Between stimulus and response is the freedom to choose. Habit 1: Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for one’s own life. Proactive people don’t blame parents, circumstances, or conditions for their behavior. Instead, they choose to focus on areas of life that lie within their circle of influence.

Rather than allow other people and circumstances to shape one’s life, Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind, reconnects individuals with passion and purpose. By outlining a personal mission statement, a plan for achieving greatness can then be established.

Habit 3: Put First Things First is about time management. The Time Matrix® provides a model for identifying and prioritizing tasks based on urgency and importance. Truly effective people ensure the most meaningful tasks related to their personal mission statement are accounted for in weekly and daily planning.

In living Habit 4: Think Win-Win, people work effectively and efficiently with others to achieve optimal results. Society fosters competitive and selfish behaviors that produce win-lose or even lose-lose outcomes. A win-win mentality is a balancing act between courage and consideration that ensures true collaboration takes place in all conflicts.

Unknowingly, in conversation we filter what we hear through our own life experiences and frame of reference. Before a person finishes what they are saying, we’ve already formulated a response. Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood teaches the art of sincere, reflective listening.

Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation and can only be achieved by valuing the diverse paradigms and opinions of others. In a synergistic environment, true collaboration takes place because the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw challenges a person to seek continuous improvement and renewal. Overcoming burnout can be achieved by taking time for oneself through physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual renewal. Habit 7 is revitalizing and helps establish greater capacity for self-improvement.