Habit 2: Begin With An End In Mind From 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in physical form. If you do not invest the time in visualizing what you really want and where you want to go, you’ll be dependent on others to define your directions for you.

Begin with an end in mind means to look at the bigger picture and align your daily actions that are in line with that ultimate goal. To embody values, beliefs, and character traits that will assist you in achieving your life's purpose.

Sometimes we are so caught up in our fast-paced daily lives and climbing that made-up ladder that we fail to contemplate that the ladder was leaned up against the wrong wall. This habit will help you prioritize the end goal without sacrificing your core values.

The most effective way to practice this habit is by developing a personal mission statement. It focuses on: 1. Character - What do you want to be? 2. Contribution - What do you want to do? 3. Achievements - The values and principles on which being and doing are based.

How to write your personal mission statement? To write it, we must begin at the very center of our Circle of Influence, that center composed of our most basic paradigms, the lens through which we see the world. They’ll reveal your innermost values and principles.

Each person's mission statement will be unique because we all have different paradigms and core values. Discover your mission by self-examination, introspection, and an honest evaluation of your specific skills and beliefs.

Identify Your Center: Whatever is at the center of your life will be the source of your security, guidance, wisdom, and power. We might be marriage-centered, money-centered, work-centered, pleasure-centered, or self-centered. But Covey suggests us to be principle-centered.

Identify the timeless, unchanging values by which we must live our lives. This will provide us with the direction we need to align our behaviors with our beliefs and values. Furthermore, we can practice this habit through visualization and affirmations.

Visualize in great detail, high-performing people, from professional athletes to NASA astronauts, and use visualization techniques to prepare them for critical moments. Similarly, we can use affirmations that are personal, positive, visual, and emotional.

The Right affirmations and visualization are forms of programming the mind, this imagination can help us see the bigger picture and assist us in staying true to our core values and creating a life of contribution based on our unique purpose and principles.

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Habit 3: Put First Things First From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Habit 1 taught us to be proactive, to be in charge of the situation, and to crea