Coveys Habits essays

Covey's Habits essays Proactive. Covey tells us how we should be taking more initiative and control of our lives. We are the only ones that have control over our lives. Covey uses the story of Victor Frankl to explain the total control we have to shape our own thoughts and feelings. Victor was a Jew held in a German death camp during the second World War. Victor realized that even though the Germans had control of the environment that he was in and the ability to kill him at anytime, he could still have control of his thoughts and feelings. Victor could project himself into other places that he found comforting. By doing this, he would almost forget about where he was. His attitude changed and helped encourage hundreds of other people around him. Highly effective people understand and use this ability that everyone possesses. We need to take control of our selves and realize that we can shape our thoughts. By being proactive we are not as prone to have our environment shape the way we think or feel. Non-p roactive people tend to be emotional butterflies: when people treat them well, they feel well; when people dont, they become defensive or protective . . . allowing the weaknesses of people to control them. People who are proactive take more initiative then their counterparts do. In order to be a more effective person, you must first have initiative. You take control over yourself. You dont let people walk over you, creating benefit for themselves and destruction for you. Being proactive seems like one of the most important and fundamental attitudes one can have. It is the corner stone to other important aspects of a person. This is a theory I plan on using in my life. As a Masters student, and a soon to be counselor, control over your outlook can make or break you. For myself, I am working 30 hours a week, married, and trying to keep my grades the best they can be. I find it easy to feel overwhelmed with all these things. Having the...