BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

UNDERSTAND YOUR ULTIMATE DESTINATION.

Begin today with the image of the end of your life as your frame of reference by by which everything else is examined. Each day will then contribute to the vision you have of your life as a whole.

Stephen R. Covey

DEVELOP A PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT.

Write down your philosophy of life, focus on what you want to be (character) and do (contributions and achievements), and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based.

Stephen R. Covey.

AFFIRM AND VISUALIZE.

Create affirmations with these basic ingredients: They’re personal, positive in the present tense, visual and emotional. Then, each day, visualize the realization of these affirmations. You’ll find that your behavior and circumstances will change for the better.

Stephen R. Cover.

EXPAND YOUR PERSPECTIVE.

You don’t have to wait for external circumstances to create perspective-expanding experiences. You can do so yourself by: visualizing your own funeral (how will people eulogize you?), visualizing your retirement, visualizing how you’d feel if a family member died, and so on.

IDENTIFY YOUR ROLES AND GOALS.

Identify the specific roles you play in different areas of your life, and then think about the long term goals you want to accomplish in each of the roles.

Roles and goals give structure and direction to your personal mission.

Stephen R. Covey

DETERMINE YOUR CENTER.

Determine whether life is money-, family-, work-, spouse-, pleasure-, possession-, church-, friend-, enemy-, and/or self-centered. The ideal is to create one clear center from which you consistently derive a high degree of security, guidance, wisdom, and power.

Stephen R. Covey

 

USE YOUR WHOLE BRAIN.

Instead of just using the side of your brain that tends to dominant, cultivate the ability to have good crossover between both sides so that you can sense what a situation calls for and then use the appropriate tools to deal with it.