Freedom to choose

Tweet

Condensed from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by the remarkable Stephen R.Covey. His book has sold over 10 million copies. The world population is estimated at 6.7 billion. That could only mean one thing - roughly about 0.15% of all the people in this world has read this book. Hope i don't get sued for copyright infringement here. Just want more people to know of his work in understanding the human conditions based on principled-centred approach. All sentences in quotation are hereby the author's (Stephen R.Covey) own words. What is the widely accepted theory to describe the nature of man? Determinism. The concept of determinism could be simply sum up as genetic, psychic and environmental. "Genetic determinism basically says your grandparents did it to you". It's all in the DNA. "Psychic determinism basically says your parents did it to you". It's your upbringing, your childhood experience. "Environmental determinism basically says your boss, your spouse, your colleagues, the economy, the government is doing it to you. Someone or something in your environment is responsible for your situation." All three 'social maps' are based on the stimulus/response theory. There is no gap in between. But our own self-awareness will tell us that this "map does not describe the territory at all." But Victor Frankl discovered the most fundamental principle about the nature of human beings: Between stimulus and response, there is a gap. "Between stimulus and response is our greatest power-the freedom to choose". Self-awareness is knowing we have the freedom to choose. Within the freedom to choose, we have Self-awareness, Imagination, Conscience and Independent Will. "Imagination is the ability to create in our minds beyond our present reality." "Conscience is a deep inner awareness of right and wrong." "Independent will is the ability to act based on our self-awareness, free of all other influences." No other animals in this world, even the most intelligent, have these endowments. If Determinism is reactive, then proactivity is the basic principle of the nature of human being. Reactive language: There's nothing i can do; he makes me so mad; i can't; i must; if only. Proactive language are: Let's see what we can do; i control my own feelings; i choose; i prefer; i will. According to Stephen, "Reactive people are driven by feelings, by circumstances, by conditions, by their environment. Proactive people are driven by values-carefully thought about, selected and internalized values." Examples of such people could think of are John and Robert F.Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr, Albert Einstein, Ghandi. You can actually realize this 'freedom to choose' in our everyday lives. Some of his practical examples: "make small commitments and keep them, be a light not a judge, be a model not a critic." Ultimately it is us who are responsible for most of our circumstances, and that includes our happiness. Have a great weekend. Victor Frankl: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl