What do you see in this picture?
Many of you may have seen this before. It’s a fun little illustration of how our perception can be very different from others.
Some see a fair maiden with a petit nose and feathery shall, while others see and old lady with a straight face and serious expression.
The way we see things, is simply our perception, not necessarily the truth. Stephen R. Covey explains that our perceptions govern the way that we see things. In same sense, how we see things, governs our behavior.
True Story…
Years ago, a fellow teacher walked into my classroom and looked at my class list. She saw the name “Nick” on my roster and said, “oh boy…look out for that one, he is a walking tornado!” Rolled her eyes, wished me good luck, and walked out.
This teacher’s opinion didn’t sit well with me. This was not at all my perception of Nick. He did struggle a bit with keeping a clean desk, but for the most part Nick was an enjoyable student to have in my class.
Nick was a good kid, seemed to be motivated by competition, had many interests, loved to chat and had a lot to offer to a conversation. He was social.
I actually didn’t see a tornado at all. He wasn’t trouble, didn’t struggle academically, was well liked by his friends. I couldn’t understand why my colleague would have described him in that way.
PERCEPTION!!! It’s all about perception.
In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Covey talks about how our behaviors toward our co-workers, students, children, even strangers is in direct relation to how we are perceiving what is going on around us.
A paradigm is commonly thought of as a theory, perception, assumption, or frame of reference. It’s basically the way we “see” something.
Covey shares a story of a quick “Mini-pradigm shift” on the subway.
He shares the story of when he was on a quiet and calm commute on the subway, when a man and his children hop on the train. The kids were hitting and throwing and causing quite the commotion. The man, sat down quietly, looking defeated and exhausted. The kids continued to create chaos. Covey said to the man, “Sir, your children are disturbing a lot of people, you may want to try to control them.” The man then shared with him that they just left the hospital where the children’s mother just passed away. He didn’t know what to think, and he guessed the kids didn’t know how to handle it either.”
UGH!!!!! My Heart…
Instant, Mini-Paradigm Shift!
You see, how Covey perceived those kids changed instantly, when he could understand what was really going on!
Teachers and Parents…
I know that it is a constant struggle to be able to understand why kids attitudes and behaviors are what they are. But when we take the time to build a trusting relationship with them, we can then better understand where they are coming from. This will help shift our paradigm.
Covey goes on to share that there are principles in life that seem to exist in all humans: fairness, integrity, honesty, dignity, service, excellence, potential, growth, patience, nurturance, and encouragement.
These principles are like guidelines. His book is all about creating habits that internalize these principles. Living out these habits will empower people to better handle the different situations that your day puts before you.
I don’t know about you…but I want to be highly effective for my own kids sake. I want them to have effective habits. I want to teach my kids principles that will empower them to be effective people in any situation.
These habits that Covey teaches in his book include:
- Be Proactive
- Begin with the End in Mind
- Put First things First
- Think Win/Win
- Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw
So…who wants to join me in creating these 7 Habits for ourselves so that we can show up for own kids, colleagues, spouses, and students?
If you are interested in joining me for this journing just follow these 3 simple steps:
- Buy the book or get it from your local library. Heck, if you don’t want to buy the book…you can just do step 2 and 3 and read my posts for a summary. If you do want the book, you can click here to order it on amazon.
- Sign up for the book club so that I can send you weekly emails that discuss each habit.
- Join my private Facebook Group so that we can synergize by sharing and supporting each other in developing highly effective habits.
I will be sharing stories, thoughts, and ideas for implementing the habits at home and at school. I will start with the first habit next week.
Hope you will join me!
Enjoy Being Their Difference,
