Inspiring pictures

Ηere is another set of inspiring pictures :)

Here are some inspiring pictures I've gathered :)

Enjoy :*

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective people -part II

The habits that lead to Interdependence

 The next three habits in Stephen R. Covey's list address the subject of interdepence, which includes the cooperation of many for a goal that surpasses the individuals. Dependent people are not yet ready to take a leap towards interdependence.

 Habit 4: Think Win-Win

Synopsis: Genuinely strive for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Value and respect 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.

 Now, let us elaborate on these habits. After you have defined your goals, it is important not to ignore the fact that we live in societies and that our lives are constantly affected by other people. It is vital to remember that the responsibily for our lives is up to us, but using the contribution of others and aknowledging their presence can lead more effectively to the End.
 The belief that in order for us to win, someone else has to lose is a scarcity belief, which can only lead to narrow-mindness. This world is abundant and plenty of opportunities arise in every corner. If you perceive your reality as a world of scarcity, that belief will be illustrated in your life. Nothing will ever be enough, because you wouldn't have realised or perceived the abundance and the beauty of the universe.
 Fight-win relationships can only lead to war. If we understand that we are powerful creatures pursuing happiness and fulfillment, though, we will abandon the need to fight. We will be grasping the very essence of cooperation.
 In order to boost cooperation, it is imperative to develop a genuine wilingness to understand others. Empathy, caring, respect and positive thinking will not only help the other person, but also ourselves. Our inner mind will immediately perceive the importance of our action, and how profoundly it is in accord with our true and powerful self. Here it is, a win-win relationship in it's finest form!
 When we manage to truly listen and understand the other person, we shall be free from the need to condemn and complain. Nothing hurtful will be tormenting us, because we will know, accept and cherish the present moment. Together, we will walk more easily towards our goals, and in accordance with nature.
 Separation is an illusion, just as much as darkness is the lack of light. It has no special essence of its own.


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. And learn from the mistakes...

 Our nature is better in tune with the universe when we are in motion. When we feel fear, it is as if we pause our current state of creativity. Our creative powers are numbed. And what happens when you numb the creative powers of a creative being? We flee from our true selves. Our inner mind will perceive the imbalance, ofcourse. Sharpening the Saw is about balancing and renewing your resources. Finding new ground to cover, findind new ideas to reflect. It is about the necessity to keep ourselves healthy and effective. The world includes an endless abundance of things to see, do and create. Straying from the creative path may lead to unhappiness and regret.

 Learning from our mistakes is also another important part of this process. It is quite easy to feel  guilt, or to abandon our cause when we make mistakes. Yet, is is vital to understand that we only see the path we want to walk upon, through the path we do not want to, just as much we understand light through its absence (darkness). Mistakes help us grow and mature, if we do not let them rule our present moment. Being enslaved by the past also numbs our creative self. This self wishes to extend and experience, yet we deny the self that opportunity because we are enslaved by the past and the future. Mistakes should not be condemned. It is ok to make mistakes. Mistakes are the seeds that make the fruits of acceptance and self-awareness.

 Proactivity is also an amazing concept!


 Viktor Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who survived the death camps of Nazi Germany. While in the death camps, Frankl realized that he alone had the power to determine his response to the horror of the situation. He exercised the only freedom he had in that environment by envisioning himself teaching students after his release. He became an inspiration for others around him. He realized that in the middle of the stimulus-response model, humans have the freedom to choose. Frankl was pro-active. He understood that no matter the situation, he had the power to control his responce and produce a different result.
 Animals do not have this independent will. They respond to a stimulus like a computer responds to its program. They are not aware of their programming and do not have the ability to change it. The model of determinism was developed based on experiments with animals and neurotic people. Such a model neglects our ability to choose how we will respond to stimuli. If we accept that in a certain situation there is nothing to be done, we become passive and do nothing. Proactivity is about being driven by values. It is about knowing thyself. Gandhi said, "They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them." Our response to what happened to us affects us more than what actually happened! We can choose to use difficult situations to build our character and develop the ability to better handle such situations in the future. 
 Proactive people use their resourcefulness and initiative to find solutions, rather than just reporting problems and waiting for other people to solve them. Besides, through proactive action the person takes matters into his/her own hands. 


