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7 Habits to Stay at the Top of Your Game

By Sharon Eden

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 27Jan2009 Word count: 595 Viewed: 357 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

"Watch my dust!" *Babe Ruth 1895-1948 reputedly the most celebrated baseball player in the US*

I had a great day during last weekend. I stayed in my jim-jams with inspirational reading, chilling with music or silence, creating dreamy pictures and writing, all of which I love. After a busy work period, my day prepared me superbly for the return to work ahead...

A day to recharge, rejuvenate and 'sharpen my saw'. And when I get enough of *this* kind of days, I'm ready to go-go-G0... just like Babe Ruth.

Because there's time for 'doing' and there's time for 'being' *...and* because I learned to my cost last year that, without days like this, I get stressed, irritable, unproductive and plain burnt out. No way can I hit a Babe Ruth one-hit home run when I'm feeling that way. Sounds familiar???

And to stay at the top of your game, whatever that is, a great template to follow is Stephen Covey's '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' which embodies the essence of becoming a balanced, integrated and powerful person... Derrr!... sounds like purpose, passion and power to me!

Here it is...

#1 Take Action

Make choices about how you want your life to be based on your principles and values; be a change agent rather than a victim. So... make a choice and choose one action toward it you can put in place straight away!

#2 Create a Mental Vision for Your Outcome

It'll act as a magnet drawing you towards achieving the choice you've just made. Using all of your senses, create a 'picture' in your imagination of your successful outcome right now... and enjoy seeing yourself experience it.

#3 Prioritise

Organise your life and take actions around your most important priorities. Yeah-yeah, I know all the excuses not to and they're a pile of horse dung! Start saying *NO* to anyone or anything that doesn't serve you and your vision. Along with this...

#4 Think Win-Win

Have the frame of mind and heart that seeks mutual respect and benefit in all your interactions. You'll be amazed at the abundance and opportunities you create with this attitude. So... where exactly and with whom do you need to begin win-win-ing?

#5 Understand First Before Seeking to be Understood

Many of us are so busy with our own thoughts, wants and needs that we forget to *listen*. If you're not firstly receptive to another, if you don't get to know where they're coming from, how on earth do you think you're going to create rapport and a receptive ear to your own concerns? Yeah, I know it can take effort AND with whom do you need to start *really* listening right now?

#6 Creative Co-Operation

By respecting, valuing and even celebrating differences, you can collaborate and come up with a third way of doing things which is far, far better than 'my way' or 'your way' of thinking. What project or situation in your life could benefit right now from you using this 1+1=100 principle?

And finally...

#7 Sharpen Your Saw

Yum! This is about replenishing you physically, socially/emotionally, mentally and spiritually. In my terms, taking jim-jam time to re-charge your body, feelings, mind and ooomph. Write down time *in every week and every month* of your current diary to do that right now.

YES! I do mean 'NOW...' before you find some excuse to put yourself at the end of the list yet again... as if you would.

*And,* if you follow Covey's '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' on a regular basis, it'll be *your* dust which other people are watching!

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