Book Review of the... well, forever.

I will very rarely do book reviews, because, well... I just don't read a lot. I have ADD when it comes to reading. Unless I have to read a book for school, I probably won't read it on my own. So it's a good thing I've spent the past decade in school, or I would have missed out on some good books.

One in particular I was forced to read for one of those feel good classes in college. You know the type... you get together and talk about how you can be a successful student, and you swear to do your homework, yadda yadda yadda. So in this class we were given The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey to read. I'd never heard of Stephen Covey before this class, and I was positive this book would be a waste of my time. But I read it anyways.

I don't consider myself a touchy, feely type person. I've spent a good portion of my life trying to suppress those emotions and "be a man". But honestly, by the time I finished the first habit, I felt so much better about my life that I was hooked into this book. I would read it for hours at a time.

For example, Habit 1 is - be proactive. Covey goes on to explain that:

Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able". They don't blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance.

While it's obvious that we control our own behavior and attitude, sometimes we need to be reminded of that. If someone says something negative to you, or about you, it's so easy to get caught up in that and be in a bad mood because of it. We all do it. But what Covey explains in his book is that only we can control our behavior, not other people. If you're in a bad mood, it's because of you, not because of someone else.

It's just simple things like this that Covey lays out in his book. They make so much sense when you read them, and when you make an effort to apply them to your life, it's hard for it not to turn out for the better.

I love this book, and I try to keep it in the back of my mind when negative things pop up, or even when I'm dealing with personal relationships in my life. Unfortunately I gave my copy to someone (whom I don't think read it...) but I'm hoping another copy will find it's way back to me. It's definitely a book I could read over and over, and I would highly recommend it to others.

Nick