PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL VISION (PDF)

PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL VISION Your ability to do what you just did is uniquely human, animals do not possess this ability . We call it " self –awareness" or the ability to think about your very thought process . This is the reason why man has dominion over all things in the world and why he can make significant advances from generation to generation .  "PROACTIVITY " DEFIND It means more than merely taking initiative . It means that as human beings , we are responsible for our own lives . Our behavior is a function of our decision , not our conditions . We can subordinate feelings to vales . We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen .  Look at the word responsibility - " response-ability" – the ability to choose your response . Highly proactive people recognize that responsibility . They do not blame circumstances , conditions , or own conscious choice , based on values , rather than a product of their conditions , based on feeling .  Reactive people are often effected by their physical environment . if the weather is good , they feel good . if it isn't , it affects their attitude and their performance . Reactive people are also effected by their social environment , by the "social weather . " When people treat them well , they feel well ; when people don't they become defensive or protective . Reactive people build their emotional lives around the behavior of others , empowering the weaknesses of other people to control them .  Reactive people are driven by feelings , by circumstances , by conditions , by their environment . Proactive people are driven by values–carefully thought about , selected and internalized value .  As Eleanor Roosevelt observed , " No one can hurt you without your consent " . In the words of Gandhi , " They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them . " It is our willing permission , our consent to what happens to us , that hurts us far more than what happens to us in the first place .  Our Basic nature is to act , and not be acted upon , as well as enabling us to choose our response to particular circumstances , this empowers us to create circumstances . Taking imitative does not mean being pushy , obnoxious , or aggressive . It does mean recognizing our responsibility to make things happen .  The difference between people who exercise initiative and those who don't is literally the difference between night and day . I'm not talking about a 25 to 50 percent difference in effectiveness ' I'm talking about a 5000 – plus percent difference , particularly if they are smart , aware , and sensitive to others .  The language of reactive people absolves them of responsibility . " That's me . That's just the way I am " . I am determined . there's nothing I can do about it . "He makes me so mad " I'm not responsible . my emotional life is governed by something outside my control . " I can't do that . I just don't have the time . " something outside me-limited time-is controlling me . "If only my wife were more patient ." someone else's behavior is limiting my effectiveness . "I have to do it . " circumstances or other people are forcing me to do what I do . I'm not free to choose my own actions .  PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL LEADERSHIP To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of our destination . It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction . It's incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap , in the busy-ness of life , to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall . It is possible to be busy – very busy – without being very effective .  People often find themselves achieving victories that are empty, successes that have come at the expense of things they suddenly realize were far more valuable to them . How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us , and keeping that picture in mind , we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most . If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall , every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster . We may be very busy , we may be very efficient , but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind  " Begin with the end in mind " is based on principle that all things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation , and a physical or second creation to all things .  PRINCIPLES OF PERSONAL MANAGEMENT Question 1 : What one things could you do ( you aren't doing now ) that if you did on a regular basis , would make a tremendous positive difference in your personal life ? Question 2 : What one thing in your business or professional life would bring similar results ?  The two factors that define an activity are urgent and important . Urgent means it requires immediate attention .  IV ACTIVITES : Trivia , busy work Some mail Some phone calls Time wasters Pleasant activities III ACTIVITES : Interruptions ,some calls Some mail , Some reports Some meetings Proximate , pressing matters Popular activities Not Important II ACTIVITES : Prevention , PC activities Relationship building Recognizing new opportunities Planning , recreation I ACTIVITES : Crises Pressing Problems Deadline-driven projects Important Not Urgent Urgent