Summary on Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey is my one of the most favorite books I have ever read. This book is about being "effective" in every area of life, personal life, relationships, profession.  This book is not an ordinary "how to book " we constantly encounter like books on how to make others like you or how to success in your life. These books only focus on tips or tricks, that focuses on behavior.

The author describe in this book that our action is driven from our paradigm, which is the way we see and interpret things. If you try to make others like you or succeed, using tricks or tips, any special techniques, the success will not last long enough because your behavior and action are not aligned with how you truly are, your paradigm. In the beginning, you may succeed but others will notice your manipulation in the end because you are trying to act against paradigm and it is impossible to keep the behavior against your paradigm. Who you truly are speaks more fluently about yourself than anything that you try. 

In other words, it is very important to look at our paradigm and shift it so that our life and relationships is harmony with our value or how my life want to be and how our relationships with others want to be like.

Do you want your relationships with your family, friend, and your partner full of manipulation, distrust, anxiety, doubt or you want relationships with them full of trust, openness, peace of mind? It is up to you.

One more important idea in Seven Habit of Highly Effective People is principles.
Dr. Covey explains principles, natural law that governs how things works like law of gravity.

For example, if you want to grow vegetables on a farm, you have to go to the farm and take care of them everyday. You cannot and should not hope healthy and delicious vegetables are grown if you play video games, not caring your vegetables. You have to respect the natural process of growth or you will fail.

The author in this book explains natural laws like laws of farm certainly exist in the every area and aspect of life, and we can abstain our desired result over and over only when we understand, apply, and live harmony with correct principles. It is same if you want to harvest vegetables this year, next year, and so on, you need to follow the principles of harvest. We can decide our action, but princeples determines the result of our action. If you make an action besed on correct principles, you will succeed but if you act based on wrong principles, you will fail. Many people don’t think this way at least consciously. The surrender and understanding and application of the princeples are one of the most important step to be an effective individual. 

Then, how can we change our paradigm and live in harmony with principles?
The author explains the ways and impact of paradigm shift in detail in the book. When we experience a paradigm shift, we see things differently and it makes us act differently. If you don’t know the exaistanse of princeples, you might act based on your belief how plants or vegetations grow. You will  be flastrated because it doesn’t work and you don’t know what to do!! If you know that the laws of farm, you may seek help from others to tell you how to grow vegetables or you might read books, you might find your own the best way to grow vegetables through try and error.

There are many ways to make a paradigm shift and it it difficult to explain everything in this article, but I think one of the most important mindset every individual should have is

To get out of ourselves, and observe the nature, the world, and what works, principles.

Someone said that learning starts when you realize you know nothing. Humility is one of the most important aspect in learning. If you think you know everything why you bother to learn anyway!!
This book told me importance of humility, constantly seek for princeples in every aspect of my life.

Paradigm shit that changes our life  doesn’t happens  many times, but I believe we cannot an increase the chances of paradigm shift by our action.

1. Try new things
 People tend to do things which is comfortable for them. If one like to stay indoor, he tend to spend his  life indoor doing things he is comfortable with. It is very easy and comfortable for us but it decreases our chances of learning. Doing  something new is always beneficial for us to expand our perception.

In my experience, I was a very miserable student when I was in junior high school. I played video games all day and night with no hope and full of anxiety for the future. I don’t know what I wanted to do and learn. Studying at school seemed to me nothing and no worth for me. When I was a high school student, I applied for a studying abroad program to Australia even though my English is awful. I hated who I am and where I am. I hoped doing something different might change the situation. Actually, it worked for me. I could make friends from other countries and these new experiences to live in unknown country actually was really interesting for me. Living and returning to Japan also increased my confidence in myself. I became interested in learning English, and other cultures.  I help me to find what I wanted to study in the future.

Studying abroad may not work for you as it worked for me, but it is always better to try something new when you feel you are stuck.

2. Learn from others, listen, read broadly
 Time is limited. We have only limited time left to accomplish something. If you try to learn everything by yourself. It will be a great loss of time. Since old age, Human developed a great ability to share the ideas and knowledge from their actions for survival. Why don’t you make use of this powerful ability? Listen to others, read books on various kinds of subject. In this way, you can increase knowledge only through your own mistakes but from others.

Another benefit of learning from others is to become more objective. We are very easy to be subjective because it is how we see things in this world. We tend to think what we think or believe is right because we believe.  You might think that’s foolish!!  but I think it is very difficult to be always objective for the most people.  Learning from others make us realize there are more new way of interpretations of the world, new ideas and so on. While we are learning from the others, we get out of ourself and experience what they think or experoence. It helps us to be more objective.


The seven habits of highly effective people helps the reader to be a effective person who constantly improve himself  and change their paradigm so that it is harmony with correct princeples..
Being a effective is a harsh path, not easy path, but I think it is the prise worth paying for compared to the flusttration of living against principles.

I would like to move on Habit:1 Be Proactive in the next article. The principle explained in habit 1 is the most important that can change one’s life, so I am really excited to share with you.