Stephen Covey - fascinated by and has done much research into the way people think and how that thinking, shapes the way they behave - in all sorts of situations.
These sessions will build the foundations in order to understand The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Habits

  • Are basic
  • They are primary
  • Represent the internalization of correct principles upon which lasting happiness and success can be built

So – Where do we start? - With ourselves

We need to build an understanding about ourselves.
Who we are and appreciate just how unique we each are.

So I hope you enjoy the activities that I purposefully have chosen

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE?

If going to make some changes we really need to need to understand our own Paradigm.

Paradigm is - the way we SEE the world - an inclusive word - a model, theory, perception, assumption, or frame of reference-------

NOT in terms of our own eyesight - visual sense but internally - in terms of the way we perceive things, understand things or interpret things.

A simple way is to understand paradigms as maps.

We all know that the map is not the territory. It simply is an explanation of certain aspects of the territory.

That’s exactly what a paradigm is. It is our perception, our representation our ideas. In our head- each of us- have many maps.

We can sort our maps into two categories-

Maps of the way things are - or realities

Maps of the way things should be - or values

We interpret everything we experience through our mental (mind) maps.

We seldom question their accuracy - in fact - we are usually unaware that we have them.

We simply assume that the way we see things - the way they really are or the way they should be.

The way we see things is the source of the way we think and the way we act.

Two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet be both right.

It’s not logical - IT’S Psychological

If two people draw a map to the same location, from the same starting point, they are likely to be vastly different. This is a really valuable exercise because it provides so many valuable insights.

  • How powerfully conditioning affects our perceptions - our paradigms
    10 seconds can have such an influence on our thinking - what about the conditioning of a lifetime?
    Think about the influences in our lives - family, school, church, work environment, friends & associates.

    All have made a silent, unconscious impact on us and help us to shape our frame of reference-our paradigms, our maps.

  • It also shows us that these paradigms are the source of our attitudes and behaviours

We cannot act with integrity if we act outside of these – we can’t maintain “wholeness” if we talk and walk in different directions

Both your attitude and your behavior toward a person or situation have to be congruent with the way you see things

It also shows how powerfully our paradigms effect the way we interact with other people

As clearly and objectively as we see things- we begin to realise that others see things differently from their own equally clear and objective point of view.

Each of us thinks we see things as they are - that we are objective.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE.

We see the world NOT as it is - BUT as we are----OR------as we are conditioned to see it.

When we open our mouths to describe what we see, we in effect, describe ourselves, our perceptions—our paradigms.

In fact when other people disagree with us - we think something is wrong with THEM

The more AWARE we are of our basic paradigms, maps, or assumptions

- and the extent to which we have been influenced by our experience – the more we can TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for those paradigms — examine them, test them against reality, listen to others and be open to THEIR perceptions ==== get a much larger and richer picture and a far more objective view.

In conclusion - what I have come to appreciate is that the more we understand ourselves the more we understand others --------- appreciate their perspective.

How could you apply this learnt to your business?

Reference: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Stephen Covey