Stephen R. Covey forgot a habit.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is brilliant. But it’s missing an essential habit.
- Be Proactive.
- Begin with the end in mind.
- Put first things first. “The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”
- Think win-win.
- Seek first to understand, then be understood.
- Synergize.
- Sharpen the saw. Renew yourself physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially.
All seven habits require one forgotten decision.
The Forgotten Habit
Begin again in new ways.
When you won’t start over irrelevance awaits.
You turn toward the future when you make a to-stop list.
4 Ways to Begin Again in New Ways
#1. Pursue excellence with kindness.
The strength to adapt comes from compassion. Kindness breathes life into the forgotten habit.
- Don’t beat yourself down. Learn instead.
- Forget perfection. Bring your best self to the world.
#2. Stand on your history.
Don’t demonize your past. Learn from it.
Reflection Question: Name one past painful experience. Ask, “What does it teach me?”
#3. Practice purposeful abandonment.
Saying no is the secret to beginning again in new ways.
Reflection question: What’s one thing you’re gripping that blocks your future? Arrival is the end. Clinging to success brings inevitable failure.
#4. Live with your aspirations in mind.
Focus on where you’re going. The end is near when the past outshines the future.
What’s one thing you want to be true of you in 30 days?
What prevents leaders from using the forgotten habit?
Project: Make a to-stop list today. Stop one thing.
Purposeful Abandonment: How to Let Go of What Holds you Back
