Personal Growth Through Introspection: A Comparative Analysis

This book has a powerful way to do introspection and application of what you learned about yourself into public life. In the paragraphs that follow will be a summary of each chapter with a comparison to the book we used for class, and my own personal take away from this book and course. With the chapters of the book I will do a habit by habit breakdown and comparison of what was written and then relate it to the book for class and end with what I personally got from the course. Introduction: Stephen R. Covey (just covey from now on) starts his book with a story that led into a paradigm shift. His story is about how he thought he was supporting his son in an effective way, but he was holding him back. Covey goes on to say that the following

Covey starts of this chapter with an exercise, first picture your funeral, then ask what are people saying about the life you lived? Who is all in attendance, who did you reach? This is beginning with the end in mind, with those thoughts going through your head he then transitions you into thinking about how things are made. Covey mentions that all things are made twice, first is the thought/blueprints, then comes the actual implementation/building. If this is not done then mistakes are made and it can cost a lot whether it be in relationships or

In habit 3 Covey breaks down the schedule side of life, where does most of our time go, to the most important things or to the small issues. There are four boxes that we live in the first one is pressing problems, crises, and deadline-driven products. The second box is prevention, relationship building, planning, and recreation. The third box is interruptions, mail, phone calls, and meetings. The fourth and final box is all the trivial side of life, and can also be called the miscellaneous. When reading these sections a lot of people know where they should be(section 2) but so many times find themselves in all the other sections. Focusing on those other sections makes us go back to being reactive and not proactive. If you look at the pieces of section two you will see that it ties into developing the circle of influence, tying back to habit 1. Covey put it this way “even when the urgent is good, the good can keep you from your