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Habits

Stephen Covey's seven habits from his book are (1) be proactive, (2) begin with the end in mind, (3) put first things first, (4) think win/win, (5) seek first to understand, then be understood, (6) synergize, and (7) sharpen the saw. I would say that I am working on all seven of those habits, but the one that has the most meaning to me is the seventh one--sharpen the saw.

It is so important to remember to take care of yourself. This can be sometimes seen as a selfish thing, but in reality if you don't take care of yourself, you will have nothing to give to others.

I am a personal trainer and a group fitness instructor. I have tried to eat healthy and show love to my body by taking care of it. I have adopted things like meditation and yoga to help to take care of my mind as well. When I got cancer, all of these things have had to either be put on hold or have been interrupted in other ways. I can speak from experience that when these things are interrupted or put on hold, I am not able to be the person I know that I am. I am not able to give from an empty vessel, so to speak. I have to take care of myself in order to be able to also take care of others.

Developing all seven habits will help me to fill my life with purpose. Each habit relates to the next. By being proactive and choosing how I respond to situations, I can keep in mind the end-goals I have and manage my time accordingly. This will help me to find success personally. Once I have managed and found self-mastery with my time and my goals, I will then be able to focus on the results of the needs of myself and others. We will then be able to benefit from each other's differences.
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