Finally Putting First Things First
“So then how do I put first things first,” I asked the aliens.
“Be proactive,” said Iman.
“And begin with the end in mind,” said Yewell.
“You’re not helping,” I said.
“Maybe you should try reversing them” added Yewell.
Dealing with one alien is hard enough, but dealing with two really is downright…
“Impossible?” Yewell interjected. “Just think of where you’d be if we weren’t here to help you.”
“I’d be reading the 7 habits book like a normal person.”
“When have you ever been normal?” he asked.
“Fine. You’ve got a point. Now will you answer my question?”
“Sure,” said Yewell. “The first thing you need to do is realize you’re not normal.”
“And that’s supposed to help me be effective?”
“You betcha.”
“How?”
“Because if you’re not normal,” Iman interjected, “that means that you are unique, original, one of a kind. That being the case, your first thing is going to be different from anybody else’s.”
“So then what’s my first thing?” I asked.
“Begin with the end in mind,” said Iman.
“Be proactive,” Said Yewell.
Ugh.
“Or maybe you should switch them around.”
“Can I meld with somebody else’s mind, please?”
“Steve,” Iman said, “those three habits, the one habit of independence, are interconnected. To excel at one, you need to excel at them all. You’ve already put first things first by being proactive and having the end in mind. You know you want to write the world, to have an impact on it by the life you create.”
“That’s your proactivity,” Yewell chimed in. “You’re taking responsibility for who you are and what your purpose is.”
“And,” Iman added, “You’ve realized the roles you must play to reach the goals you’ve created. Your independence comes by aligning your integrity with your execution, by looking at your goals and values, and adapting your behavior to engage only in the tasks which support them.”
“Putting first things first,” I said.
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you,” Said Yewell.
“So I just do what I say I’m going to do?”
“And not do anything else,” added Iman.
“Isn’t that kind of stifling?” I asked. “I mean, shouldn’t life be about spontaneity and creativity?”
“If you want to make a life that is spontaneous,” said Yewell, “But being focused does not mean you cannot be spontaneous or creative. It simply allows you to use your spontaneity and creativity to work toward your goals.”
“Besides, isn’t it much more stifling to have goals that are never reached because you’re always going off track?”
I thought about all of the goals that I hadn’t reached due to all of the times I have gone off track. “I supposed, but how can I decipher good spontaneity from bad? I think I mentioned that I have this Attention Deficit Disorder thing. It seems like I’m always going off track.”
“You simply have to weigh the effectiveness of your actions,” Iman said. “What did Dr. Covey write about important things and urgent things?”
I scratched my head and tried to remember what I read in the book. “He said that things were either urgent or not urgent and important or not important.”
“And?” Yewell waved his hand in a ‘come hither’ motion.
“And he broke them into four quadrants – things that were urgent and important, not urgent but important, urgent but not important, and not urgent or important.”
“Where do effective actions fit in?” asked Iman.
“They are not urgent, but important.”
“Why?”
I thought again. “Because they are things like building relationships, planning, preparation, maintenance… that sort of thing.”
“The things that are usually the last to get done,” added Yewell.
“Yeah.”
“Because they are not urgent,” added Iman.
“Yeah.”
“Why are they important?” asked Yewell.
“Because,” I said slowly, “by focusing my energy on them, the non-important stuff just drifts away and the urgent stuff becomes less urgent because I’ve already planned for it.”
“Bingo,” said Yewell.
“And what happens to spontaneity and creativity?” asked Iman.
“By not having to work on things that are urgent, I get to focus my creative energies on things that are important, spontaneously coming up with better ways to do them.”
The two aliens smiled. “You might just find your independence yet.”
You are reading the Second Iteration of The McAllister Code.
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