Life throws us into many challenging situations, but what is clear is that effective people are the ones who go on to be successful despite all the wahala* that they encounter.
Now who can be described as a highly effective person? I will tell you. According to Stephen R. Covey,the author of the seven habits of highly effective people, effective people are proactive and take control of their lives. That is a simple definition of highly effective people. Highly effective people never allow themselves to be victims, they always emerge as victors.
What does this mean? Let me break it down with a simple example. Let’s say two friends were playing together. Suddenly, for one reason or the other, one of them snatched the object they were playing with and ran off. Now the one who is left with nothing to play with could react in many ways and I will give some examples below:
-They could break down and cry.
-They could get really angry and decide never to play with anyone ever again.
-They could become really sad and remain in that position for the rest of that day, refusing to participate in any other games.
-Or they could shrug their shoulders, review the situation to determine what they could do next time to avoid a repeat of the incident, and then move on to play with something or someone else and keep enriching their life with experiences.
Out of all the reactions above, which do you think would be the reaction of a highly effective person?
Clearly the last one!
Why? Well, It’s because that person took control of the situation, learned from it and moved on with their life. They refused to be a victim of someone else’s action or behavior. They decided to be proactive and think of how to fix the situation for themselves.
Being highly effective applies to every situation in life. If you are a student, you can apply this by asking for help and support when you need it from your peers or your teachers. By learning from last mistakes and applying those lessons to your life as you grow. You could be upfront about setting boundaries and being clear about what you are prepared to accept or not accept in your interactions with others. If you are a worker, the same tips apply. What is most important is that we take control of our lives and never ever fall victim to the lie that we don’t have a choice or that someone else is in control of how we react to events.
We could all be more effective so keep thinking pro-activity and control always to become and remain effective.
Good luck!
*Wahala- trouble
Anuli – 7/11/2018