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Remembering Stephen R. Covey and His 7 Habits

By Nate Riggs on July 17, 2012 |

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Stephen R. Covey - 7 Habits

In what is a tragic battle lost, Dr. Stephen R. Covey joins the a list of amazing and talented people who have passed during the course of 2012.

Stephen Covey Dies

Acclaimed author and consultant Stephen R. Covey passed away as a result of injuries he sustained during a cycling accident while riding down a hill in Provo, Utah this past April.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey, a former Brigham Young University business professor turned consultant was best known for publishing his world-renowned work in 1989 - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

This best-selling book on personal growth and the human psyche resonated with audiences across the globe for its simple lessons and stories on the ideas of self-mastery, interdependence and self-renewal.

Remembering The 7 Habits

“To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions.”
― Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen Covey's first edition of the 7 habits was released in 1989, teaching the world short form principles that are applicable in all of the relationships we develop during our careers and family life. The short form list is below.

If you've not yet read the book, I encourage you to finish it before the end of the summer months. It will cause you to reflect on who you are, what you stand for and how you navigate the relationships with those whom you hold close.

Also - look to the bottom of the post for a 5 minute video of Stephen Covey himself, reflecting on why the 7 Habits are so important to becoming highly effective people.

  1. Be Proactive - Take initiative and responsibility for your choices and the consequences your choices produce
  2. Begin with the End in Mind - Self-discover and clarify your deeply rooted values and goals and create a personal mission statement.
  3. Put First Things First - Prioritize, plan, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency and make sure your tasks move you toward goals.
  4. Think Win-Win - Work towards relationships that have mutual benefit for each party. A "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term strategy.
  5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood - Applying the idea of 'empathic listening' and allowing yourself to be genuinely influenced by a person creates reciprocity, and increases their openness to be influenced in return.
  6. Synergize - The sum output of a team will always be greater than the contribution of any individual. To get the highest performance out of a group encourage meaningful contribution through supportive leadership.
  7. Sharpen the Saw - Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health by living a balanced lifestyle that includes physical exercise, prayer and mediation, reading and service work.

How The 7 Habits Helped Me Change

I first read Stephen Covey's 7 Habits back in 2008 on a suggestion from one of my mentors, Artie Isaac. (Artie is still one of the people who I feel lives these 7 Habits daily, in both his work and his life.)

At the time, I was struggling to define my career goals and direction while learning to be a parent for the first time. My stress levels were through the roof.

I'll never forget one of the early exercises mentioned in the early chapters of the book detailing Habit 1: Be Proactive.

Dr. Covey describes an exercise often used in cognitive behavioral therapy designed to help individuals increase their sense of self-awareness.

Below is the excerpt describing this technique - one which I myself have frequently used as a form of meditation to reflect on my life, my work and my relationships.

As you read this book, try to stand apart from yourself. Try to project upward into the corner of the room and see yourself, in your mind's eye, reading. Can you look at yourself almost as if though you were someone else?

Now try something else. Think about the mood you are in now. Can you identify it? What are you feeling? How would you describe your mental state?

Now think for a minute about how your mind is working. Is it quick and alert? Do you sense that you are torn between doing this mental exercise and evaluating the point being made out of it?

Your ability to do what you just did is uniquely human. Animals do not possess this ability. We call it 'self-awareness', or your ability to think about your very thought process. This is the reason why man has domain over all things in the world and why he can make advances from generation to generation.

This is why we can evaluate and learn from others' experiences as well as our own. This is also why we can make or break our own habits.

The idea is simple -- in order to truly reflect and become self-aware, we need to stop long enough to focus our energy on what's happening inside our head.

I have found that by closing my eyes and following Stephen Covey's process to create a mental image of myself, helps me to shift my own mental state to a paradigm of 'outside-in' as opposed to our typical state of mind that is 'inside-out'.

I believe that this exercise in paradigm shift has helped me to own my thoughts, and more importantly, change and evolve my behaviors.

Your Proactive Call to Action

I want to challenge you to make some time this week to sit alone and work through Covey's exercise.

Set aside 20-30 minutes in a quiet place and follow the steps from the excerpt above.

See what comes of your time reflecting. If you're so brave, email me with what you think you discovered.

I Did ... For My Family

What's interesting is the practice I've developed from Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits mentioned above has had the most impact on me as a blended family parent and husband.

Bringing two families together in the wake of divorce comes with a toll of emotional challenges. If those emotions go unmanaged or unexamined, they can often result in undesired behaviors that have an effect on the strength of the nuclear family unit.

Take some time to watch the video below. Dr. Stephen R. Covey explains how The 7 Habits are applicable to developing and maintaining better and more productive family relationships.



Nate Riggs

Written by Nate Riggs

Nate Riggs is the Founder and CEO of NR Media Group, a Certified HubSpot Partner and inbound consulting firm. He leads a team of experienced strategists, content marketers, creatives and technologists that help organizations deploy and use HubSpot’s marketing, sales, and service software to operate more efficiently and accelerate growth. Nate regularly presents keynotes and workshops at top industry conferences like INBOUND, Content Marketing World and Oracle’s Modern CX. In 2017, Nate was recognized by HubSpot for his contributions to the development of the HubSpot Education Partner Program. Nate regularly presents keynotes and workshops at top industry conferences like INBOUND, Content Marketing World and Oracle’s Modern CX. In 2017, Nate was recognized by HubSpot for his contributions to the development of the HubSpot Education Partner Program.
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