The Seven Habits

We have dreams. We have goals. But sometimes we forget what it takes to make them happen. Remember is not "What's in it for me?", but rather "How can I create something that can benefits others?" (Yes, even if it's a personal goal, you'll positively influence other people by bettering yourself). Life wants you to be happy. Say "YES!".

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is worth reading. Here are some highlights from Wikipedia:

Each chapter is dedicated to one of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:

Independence or Self-Mastery: The First Three Habits surround moving from dependence to independence (i.e. self mastery)

Habit 1: Be Proactive

Synopsis: Take initiative in life by realizing that your decisions (and how they align with life's principles) are the primary determining factor for effectiveness in your life. Take responsibility for your choices and the subsequent consequences that follow.

Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Synopsis: Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envision the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.


Habit 3: Put First Things First

Synopsis: Plan, prioritize, and execute your week's tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluating if your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you towards goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.


Interdependence: The next three have to do with Interdependence (i.e. working with others)

Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Synopsis: Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Valuing and respecting people by understanding a "win" for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten his way.


Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood

Synopsis: Use empathetic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening and take an open mind to being influenced by you. This creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.


Habit 6: Synergize

Synopsis: Combine the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. Get the best performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.


Self Renewal: The Last habit relates to self-rejuvenation:

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Synopsis: Balance and renew your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable, long-term, effective lifestyle.


Abundance Mentality
Covey coined the idea of abundance mentality or abundance mindset, a concept in which a person believes there are enough resources and success to share with others. He contrasts it with the scarcity mindset (i.e. destructive and unnecessary competition), which is founded on the idea that, if someone else wins or is successful in a situation, that means you lose; not considering the possibility of all parties winning (in some way or another) in a given situation. Individuals with an abundance mentality are able to celebrate the success of others rather than feel threatened by it.

The Upward Spiral
Covey explains the "Upward Spiral" model in the sharpening the saw section. Through our conscience, along with meaningful and consistent progress, the spiral will result in growth, change, and constant improvement. In essence, one is always attempting to integrate and master the principles outlined in The 7 Habits at progressively higher levels at each iteration. Subsequent development on any habit will render a different experience and you will learn the principles with a deeper understanding. The Upward Spiral model consists of three parts: learn, commit, do. According to Covey, one must be increasingly educating the conscience in order to grow and develop on the upward spiral. The idea of renewal by education will propel one along the path of personal freedom, security, wisdom, and power.

To your Success!
+Erika

Living Our Divine Essence

Living Our Divine Essence by Erika Matos

An inspiring friend, Xina Sy, invited me to contribute to her  Big, Bold, Beautiful Blog(http://thebigboldbeautifulblog.blogspot.com) and I gladly obliged.

Here's the link: Living Our Divine Essence by Erika Matos

With Love. Enjoy!

"When we live from within, nothing from without can shake or stir us. When we are grounded in truth, we can trust our foundation to be the sturdiest and most reliable. When the inner void is filled, the material band-aids are no longer needed to determine worth or value." + Erika

How to Get People to Change

Every day parents, teachers, religious leaders, and countless others struggle to instill learning and new ideas that will make a difference in other people's lives. The words are spoken in hopes that something will resonate within the hearts and souls of the listener(s) and encourage a commitment to a set of higher principles.

Think about your life for a second. Have you ever been inspired by words of encouragement, a story you read in the paper, or even by watching a stranger do something righteous? Very likely, you have. In turn, you probably adopted similar behaviours and became an inspiration to others, even though you may not be aware of it.
Yes, there's pain-motivated change and the inevitable life-cycle changes, but none make us feel better than change through new information, positive incentives, and enthusiasm!

So how do we get people to change? Lead by example. Want more love? Give more love. Too much cruelty? Be ever so kind. Not enough happiness around you? Be the happiest person you know!
You must embody everything that you believe will heal the planet. The transformation begins within you.

Here's to random acts of benevolent love,
+Erika

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Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being. To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com

Absolutely Beneficial: Discomfort & Change

We all hear "Follow your bliss". Not long ago I was (ahem) whining to a friend about a task I needed to handle. Just when I thought I was going to hear the old familiar words, she says "Follow your discomfort" instead. I gave a confused stare. She knew she had to explain.

She went on to say that the fear of something new and different was keeping me from doing what would be absolutely beneficial. She was right of course. So I analyzed why I was hesitating to move forward. This is what I came up with:
The weak mind is easily frightened and prefers comfort. It will never allow you to reach your goals and fulfill your destiny. It'll raise all the reasons why you shouldn't do something (doubts), and then come up with a list of what it'll rather do instead (waste time). Comfort is not your ultimate goal. In fact, by stepping out of that zone and through discomfort, you will challenge yourself to try new things, do the dreadful, come out with a new perspective, a lesson learnt, and inevitable growth in the process. Don't stay put! The rewards will always be greater leaping.

We have to become mentally strong enough to keep walking forward, even when the roads are unfamiliar. We have a place to reach. Settling in the laurels is not an option. Just remember to enjoy the exciting journey.

Today I want to challenge you to take a small step into doing something you don't want to do. Call that client. Go to the gym. Set up that meeting. Eat that Salad. Take that Class. Speak your mind. Face your Fear!

The more you practice, the easier it gets.

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." - Bill Cosby

Change can be scary. Lucky for you, the odds are in your favor.

Go get 'em!
+Erika

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Erika Matos is a transformational agent, a certified health and nutrition educator, intuitive healer, and life coach helping people shift in the right direction by critically rethinking everything assumed to be true about what it means to be a happy, healthy, prosperous being.



To learn more about her work visit http://www.realitymanifest.com/