Dear All,
Thank you for coming back today.
In my last post I was ruminating about a few books I read and I mentioned Stephen Covey's book "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". I first read it when I was a school kid and found it to be a really well written and entertaining book. Really liked it but like the proverbial cock and the diamond, at that point since I could not eat (digest) it, the habits really did not 'click' with me. I hardly realized what a prized possession it was and consequently it stayed in a dusty corner of my house for number of years. Incidentally due to various reasons I also cultivated two bad habits that have been my bane till date – laziness and procrastination. There was a period of time when I used to be actually happy when someone called me lazy – but now, I really digress.
Fortunately for me in recent years I came into contact with several people (including my better half) who are tremendously hard-working. Interacting with these people I could realize the value and premium that is placed (in the work place at least) on developing qualities like perseverance, timeliness, consistency … Obviously there was an urgent need for introspection and change.
Books are good friends to have around you. They give you advice (some times good, sometimes bad) and they give it to you when you want it. If you don't feel like hearing the advice, they don't nag you. And if you don't like or take the advice they don't take it personally – they will still advice you with the same patience the next time you turn to them. So in my present predicament I turned to many books. And finally came around in a full circle to The Seven Habits …
Simply put, the book puts the context of three levels ("Dependence" – "Independence" – "Inter-dependence'). An excellent diagram is available here and this link has a very good and comprehensive summary of the message – so I will not reinvent the wheel. The essence of the book is its focus on the "character-ethic" which postulates that success is attributed to underlying characteristics (integrity, hard work, patience, …) and not merely personality traits (which may be cosmetic). The take-home for me was that "victory over self is essential before any other (public or private) victory". Indeed victory over self is by itself a worthwhile desire and goal even if nothing else is ahead of it.
So the re-reading this time was good - better than the first attempt. Yet, the thought at the back of the mind was (rather, is) that unless one has really understood, assimilated and inculcated the first three habits, there is no real need to just read beyond. This is nothing short of cleaning the Augean stables. Each of the first three habits ("Being proactive", "Defining your goals and directions", "Managing your timeliness") are giant leaps by themselves. And to reach anywhere near developing these habits will take years if not lifetimes.
I have only just started on the journey and can only hope that it is led to its logical conclusion. Perhaps in time my basic nature will take over (although I pray with all my heart against it) and lead me somewhere else again. Perhaps in future posts, I may be able to report on any progress (or symptoms of progress). Anyways introspecting on Habit 2 (Decide on your end goals) brought out some really interesting thoughts.
Without really explaining those thoughts let me just recall one story I had read about Swami Vivekananda and his Guru Sri Ramkrishna Pamahansa. Apparently Swami Vivekananda (then Narendranatha Dutta) was faced with severe financial difficulties and went to his Guru for guidance. His Guru asked him to go to the Mother's temple and ask for money, success, job, whatever he wanted. He promised that the Mother is very kind hearted and will agree to give whatever Narendra asks for. Apparently Narendra went thrice to the temple and returned. Each time he confessed to the Guru that he was not able to ask for money, job or any material desire. When asked why he replied that if the Mother is large hearted enough to give anything, how can we ask for something so trivial as money and job?
Forgive me readers, if I have got any details in that story wrong. The point is to leave you with some food for thought and hope that you come back later for some more. Have a good day …
Cheers
Gotya
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