Start with the End in Mind - Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Habit 2: Start to the End in Mind

Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The second habit is that Covey suggests is to Start with the End in Mind

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind.

Covey starts the journey off in quite a dark but effective way.

He asks the reader to picture their own funeral in three years time. To imagine speakers that would be there. From your family, from your friends, from you work and from an organization you have been involved in. What would you like each of these people to say about you? What kind of husband/wife/father or mother would you like to have been. What kind of friend? What kind of work mate?

What characters to do you want people to remember you by? What achievements would you like them to remember? What difference would you like to have made?

By doing this exercise, you'll quickly work out what is really important to you. Many focus their lives achieving things that don't align with what is really important to them.

Covey believes that the best way to begin with the end in mind is by developing a personal mission statement or creed or philosophy.

So how do you start to write one of these personal mission statements?

Easy. Start at the center. The very centre of you Circle of Influence. What is at the centre of your own life? This may actually not be that easy! Most people's centre is usually a combination of the following centers: Spouse, family, money, work, possession, pleasure, friend, enemy, church or self.

When we centre our lives on correct principles, we create a solid foundation. Principles are deep, fundamental truths. By centering our lives of these solid fundamental truths, we create a centre that puts all other centers in perspective.

There you go.

This week, have a long think about what is important to you. What principles are important? What do you value? What kind of person you want to be?