Covey - The 7 habits of highly effective people

Consider again the four life-support factors -- security, guidance, wisdom, and power.
Suppose I derive much of my security from my employment or from my income or net
worth. Since many factors affect these economic foundations, I become anxious and
uneasy, protective and defensive, about anything that may affect them. When my sense
of personal worth comes from my net worth, I am vulnerable to anything that will affect
that net worth. But work and money, per se, provide no wisdom, no guidance, and only a
limited degree of power and security. All it takes to show the limitations of a money
center is a crisis in my life or in the life of a loved one.
Money-centered people often put aside family or other priorities, assuming everyone will
understand that economic demands come first. I know one father who was leaving with
his children for a promised trip to the circus when a phone call came for him to come to
work instead. He declined. When his wife suggested that perhaps he should have gone to
work, he responded, "The work will come again, but childhood won't." For the rest of
their lives his children remembered this little act of priority setting, not only as an object
lesson in their minds but as an expression of love in their hearts.
Work Centeredness. Work-centered people may become "workaholics," driving
themselves to produce at the sacrifice of health, relationships, and other important areas
of their lives. Their fundamental identity comes from their work -- "I'm a doctor," "I'm a
writer," "I'm an actor."
Because their identity and sense of self-worth are wrapped up in their work, their
security is vulnerable to anything that happens to prevent them from continuing in it.
Their guidance is a function of the demands of the work. Their wisdom and power come
in the limited areas of their work, rendering them ineffective in other areas of life.
Possession Centeredness. A driving force of many people is possessions -- not only
tangible, material possessions such as fashionable clothes, homes, cars, boats, and
jewelry, but also the intangible possessions of fame, glory, or social prominence. Most of
us are aware, through our own experience, how singularly flawed such a center is, simply
because it can vanish rapidly and it is influenced by so many forces.
If my sense of security lies in my reputation or in the things I have, my life will be in a
constant state of threat and jeopardy that these possessions may be lost or stolen or
devalued. If I'm in the presence of someone of greater net worth or fame or status, I feel
inferior. If I'm in the presence of someone of lesser net worth or fame or status, I feel
superior. My sense of self-worth constantly fluctuates. I don't have any sense of
constancy or anchorage or persistent selfhood. I am constantly trying to protect and
insure my assets, properties, securities, position, or reputation. We have all heard stories
of people committing suicide after losing their fortunes in a significant stock decline or
their fame in a political reversal.
Pleasure Centeredness. Another common center, closely allied with possessions, is that
of fun and pleasure. We live in a world where instant gratification is available and
encouraged. Television and movies are major influences in increasing people's
expectations. They graphically portray what other people have and can do in living the
life of ease and "fun."
But while the glitter of pleasure-centered lifestyles is graphically portrayed, the natural
result of such lifestyles -- the impact on the inner person, on productivity, on
relationships -- is seldom accurately seen.
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