If You Haven' T Read" 7 Habits" Yet, It MAY NOT Be Time To Read It Now

Business.

Book review of the 7 habits of highly effective people - if you haven' t read" 7 habits" yet, it may not be time to read it now. Let me explain that: I read it in 1993 when I was 2If I had read it when I was 19, I would have gotten nothing out of it.

I have noticed that you can' t or shouldn' t read it until you' re ready. - to be honest, when i did read it, it really was an answer to my prayers. For example, I continuously found myself comparing what was happening in my life to what I had just read. There are concepts in this book that are so powerful, that even just reading them( without consciously putting them into action) changed how I live. If someone said an insulting thing to me, my initial feeling would be anger, but on the heels of that thought would come something I' d read in 7 Habits. That reminds me of when Covey wrote about. " And by the time that thought was gone, so was the negative situation.

I' d be thinking, "Hey! - thinking became a whole lot of fun! You could live 1000 years and not come up with these concepts on your own. Even the first 3 Habits were enough to get me incredibly excited about interaction with others. The 4th habit was my favorite. I wish I did this more. now that I' m married! It' s called" Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood" .

But back then, this helped me to become a very good" Speaker" . - people want to be understood. I could talk to people and help them not" drown for psychological air" around me. If you argue your point all the time, no one feels understood and ideas are harder to be put into action. The whole world seems to place a huge importance on debate. and being able to destroy other people' s points of view with your logic and wit. ANY IDIOT CAN ARGUE! But that' s not strength.

Not 1 in 1000 people can REALLY consider another person' s opinion as being the right one. - like i said: any idiot can argue. Even fewer can actually stop and say to themselves: "I' m positive that I' m 110% right and that other person is wrong, but who knows? Let me consider their point and listen to what they need to express. " Now that is real strength. Maybe I am wrong. I once shared this concept with an opinionated individual. With a grin on my face, I replied, "Maybe you' re right" .

They started yelling at me and saying I was wrong and that if you know you' re right, you need to stand up for yourself and prove the other person is wrong. - lol! It' s amazing what happens to people when you state back to them what you think is the point they' re trying to make. They didn' t even pick up on the fact I had just done to them what I was advocating. You' ll end up starting a lot of your sentences with: ".so, what you' re saying is. ". The urgency in their voice drops.

Once you begin to show the person you' re not there to argue, their backs go down. - they calm down. As Covey explains, the best way to influence others is. to be INFLUENCED. And then they listen to your point without fighting. It' s such a good book and it' s filled with principles that will help you in all your dealings, but I find you have to be in a position in your life to put it into action. If you feel a strong need to know how to deal with others more effectively, maybe you' re ready for this book now.

It will work great if you can practice it every day in a setting as: - a family member dealing with difficult situations. - a manager. - a salesperson. .or anyone who needs to deal with people day - to - day.