Exercise 1
Habit 1 states that we are in charge and accountable for our own lives. We need to be proactive and more responsible for our choices. We have the inherent capacity to evaluate our own characters and decide how to carry ourselves and control our situations in the most effective manner. To be effective, we must be proactive. People that are proactive understand that they are responsible for their own behaviors (Covey, 2013).
One's behavior is considered to be a function of his or her decision rather than the conditions. This means that we are responsible for our own behavior since we have the capacity to make a decision concerning a certain situation. Proactive people do not blame conditions for their own behavior since they are aware that they chose it. Besides, proper decision-making process would make us happy since our objectives have been fulfilled rather than blaming others for our shortcomings that result from our choices (Covey, 2013).
Recently, I have been thinking of pursuing a master’s degree after the completion of my bachelor’s degree program. However, I perceive a masters course as sophisticated due to increased education demands and difficult tasks I would be expected to complete. I have always perceived thesis writing as a complicated task that I cannot manage to do (Dr. Godwin, 2013).
In high school, I developed a bad attitude that mathematics and sciences are difficult subjects, and I did not perform well in my final examination. I was convinced I could not make it in these subjects and constantly blamed my chemistry and mathematics teachers that they never liked me. However, if I could have been positive and stop blaming my teachers for my failures, I would have performed better on these subjects.
Hence, I could use this guide to become more proactive rather than reactive to become more successful in life. This guide has also encouraged me to change my attitude towards pursuing my master’s degree since I have always perceived it to be a demanding and sophisticated task.
Exercise 2
My goal in life is to lead others and serve as a good example to my juniors and followers. I would like to be remembered for giving back to the society through helping the poor and less advantaged groups of people in my community.
However, I need to change my attitude, perception, and characters in order to make it in life. To change all these things I need to be more proactive and accept the fact that my behavior is a function of decisions that I make in life rather than my condition (Dr. Godwin, 2013).
I am goal oriented, creative, and organized young professional. I believe these strengths could have a significant impact on my life through helping me in changing my attitude, perception and character to meet my set goals and objectives in life. Furthermore, these strengths will help me in performing tasks that I have previously perceived to be difficult.
References
Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. London : Simon & Schuster.
Dr. Godwin Ude (2013). Becoming Extraordinary. Bloomington: iUniverse.
