of your thoughts write it down when you come across a difficult situation and you have to make a tough decision by doing this you'll not only be able to make a rational decision but also keep a record of how you reach that decision for future reference thirdly you should also refresh your spiritual self it means to reaffirm your principles and ethics of life you have yourself set these principles in your personal mission statement as discussed in habit to begin with the end in mind the physical mental and spiritual dimensions of the seventh habit sharpen the saw are closely related to the first three habits that are be proactive begin with the end in mind and put first things first three habits are the foundation of your personal victory similarly the next three habits think win-win seek first to understand and then to be understood and synergy are the foundation of your public victory Shuler emotional dimension of the seventh habit sharpen the saw relates with the renewal of these three habits in short we can say that the seventh habit sharpen the saw is the renewal of the first six habits this renewal is the process of continuous self-improvement which requires us to learn commit an act say it after me learn and commit and act good learn and understand these Habits of Highly Effective People make a commitment to increasingly align yourself with these habits and principles and most importantly start taking action right now today my friends like and share this video if it has helped you to take a step towards smart and effective living also subscribe and join me in this endeavor to learn practice and promote smart living hit the bell icon so that you don't miss any of our videos these animated videos are made entirely for you so what are you waiting for subscribe to your friendly guide mr.