Begin with the End in Mind
Stephen Covey is one of the world’s greatest motivators and mentors of the successful life.
His books inspire millions of people to reach the beautiful hands with the hard work which is mostly conducted in their hands: change yourself, and the world will change around you. “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is just another bright example which provides its readers with useful tips how to turn your life into a successful upsurge without having to commit things which go against your own values. The name of the second habit of the Covey’s way of understanding the way to success is to imagine yourself at the end of your life. Even the description of the habit 2 starts with the funeral which is supposed to allow the reader to understand his destination and values in life. Covey chooses death in order to stress once again that all of us are doomed for the same end, and that no matter what we do, our life will end.
However, how we spend it and what we reach depends only on us and the steps we take, choices we make. Each our day can be extremely busy, inefficient or negative, however, to make it highly productive, we have to start with the end of mind. It is very interesting to note the basis for the habit 2 – all things are created twice. verything possesses its first (mental) creation and second (physical) creation. First creation is often imperfect and has a lot of flaws, however, the second creation usually never fails.
We are not the mental creation to ourselves, as we frequently depend on our past habits, circumstances, and someone else’s agendas which we often do not even approve. The most important principles that form habit 2 are personal leadership which presupposes this leadership to be of the first creation, and management which presents the physical creation. Unfortunately, people often make a blunt mistake by going into the managing field, determining and achieving their most desirable goals without understanding first their values, which are usually similar, however, not the same for each individual.To be really effective, according to Stephen Covey, an individual has to possess a great deal of the proactivity which if fostered by self-awareness. In order to promote proactivity, it is vital to apply our imagination which helps us to visualize our goals clearly as if we have already achieved them, and to be very conscious about talents and never forget to develop them within the frames of personal guidelines and certain principles which are important for us as for the individual. To be effective with the end of mind, a person should develop a statement of a personal mission.
To be open to everything new and positive is crucial, however, one has to remain changeless in the sense of who he or she is, what goals he or she has, and what are their initial values. After the sense of the mission is developed, the essence of the proactivity is granted to that person: it becomes easy to remain true to your values, support your vision that allows easiness of being directed through life. The direction shows which goals would be the most efficient to set up. The center of life is extremely important – it distinguishes our personal wisdom, security, it is our power and guidance. If this center is not the person on its own, than it can be money, family, love, work, pleasure, some possessions, friends or enemies, and religious beliefs.
The choice of the center will determine the efficiency and success of our life: only deep, classic and fundamental principles can give us all we need for a happy life and not a mere existence to survive. Being the person who is centered around the right principles, means to develop the ability to never be ruled by the emotions caused by a situation or by other factors which help to evaluate everything around you, but your own deep common sense supported by strong values.
