When one talks of good habits, it is invariably Stephen R. Covey who comes to one?s mind. Covey, who died recently, and author of the bestseller, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, has left behind powerful lessons in personal management and change. If you have read the book, you will agree that the entire exercise behind this book is to make one point clear: that we need to restore character ethic in our society. And, stressing on self-renewal, Covey enables one to ?square inner thought and outer behaviour, resulting in personal as well as public integrity.?
Self-renewal is surely the most important aspect of keeping yourself growing and relevant. Anything that remains unchanged turns into deadwood. Self-renewal is self-improvement and hence improvement of the society one lives in. When one talks of a paradigm shift, it means a complete makeover for the better so that it leads to a better life and brings in peace of mind and happiness.
Covey calls self-renewal the best investment, and it has four dimensions: Physical, mental, spiritual and social. Physical renewal is what most of us do and it involves nutrition, exercise and stress management. The next goes to a higher level? mental development, requiring one to read, visualise, plan and write. The third one is social and emotional upgradation that involves service, empathy and love towards all beings.
The last and the most important one is spirituality and its usage for the society?s welfare. It involves meditation, commitment and self-less service.
These are not mere leadership traits but a way to grow and be meaningful in society. Life, after all, is nothing if it is not productive and useful. As George Bernard Shaw said, the greatest joy comes from the feeling that you are being used efficiently and productively. ?Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch that I have got to hold up for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.?
A similar sentiment on the purpose of life comes from American spiritual leader N Eldon Tanner, ?Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth.? Great words indeed; perhaps one can?t find better ones.
Going back to Covey, the way to go and be useful is to, ?learn, commit and do? and again, ?learn, commit and do??
Posted by P P Wangchuk on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 8:14 pm?
Filed under Spirituality ? Tagged commit, George Bernard Shaw, good habits, hindustan times, learn, N Eldon Tanner, news, PP wangchuk, self-improvement, Self-renewal, Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Source: http://blogs.hindustantimes.com/minds-i/2012/08/05/learn-commit-and-do/
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