study and live the 7 Habits

Will it be possible for you to write the next entry for this goal , plz.?

30.Covey says that it is at one to one level that we live the primary laws of love and life.I find this very deep and correct.

I cannot love humanity if i cannot love one person .Often we make statements like ,we want to serve the poor , help the millions of needy and sick people .All those big and generalized statements , goals like changing the world , joining the politics and creating mass awareness , and all that.But we might not have intensely loved a single person , to know what it means to love .We might not have nursed a single sick person in a hospital .We might not have raised the awareness of a sigle person .It is not baby steps i am talking about .I am talking about the full play of love and life but in respect of one individual .

Next time when i think of reforming the world , i must ask myself :Have i made a real difference to a single individual .If not , i must do that first .If yes , then i proceed further.

I have a very strong impression that all human beings are very sensitive,very tender inside.They may pose otherwise to the outside world but that is just a cover.This cuts across cultures and ages.Even very important world leaders have this nature.A very little gesture , a single word spoken with love , a small carelessness can make disproportionately large impact.We must be sensitive to the sensitivities of other people.This should be the guide for all our relationships.

to this goal.

To live according to our values and vision , we have to make decisions daily, every moment.If we are passionately involved with our vision , we will do those things which take us nearer to our goals , set by us according to our vision.But human nature refuses to be bound by fetters .It wants to remain free , even from self-imposed goals .Often , we know that certain things are not going to take us any nearer to our goals and vision , but we still want to do those .Covey says that we must impose our self-discipline there.Freedom should have certain self -imposed restrictions.We should put first things , which take us nearer to our vision first.

But real life is not that simple .If you become too strict with your self through self-discipline and will power , there is a danger that at some stage , you may begin to feel bored and restrictive .There is no point in aiming for an overkill .Being over ambitious about our vision and goals can leave us dry and exhausted .I would therefore go for the Golden Mean of Buddha.Don’t practice too strict austerities , and don’t indulge in temptations .I know , this is not what prioritization means , but i feel that out of many possible visions , who knows what you have selected as a vision to the excusion of all other possible visions was the only right one for you?

You are welcome to comment.

27.The three V’s that Covey discusses are Values ,Vision and Visualization.Often , we are not in touch with our values .Through self awareness and conscience , we must try to be intouch with values.At times , we may feel compelled to change our values.Then we must be in touch with our vision .What is important thing for us to do ?Through self awareness and imagination , we should create our vision .(I say create , because i believe it is worthwhile to take the responsibilty for our vision , even if we are born with a mission ) , .And how do we remain in touch with our values and vision .Through visualization and imagination.

If we visualize a wrong vision ,we will produce the wrong vision.Yesterday ,i asked a friend of mine how she visualized her after ten years.She is highly intelligent but i was surprized by her answer .She said that honestly , if she continued to live in the place where she is residing and working at present , she visualizes to be doing almost similar things after ten years .In other words , no progress.I feel that her visualization will be self fulfilling.It is therefore important to exercise our imagination to make a vision that is progressive and positive , whichever way we define progress and positivity.And then keep on affirming and visualizing it.

26.Covey confuses us on mission.Somewhere he says we must detect our mission in life ;somewhere else he says , we must create our mission.I find it the most difficult part of this book;How to decide your mission in life.Any comments?

25.We have to have a unique vision.I can not simply lift or copy your vision.Even if i do it , it will not inspire and guide me because it may not be according to my own unique values.We have to know ourselves through self awareness.We have to use our values imagination and conscience to create our own vision.

A few years back , a very dear friend remarked to me that we can be what we REALLY WANT TO BE .i ASKED HIM , A LITTLE CASUALLY , WHETHER I CAN BE THE PRESIDENT OF MY OWN COUNTRY .HE SAID , YES IF YOU REALLY WANT IT. I do not fully believe in what he said , but i do feel that having a unique,valuebased vision can take us much higher in life than where we would be in the absence of a vision or with a wrong vision.Developing my own correct vision is really important.Take my word for it.Start with a draft vision and keep on refining it till you realize that you have arrived.

Can you visualize your end?Yes , all of us are going to die one day.But till death does us apart ,what vision you have , of life as a whole?What is your definition of success in life?

It is easy to say that you you begin with a clear idea of end in mind , your definition of success.But how to know what you really want in life? Is this what i really want?

TS Eliot asks this in The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock:
Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

For I have known them all already, known them all:—
Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.

`The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon but that we wait so long to begin it’....WM Lewis.

Sometimes i feel that very few people(the blessed ones) know what they want out of life and take the responsibilty for that decision.For lesser mortals like me , it is endless visions and revisions.

Covey suggests two ways to be proactive:
1.Make promises to yourself and to others and keep these.
2.Set goals and work to achieve these.
We may not feel like doing these two sets of activities.Well ,that is possible .To avoid that possibilty . Covey exhorts us to develop these two ways as a habit .He has named this as the habit of proactivity.

Often i have thought as to why i should have ANY habit at all .Here is the answer i have found .When chips are down and you are in low spirits , when you dont feel like doing anything , just hand yourself over to a habit like an automaton.Mostly , habits do take us over in an auto pilot mode .If we have habits like drinking excess alcohol , we start that .But if we have developed over a long time , the habit of proactivity , it will enable us to sail through even the difficult times.

This habit of proactivity is the essence and mother of all other habits of effectiveness.Full marks to Covey on this .However , comments are welcome.