Covey - The 7 habits of highly effective people
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We can depend on them Principles don't react to anything. <strong>The</strong>y won't divorce us or run<br />
away with our best friend. <strong>The</strong>y aren't out to get us. <strong>The</strong>y can't pave our way with<br />
shortcuts and quick fixes. <strong>The</strong>y don't depend on the behavior <strong>of</strong> others, the environment,<br />
or the current fad for their validity. Principles don't die.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y aren't here one day and gone the next. <strong>The</strong>y can't be destroyed by fire, earthquake,<br />
or theft. Principles are deep, fundamental truths, classic truths, generic common<br />
denominators. <strong>The</strong>y are tightly interwoven threads running with exactness, consistency,<br />
beauty, and strength through the fabric <strong>of</strong> life.<br />
Even in the midst <strong>of</strong> <strong>people</strong> or circumstances that seem to ignore the principles, we can be<br />
secure in the knowledge that principles are bigger than <strong>people</strong> or circumstances, and that<br />
thousands <strong>of</strong> years <strong>of</strong> history have seen them triumph, time and time again. Even more<br />
important, we can be secure in the knowledge that we can validate them in our own lives,<br />
by our own experience.<br />
Admittedly, we're not omniscient. Our knowledge and understanding <strong>of</strong> correct<br />
principles is limited by our own lack <strong>of</strong> awareness <strong>of</strong> our true nature and the world<br />
around us and by the flood <strong>of</strong> trendy philosophies and theories that are not in harmony<br />
with correct principles. <strong>The</strong>se ideas will have their season <strong>of</strong> acceptance, but, like many<br />
before them, they won't endure because they're built on false foundations.<br />
We are limited, but we can push back the borders <strong>of</strong> our limitations. An understanding <strong>of</strong><br />
the principle <strong>of</strong> our own growth enables us to search out correct principles with the<br />
confidence that the more we learn, the more clearly we can focus the lens through which<br />
we see the world. <strong>The</strong> principles don't change; our understanding <strong>of</strong> them does.<br />
<strong>The</strong> wisdom and guidance that accompany Principle-Centered Living come from correct<br />
maps, from the way things really are, have been, and will be. Correct maps enable us to<br />
clearly see where we want to go and how to get there. We can make our decisions using<br />
the correct data that will make their implementation possible and meaningful.<br />
<strong>The</strong> personal power that comes from Principle-Centered Living is the power <strong>of</strong> a selfaware,<br />
knowledgeable, proactive individual, unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors, and<br />
actions <strong>of</strong> others or by many <strong>of</strong> the circumstances and environmental influences that limit<br />
other <strong>people</strong>.<br />
<strong>The</strong> only real limitation <strong>of</strong> power is the natural consequences <strong>of</strong> the principles<br />
themselves. We are free to choose our actions, based on our knowledge <strong>of</strong> correct<br />
principles, but we are not free to choose the consequences <strong>of</strong> those actions. Remember, "If<br />
you pick up one end <strong>of</strong> the stick, you pick up the other.<br />
Principles always have natural consequences attached to them. <strong>The</strong>re are positive<br />
consequences when we live in harmony with the principles. <strong>The</strong>re are negative<br />
consequences when we ignore them. But because these principles apply to everyone,<br />
whether or not they are aware, this limitation is universal. And the more we know <strong>of</strong><br />
correct principles, the greater is our personal freedom to act wisely.<br />
By centering our lives on timeless, unchanging principles, we create a fundamental<br />
paradigm <strong>of</strong> <strong>effective</strong> living. It is the center that puts all other centers in perspective.<br />
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