The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People is written by Stephen R. Covey and is a book that was written for self-motivation. In this book, Covey describes how to become a more effective and motivated person throughout your life. He gives specific directions and details that lead you to this effectiveness throughout the book. The basic aim of the book is to demonstrate how these seven specific habits can greatly benefit your life and make your life meaningful and effective. Covey explains that if you are willing to make the necessary changes, you will become a more effective person. He describes that there are seven habits that make all of this possible. The first habit is to be proactive, or "proactive", it is explained that being proactive means that we, as humans, are responsible for our own lives. Our performance in life is up to us and is not the result of things that have happened or experiences, but of the choices we choose to make and how we view our life as a whole. It is our duty to choose how we respond to the experiences of our lives. Take for example Viktor Frankl, he was a prisoner in the death camps of Nazi Germany. Frankl went through terrible experiences: being tortured, starving, being naked and losing almost his entire family. As all this was happening, Frankl decided he wasn't going to let any of this affect him. He realized that he had the freedom to choose his own response to what was happening and the meaning of it all, which allowed him to flourish. When I look at the statement “What I do is largely controlled by the actions of others,” I am sure the author of this book would strongly disagree with that. The reason why I say this is because...... middle of paper ......f. It is of utmost importance that we practice these four paradigms to achieve success in all the habits discussed. Covey explains, “Each dimension is important, it only becomes optimally effective when we address all four dimensions.” Each of them will have a positive impact on your life provided you practice effectively. It is important to develop a sense of what is most important to yourself and others around you. These seven habits are very important to use in our daily lives and with practice and dedication you will succeed in having a more effective life. You just have to commit to progress and improve. Even though it's a constant struggle, you have to remember that these habits and practices will make you a more successful and valuable person and that's what's important..