Steven R. Covey Habit 2 Essay

Habit 2 of Steven R. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is "begin with the end in mind." "Begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your destination. It means to know where you're going so that you better understand where you are now and so that steps you take are always in the right direction." (Covey 98) We need to have a personal direction to guide us daily. Without this direction we will not accomplish our end goal. Beginning with the end in mind is a step in the process of taking control our own lives and achieving personal leadership. Most students that are approaching their junior year of high school are often asked one question- where are you going to college? Depending on the answer, it is often followed by – and what will your major be? For me, at 17 years old I had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. My choice of school was more about where my friends were going and how far I could get
I soon realized that obtaining a college degree needed to become part of my personal goals and this achievement was necessary in reaching other goals, specifically career goals. Although my intentions seemed to motivate me to the return to the classroom, I did not have an end in mind. At that point, I was taking classes just to keep adding credits to my transcripts in hopes that one day I would have an associate's degree. This plan was, to say the least, not effective. I had some sort of an end in mind, but not an effective way to get there. This plan was no only unsuccessful; it seemed like a never-ending cycle with no degree in sight. In the words of Covey, I was "caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of like, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it's leaning against the wrong wall." (Covey