The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People Blog Series: Habit Two- Begin with the End in Mind

In the first blog series about Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I discussed habit one, Be Proactive. Habit two is about evaluating your values, what is important to you and what you want to achieve as you visualize yourself living the life you want and meeting your goals. According to Covey, beginning with the end in mind begins by understanding your destination and understanding where you are now so you can take the right steps to achieve your goals. It is important to develop trust in ourselves to achieve these goals. Thinking about achieving our goals gives us the motivation to keep going. If we do not keep the end in mind, we might feel discouraged or overwhelmed. We might feel as if we might not be able to get to the finish line. According to Covey, habit one says you are the creator and habit two is the first creation. This means that if you align your self-awareness, consciousness, and imagination you can visualize what you want in your life. Keeping the end in mind gives you the motivation to act towards the creation of your life.

How can we begin to think with the end in mind? Covey suggests writing a personal mission statement that focuses on your values, talents, principles, and long-term vision of the person you want to become. To define your mission statement, Covey suggests starting at the Center, which is the way we see the world and what is important to us. This can be family, education, spirituality, or world peace. Once we have identified our center, we move to our security which is how we feel about ourselves, our strengths and identity. Guidance refers to our internal compass,which is the direction we must follow in life towards our goals. Then we identify our Wisdom which is being able to make decisions based on our values and our personal life experience. Taking steps to reach your goals involves reflection, judgement, and patience The last part of the mission statement is Power, which is the strength and discipline it takes to take action to move towards your goals.

Overall, Habit Two: Begin with the End in Mind, is about setting intentions and aligning your life with your values. Habit two encourages you to act on what truly matters and to act according to your vision of your future.

Do you find yourself without a clear path for your life and just keep going with the flow and not living a quality life? Help is available to define goals and receive support in achieving them. Reach out to a team of professionals at Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc. on 708-633-8000. We are located at: 6819-167 th St. in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477.

Mariana Rodriguez Graduate Intern, 2025.

Reference:

Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change (25th anniversary ed.). Simon & Schuster