Take care :D

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

  Αs promised, this post will be an analysis of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, as I see them and in the way they help me grow.

 Let's not procrastinate and get straight to the point! 

 Stephen R. Covey believes that our character is a collection of our habits, and habits have a powerful role in our lives. We are responsible for our life and our habits form our reality. Habits consist of knowledge, skill, and desire. Knowledge allows us to know what to do, skill gives us the ability to know how to do it, and desire is the motivation to do it.

The Seven Habits move us through the following stages:

1. Dependence: the paradigm under which we are born, relying upon others to take care of us. All of us have experienced that stage.
   
2. Independence: the paradigm under which we can make our own decisions and take care of ourselves. Independence is very important but hard to achive if your mindset is imprisoned.
   
3. Interdependence: the paradigm under which we cooperate to achieve something that cannot be achieved independently.                       

 Much of the success literature today tends to value independence, encouraging people to become liberated and do their own thing. The reality is that we are interdependent, and the independent model is not optimal for use in an interdependent environment that requires leaders and team players. Misused independence may lead to selfish and narrow-minded attitudes. Yet, a healthy and creative personal stage of independence is necessary, since dependent people have not yet developed the character for interdependence
 The first three habits focus on helping the reader move from Dependence to Independence, and the next three address Interdependence. Finally, the last one relates to self-rejuvenation.

  Let us move to the Habits. As I mentioned before, the first three are related to 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. Evaluate whether your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you toward goals, and enrich the roles and relationships that were elaborated in Habit 2.


 Let us reflect on those three habits. They are presented as the desired form of action, because they lead a previously dependent person towards Self Mastery. Independence is the goal these habits aim to achieve.
 Τhe first habit is of vital importance. It addresses the understanding that anything happening in your life is determined by your decisions and your actions. Ιf you believe that everything in your life is controled by factors that you have no power over, you immediately victimise yourself. You create the idea of a world in which something else and not you is responsible for your suffering and your pain. It is only natural to experience misfortunes. They are a part of life, for the time being. Yet, the reaction towards these misfortunes is up to you. Some of us will choose to suffer and pause our creative abilities, and others will decide to make the best out of the situation. ''Noone can make you feel inferior without your consent'', they said, and it is absolutely true. Furthermore, taking responsibility for what is happening to you, within reason ofcourse, will augment the belief that you are in charge of your own life. This doesn't mean that if things aren't going the way you think you want them to be going, you are incapable. On contrary, it simply means that whatever happens to you, whether you have consiously attracted it or not, you have the power to change and to form your goals.
 Goal-setting is another important part of the procedure. If you know where you are going, you will be able to understand if your attitude and your actions are aligned with these goals. Therefore, you will be able to decide on the importance of every-day tasks.

 I believe that everything we need is right here with us at all times. It is healthy and effective to have goals and to form your life around them if they make you experience your true and higher self, but all the tools you need to make them a reality are inside you.

 I will elaborate on this very important matter later in my posts.

The next post will include the rest of the Habits.

Be happy :)

Put First Things First

Put First Things First

  The first book of self-help I ever read and made a profound impact on me was The seven habits of Highly Effective Τeenagers, by Sean Covey. Sean Covey is the son of Stephen R. Covey, who published in 1989 The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. It has sold more than 25 million copies in 38 languages since first publication. Covey presents an approach to being effective in attaining goals by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he presents as universal and timeless. In August 2011, Time listed Seven Habits as one of "The 25 Most Influential Business Management Books".


 That Sean Covey's book, dedicated to teenagers, changed my life for good. It appeared in my life at the perfect time and formed my worldview. It inspired the idea of achieving greatness and personal fulfillment in the younger me and I feel very grateful towards it. 

 This blog also aims to help people help themselves. We live in a time which in many aspects is better than any other time of the past, yet many of us suffer. Why is that so? This question has troubled me over the years and I find the mere idea of someone suffering inhuman. Not only inhuman, but also unnatural. Therefore, I have decided to try and do whatever I can to help people reach their natural state, a state of inner peace and love.


 The first post of my blog, following this one, will be an analysis of the seven habits, as a tribute to the creative mind who helped me open the doors of happiness and let other teachers in. Thank you.