Moving Forward with a Driving Passion (Week 7)

The habit that had the most meaning to me was habit 5 – seek first to understand, then to be understood. This was a good principle for me to reflect on because it taught me that you have to seek to understand a person before trying to solve their problem(s). I particularly liked how this quote illustrated the principle:

"The Greeks had a philosophy embodied in three words: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is your personal credibility, integrity and competency. It is in effect the balance of your Emotional Bank Account. Pathos is the feeling. It means being in emotional alignment with the other person. Logos is the logic, the reasoning part of the presentation. Note the sequence: ethos, pathos, logos - your character, your relationship and your logic. Most people go straight to the logos without first taking ethos and pathos into consideration."

I liked how this explained how others must understand your character and you must have a relationship with them before they will accept your logic, or what you have to sell.

To be honest, I was not deeply affected by reading the synopsis of this book. I have heard of this book before and how much people like it, but I really just didn't glean too much helpful information for my life at this point. I think I will have to revisit it and actually read the whole book as I'm sure some things were lost in the translation process. However, I can imagine that if you were focused on the 7 habits that you would be seeking to become something substantial rather than to be affected only by your circumstances, as it mentioned in the article. I would also think that if you are beginning with the end in mind and setting active goals each day to achieve your dreams, you would be a lot more able and ready to achieve success.

I really enjoyed reading Gordan B. Hinckley's talk, "Stand True and Faithful." It made me reflect on a lot on his oft-quoted phrases that came to mean so much to me as a youth.

-"I urge each of you young women to get all of the schooling you can get. You will need it for the world into which you will move.”-“Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.”-“Others may make cutting remarks concerning you. This is only a sign of their ignorance and not of your qualities.”

I always felt like President Hinckley knew of my worth and did everything he could to encourage it through the words he used. I loved his encouragement to learn and progress. I loved his optimism and the hope he has given me during dark times.