Changing My Habits

Before settling down to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I found myself dragging my feet and procrastinating even opening the cover. I’m not entirely sure why I had such a feeling of trepidation, but as I began to read, I found that I was just scared to be told that the way I’m living is inefficient. After finally

turning the pages, I discovered that there was really nothing to be afraid of.

Inside Out

A lot of people struggle with the same issues I do. When I opened the book, I was greeted by people struggling with staying true to their diet, feeling like there’s too much to do and just not enough time, trying your best and not getting any support, and it seems like there’s never an end. These issues are deep-rooted and need more than just a band-aid to slap over the problems. Stephen Covey begins to address a more permanent fix to the problems in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Personality and Character Ethics

The “Character Ethic” is based on the ideas that principles, which are the natural laws of the world, are just as unchanging and there in the physical dimension. For example, there are rules of fairness, integrity, and honesty that people are simply expected to abide by. These are the solid foundations that happiness and success are built upon.

The “Personality Ethic,” on the other hand, is based from how other people view you regardless of your character and morals. This version of ethics is very superficial as it is based from people liking your personality, so it may be manipulative and deceptive to some degree to ensure that others will like your personality.

The aspect of the Personality Ethic that appeals to me is the Positive Mental Attitude. Using aphorisms such as “smiling wins more friends than frowning,” and “whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve” are used to help you believe in yourself and the power that you have within yourself.

Primary and Secondary Greatness

The things associated with Personality Ethics, such as communication, personality growth, and positive thinking, are secondary traits. Covey says that because we use these skills for our own benefits, our duplicity is compromised and we cannot be successful. Without trust and goodness backing our actions, there is no foundation for permanent success. Primary greatness comes from within, and secondary greatness comes from social recognition.

The Power of a Paradigm

Today, people look for instant fixes to their problems. This habit of finding shortcuts only enables us to avoid our problems and simply gloss over them. Covey’s book starts with explaining that our worlds are created by what we perceive and how we react to that.

He brings up the example of an optical illusion. If you focus on a certain part of the picture, you see an old woman. Yet, many people will still argue and say that the picture is of a young woman instead. It just depends what part of the picture you focus on. In a student group, they tested who saw what when they were looking at this picture:

Many of the students were arguing incessantly, until a few students started picking out specific details and pointing them out to each other. Once they got past the initial defensiveness, the students were able to have a civilized discussion where they were able to share their opinions respectfully and clearly communicate their perceptions of the picture.

The Power of a Paradigm Shift

Paradigm shift: [noun; formal] an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paradigm%20shift).

A paradigm shift is required for someone to change their perception of the world. There must be something that begins the process of change, such as meeting someone new, or having a conversation with a stranger. Once you open your eyes to other people and ideas in the world, you enable yourself to see a bigger picture.

Interestingly, paradigm shifts can be positive or negative. For example, the shift from Personality Ethics to Character Ethics draws you away from more nourishing foundations of life. Your values and morals are much more fulfilling than how others view you.

In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey generalizes that a paradigm, saying it is simply “the way we ‘see’ the world-not in terms of our visual sense of sight, but in terms of perceiving, understanding, interpreting” (31). A paradigm shift causes that “Eureka!” moment of realization when they can finally see their world from a different perspective.

Covey explores different types of ethics in the first part of 7 Habits. He brings up “the Character Ethic” and “the Personality Ethic,” two very different views of the world. These two Ethics formulate much of the world that we live in.

Seeing and Being

Paradigm shifts are not always sudden and obvious. Many are slow to build and take a deliberate process. It starts with seeing the problem and being willing to make changes. In the most basic processes lie the most room for growth.

The Principle-Centered Paradigm

Natural laws are the fundamentals of society. When these are demonstrated, there is nothing for a person to do but change their perception. A sea captain cannot force a lighthouse to move because it is in his way, he must alter his course. There are certain degrees of reality that we can change, and some that we must accept.

Principles of Growth and Change

Personality Ethics come from its quick and easy appeal to people who just want a fast solution to their unhappiness. Through their personalities and how other view them, people can alter who sees which side of them to achieve their goals faster. There are specific changes a person must make in order to grow. There is a process for everything. As we learn, our levels of understanding increase.

The Way We See the Problem Is the Problem

How one views their problem is a major part of the problem itself. By only looking at the problem from one angle, you can never really see how it all is connected. A person must be able to come at a problem from all angles and open their minds to solving it in a different manner. That way, you can resolve the problem instead of slapping a Band-Aid on it.

A New Level of Thinking

People must be able to think deeply, to push past the surface. Covey focuses on the “Inside Out Approach” which starts with oneself. Starting with your paradigms, your character, and your motives. This is a continuous process that helps you be the kind of person you want to be. By using the Inside Out Approach, you can be the kind of person who spreads positive energy, be more understanding, or empathetic, or responsible in your day to day life.

In Part One of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey tells you where to begin if you’re looking to become a more efficient person in your day to day life. As I read deeper and deeper, I started to lose that feeling of trepidation and start to become excited to see the kind of person I could be. The hardest part to a journey is truly getting started, as I found out when I was trying to make myself read this book. Despite my initial procrastination, I think that this book has a solid foundation. There are 7 Habits I have yet to form, but 296 pages left to read

Yours truly,

Jessica Ferrucci