El hábito más importante, según Dr. Covey

Confieso la influencia que ha ejercido Stephen R. Covey en la segunda parte de mi trayectoria profesional y me honro en utilizar algunos de sus modelos de pensamiento en mis trabajos con profesionales y grupos.

A raíz de la publicación de su obra Seven habits of high effective people muchas han sido las cuestiones que se le han planteado acerca de cuál de ellos es el hábito más importante.

He aquí su respuesta.

I am often asked if there is one habit out of the 7 Habits that is more important than the others. Of course, all the habits are important and they form an inter-connected whole or a continuum. For maximum effectiveness, you have to build from one to the other and apply them consistently.

From that perspective, Habit 1: Be Proactive provides the foundation for all the other habits. Habit 1 is, undoubtedly, the foundation for leadership at home or at work because it begins with the mindset “I am responsible for me, and I can choose". All the other habits are dependent upon being proactive and choosing to master and practicing principle-centered living.

The key to being proactive is remembering that between stimulus and response there is a space. That space represents our choice— how we will choose to respond to any given situation, person, thought or event. Imagine a pause button between stimulus and response—a button you can engage to pause and think about what is the principle-based response to your given situation. Listen to what your conscience tells you. Listen for what is wise and the principle-based thing to do, and then act.

Being proactive (Habit 1) becomes much more powerful when connected and related to the other habits. The key to the habits is the power of their combined synergy and meaningful purpose. Leaving one habit out is like having a four-legged chair—when you remove one leg the chair is out of balance.
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