7 Habits of Highly Effective People Summary

We are what we do repeatedly! That’s what 7 habits of highly effective people summary is all about. This is a great book by Stephen Covey which highlights the 7 habits of those people who are highly effective in their lives and are successful as well. Some people have these habits naturally, but others can also learn and adopt. The more you act on these habits the easier it gets for you to follow and make it a second nature.

Our last post was about boss vs leader which you would like to check as well. You can consider the 7 habits of highly effective people summary as an add-on to that post, as in order to become a great leader you must have these habits.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People Summary

These 7 habits can be easily understood by anyone. These are simple and to the point. And highlight the points of being proactive and not blaming others. It also shows why starting with the end in mind is a good habit to avoid wasting time and resources. Another good habit of effective people is that they first understand the other person, and then communicate their own point of view. This way, they’re able to create a win-win situation for everyone. They not only create a synergy with these habits but also keep improving their skills like sharpening a saw before you cut a tree. Let’s go through these habits quickly.

Be Proactive

Be Proactive. Take responsibility for your life. Do not blame people or circumstances. You chose your actions and are responsible for those. Reactive people, on the other hand, blame external sources like people, circumstances, family, and culture etc. Proactive people don’t let their mood and actions be affected by conditions.

Begin with the End in Mind

Begin With the End in Mind. If you’re moving in the wrong direction, it doesn’t matter how fast you run. Think what you really want in life without sacrificing what is important to you and decide a direction first and then put efforts. The efforts put into the wrong goal will only give you disappointment and unhappiness at the end.

Put First Things First

Put First things First. You have limited time and a lot of things to do. If you take on every task coming your way, you’ll reach nowhere. You need to first decide what’s important and based on that, you need to prioritize the tasks. The highest priority tasks must be done first and then the lower priority ones and so on.

Think Win Win

Think Win Win. We believe that we only succeed if the other person fails i.e. win-lose. Or we make everyone lose, if we can’t win i.e. lose-lose. While, the best approach is to think win-win, which means everyone wins. You can win by helping others around you and making them successful. Grow together!

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood. Communication is important and listening is the first rule of it. We learn reading, writing, and speaking. But we’re not trained in listening. Learn to listen to others first and understand them before you can communicate your own point of view.

Synergize

Synergize means creative cooperation. It means two heads are better than one. It means our way is better than “my way” or “your way”. It is about teamwork at the office or home. People can produce far better results together than what they can individually. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Sharpen the Saw

The last point in our 7 habits of highly effective people summary post is Sharpen the Saw. It means keep improving yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and professionally. If you don’t keep growing in all these areas, your saw will get blunt. You need to renew and upgrade all of your skills and capabilities including personal and professional.

This 7 habits of highly effective people summary would greatly help improve your habits and your attitude towards greatness.