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A review by bananabell
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Jim Collins, Stephen R. Covey
4.0
Ummm thought this was going to be a cliché book focused on quick solutions on how to make $ and be successful in life. The title did not help nor did its bestseller, self-help canon status. I thought it would be focused on pop psychology but imagine my surprise when I find out it might as well be a philosophy book!!!?!?!? It shouldn't be self-help canon, but liberal arts canon!!! Rude!
The author makes it very clear that actually, many self-help books focus on external, superficial methods for rapid but short-lived results. However, books that were published before a certain year consisted of character-based analyses that focus on the person's PERCEPTION and therefore BEING, not just the outward persona. Therefore the focus first on the individual and relationships with other people before even talking about organizations and large-scale management. Also makes sense why the focus is on the importance of committing to the process in lieu of values that outlast present frustrations, rather than vying for immediate gratification & results. What *is* matters before you start deciding what to *do* and shapes how you ~think~
This book shows the importance of objective truth when we determine our values in life– no matter how optimistic we are, how skilled we are, etc., if we have the wrong map of the city, we will never find the destination/will take an inordinate amount of time to do so. Very simple truth, but... somehow no longer certain.
Additionally, the choice of proactivity we have in our lives; to respond instead of reacting. How our desire to escape a situation merely shows our dependence on external situation. Certainly this can seem to evoke a triumphalist mindset, but it actually imparts dignity to the individual. I don't think that it is mutually exclusive to real suffering and grief that people experience in life and affect their ability to be 'proactive'; it's reinforcing the idea that in the midst of such a circumstance, we do not have to despair and we still have a choice in how we respond (it's worth noting that the author is a self-professed Christian and believes such pursuit of virtue is only completed through faith in God). But also, let's be real, the times that the author encourages proactivity are often commonplace situations that we can respond differently; I don't remember exactly, but things like an 'annoying spouse', unideal job, a disobedient child... difficulties, however real, that are seen as insurmountable setbacks that leave us paralyzed instead of responding through deeper-set convictions. It is through taking responsibility for our own actions that we not only recognize but steward the freedom of choices that we possess. After all, how can you seek to improve your life if you don't even believe you have personal responsibility in it or that you have the power to change your life at all?
Final point to record is the importance of a priority-driven life, rather than living from a scarcity mindset. That is, living to pursue value-set goals, rather than merely being driven by what is most urgent. So, for example, taking 30 minutes out of the day to exercise– something that seems like a waste of time but actually ends up enhancing your very being and ability to execute the rest of your activities.
Lol some of these seem so Sunday-school obvious but it really is one thing to know something by your head and then to grow older and not be living those principles in real life and be hit by them anew in the face later on.
The best revelations came from the first 2-3 chapters where Covey laid down the groundwork for the rest of the book. I think the philosophy in these chapters is much more revelatory than everything else that follows. And the last epilogue/personal anecdote chapter was great, too. In general, though, I found my reading pace slowing in the later sections of the book. Snooze~ :-)
The author makes it very clear that actually, many self-help books focus on external, superficial methods for rapid but short-lived results. However, books that were published before a certain year consisted of character-based analyses that focus on the person's PERCEPTION and therefore BEING, not just the outward persona. Therefore the focus first on the individual and relationships with other people before even talking about organizations and large-scale management. Also makes sense why the focus is on the importance of committing to the process in lieu of values that outlast present frustrations, rather than vying for immediate gratification & results. What *is* matters before you start deciding what to *do* and shapes how you ~think~
This book shows the importance of objective truth when we determine our values in life– no matter how optimistic we are, how skilled we are, etc., if we have the wrong map of the city, we will never find the destination/will take an inordinate amount of time to do so. Very simple truth, but... somehow no longer certain.
Additionally, the choice of proactivity we have in our lives; to respond instead of reacting. How our desire to escape a situation merely shows our dependence on external situation. Certainly this can seem to evoke a triumphalist mindset, but it actually imparts dignity to the individual. I don't think that it is mutually exclusive to real suffering and grief that people experience in life and affect their ability to be 'proactive'; it's reinforcing the idea that in the midst of such a circumstance, we do not have to despair and we still have a choice in how we respond (it's worth noting that the author is a self-professed Christian and believes such pursuit of virtue is only completed through faith in God). But also, let's be real, the times that the author encourages proactivity are often commonplace situations that we can respond differently; I don't remember exactly, but things like an 'annoying spouse', unideal job, a disobedient child... difficulties, however real, that are seen as insurmountable setbacks that leave us paralyzed instead of responding through deeper-set convictions. It is through taking responsibility for our own actions that we not only recognize but steward the freedom of choices that we possess. After all, how can you seek to improve your life if you don't even believe you have personal responsibility in it or that you have the power to change your life at all?
Final point to record is the importance of a priority-driven life, rather than living from a scarcity mindset. That is, living to pursue value-set goals, rather than merely being driven by what is most urgent. So, for example, taking 30 minutes out of the day to exercise– something that seems like a waste of time but actually ends up enhancing your very being and ability to execute the rest of your activities.
Lol some of these seem so Sunday-school obvious but it really is one thing to know something by your head and then to grow older and not be living those principles in real life and be hit by them anew in the face later on.
The best revelations came from the first 2-3 chapters where Covey laid down the groundwork for the rest of the book. I think the philosophy in these chapters is much more revelatory than everything else that follows. And the last epilogue/personal anecdote chapter was great, too. In general, though, I found my reading pace slowing in the later sections of the book. Snooze~ :-)