Seven Habits. Covey defines a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge is what he calls the ‘what to do’, skill is the ‘how to do’, and desire is the ‘want to do’. In order to make a habit in our lives, we have to have all three.
Habit 1: Be Proactive. The first step in becoming a successful and effective person is to be proactive in life. As human beings we are responsible for our own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions, and we have the responsibility to make things happen. It is important to take initiative to successfully deal with people and circumstances that are brought along the way. Each person, and only that person, has the power to stimulate a response. Being proactive is very important when dealing with problems. According to Covey, problems fall into three categories; direct control, indirect control, and no control. When dealing with any of the three problems it is important to take the proactive approach to handling the mistake. First, acknowledge the mistake. Next, correct the mistake. Last, learn from it. Being proactive is about taking the first step towards being an effective person. It is important to remember to be proactive in all of life’s challenges and to handle them in a proactive manner by