Page 66 - Stephen R. Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Eff People.pdf
P. 66

Consider again the four life-support factors -- security, guidance, wisdom, and power.
                 Suppose I derive much of my security from my employment or from my income or net
                 worth.  Since  many factors affect these economic foundations, I become anxious and
                 uneasy, protective and defensive, about anything that may affect them. When my sense
                 of personal worth comes from my net worth, I am vulnerable to anything that will affect
                 that net worth. But work and money, per se, provide no wisdom, no guidance, and only a
                 limited degree of power and security. All it  takes  to  show  the limitations of a money
                 center is a crisis in my life or in the life of a loved one.

                 Money-centered people often put aside family or other priorities, assuming everyone will
                 understand that economic demands come first. I know one father who was leaving with
                 his children for a promised trip to the circus when a phone call came for him to come to
                 work instead. He declined. When his wife suggested that perhaps he should have gone to
                 work, he responded, "The work will come again, but childhood won't." For the rest of
                 their lives his children remembered this little act of priority setting, not only as an object
                 lesson in their minds but as an expression of love in their hearts.

                  Work Centeredness. Work-centered people may become  "workaholics,"  driving
                 themselves to produce at the sacrifice of health, relationships, and other important areas
                 of their lives. Their fundamental identity comes from their work -- "I'm a doctor," "I'm a
                 writer," "I'm an actor."

                  Because their identity and sense of self-worth are wrapped up in their work, their
                 security is vulnerable to anything that happens to prevent them from continuing in it.
                 Their guidance is a function of the demands of the work. Their wisdom and power come
                 in the limited areas of their work, rendering them ineffective in other areas of life.

                 Possession Centeredness. A driving force of many  people  is  possessions  --  not  only
                 tangible, material possessions such  as  fashionable clothes, homes, cars, boats, and
                 jewelry, but also the intangible possessions of fame, glory, or social prominence. Most of
                 us are aware, through our own experience, how singularly flawed such a center is, simply
                 because it can vanish rapidly and it is influenced by so many forces.

                 If my sense of security lies in my reputation or in the things I have, my life will be in a
                 constant state of threat and jeopardy that these  possessions  may  be  lost  or  stolen  or
                 devalued. If I'm in the presence of someone of greater net worth or fame or status, I feel
                 inferior. If I'm in the presence of someone of lesser net worth or fame or status, I feel
                 superior. My sense of self-worth constantly  fluctuates. I don't have any sense of
                 constancy  or  anchorage or persistent selfhood. I am constantly trying to protect and
                 insure my assets, properties, securities, position, or reputation. We have all heard stories
                 of people committing suicide after losing their fortunes in a significant stock decline or
                 their fame in a political reversal.

                  Pleasure Centeredness. Another common center, closely allied with possessions, is that
                 of fun and pleasure. We live in a  world  where instant gratification is available and
                 encouraged.  Television and movies are major influences in increasing people's
                 expectations. They graphically portray what other people have and can do in living the
                 life of ease and "fun."

                 But while the glitter of pleasure-centered lifestyles is graphically portrayed, the natural
                 result of such lifestyles -- the impact on the inner person, on productivity, on
                 relationships -- is seldom accurately seen.


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