Although the second half of Sean Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" was also full of cliches and, as I stated before, obvious answers for general problems, I enjoyed it more than the half before it. This half was significantly more elaborate than the other given that many of the things Sean Covey mentions actually made me reevaluate my actions and kept me thinking after I finished reading. As I read through the third and fourth parts of "7 Highly Effective Teens", I kept thinking about the change in mentality that had taken place gradually yet I did not do anything to change it.
The change in mentality constituted of two thoughts. The first was "Every man for himself", (As a side note, I know it's a bit hypocritical including cliched statement as my first point as I've been shunning clichés these past two blog posts, just run with it.) it's very self explanatory, it means that in a particular situation, every person will do the something that only benefits their personal interest. The second mentality change connects to the first one, it's "Kill or be killed" (yes, I am aware that it's also a cliché), it means that for one to thrive, others must lose/ it's not enough for me to win, others must lose as well. This is where Sean Covey intervenes as he introduces the "win-win" state of mind as well as its variations: win-lose, lose-win and lose-lose; these mentalities take place in every type of hierarchy you are part of (social, economical, familial, etc.). Sean Covey defined win-win as "Win-Win is a belief that everyone can win. It’s both nice and tough all at once. I won’t step on you, but I won’t be your doormat either. You care about other people and you want them to succeed. But you also care about yourself, and you want to succeed as well. Win-win is abundant. It is the belief that there’s plenty of success to go around. It’s not either you or me. It’s both of us. It’s not a matter of who gets the biggest piece of pie. There’s more than enough food for everyone. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet." Every other scenario in which someone uses any of the other mentalities, at least one party would end up loosing. The mindset i chose was win-lose, as I stated before, for me to win others must lose. Obviously, the outlook I was using is not ideal, it might work for a while, but somehow, it will eventually backfire. I know there's no way of changing my mindset completely, even though the problem the problem has been identified, but, as Sean Covey put it, baby steps are the key to change. I might have the urge to be selfish, the urge to attempt to gain all victories for myself, but that's not the way, not morally or ethically.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2016
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