Welcome to blog post number three in the series of Be Successful by Utilizing Highly Effective Habits you Need to Know! So far we have discussed the first habit (Be Proactive) and the second habit (Begin With the End in Mind) introduced by Stephen Covey in his best selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Today we will discuss habit three, put first things first!
In the third habit, Covey encourages us to put first things first. This means that we consider the goals, values, and principles we recognized in habit two and make an effort to make them a priority in life. This will not always be easy, but it is important that we remain disciplined and act according to our principles and values rather than our urges, desires, and impulses.
Covey believes that all activities can be categorized into two areas: urgent and not urgent. He also separates activities in the categories of important and not important. Covey believes that our time can be best spent acting on things that are important and not urgent. When we are focusing on urgent matters or spending time doing things that are not important, we neglect the important non-urgent things in our lives.
Implementing this habit into our daily lives is very important in recovery. When we focus on crises, it is easy to forget about our goals and values in life; it is at this time that relapse becomes very dangerous. If we are always dealing with things that are not related to our goals and values, we can lose sight of them, and relapse becomes dangerous. Having fun and getting away is important at times, but it is also important to make sure we are not neglecting our goals and values, because if we begin to neglect those things, relapse becomes dangerous. We need to remember to put first things first and avoid potential relapse. Today you can avoid relapse! Today you can begin to prioritize and put first things first in your life. Today you can be successful!
(Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters)