Book Club: Principles and Paradigms (pg. 23-35)
September 2, 2024
In our ongoing exploration of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, pages 23-35 introduce us to the profound concepts of Principles and Paradigms. These ideas form the bedrock of Covey’s teachings and offer a powerful framework for understanding how we perceive the world and how we can achieve lasting, meaningful change.
Understanding Principles
Covey emphasizes that the 7 Habits are rooted in fundamental principles of human effectiveness. These habits are not just tips or techniques; they are primary, foundational truths that, when internalized, lead to enduring happiness and success. Principles, as Covey explains, are not values, which can be subjective and vary from person to person. Instead, they are deep, fundamental truths with universal applications.
Examples of principles include integrity, honesty, human dignity, service, quality, and growth. These principles are self-evident and unchanging, much like natural laws such as gravity. Covey asserts, “Principles are guidelines for human conduct that are proven to have enduring, permanent value. They’re fundamental. They’re essentially unarguable because they are self-evident.” Living in alignment with these principles leads to effective and fulfilling lives. Conversely, ignoring them leads to dysfunction and dissatisfaction. How closely do you feel your life aligns with these universal truths? Which of the above examples do you want to work on first?
Paradigms
While principles provide the foundation, paradigms shape how we perceive and interact with the world. The term “paradigm” originates from Greek and was initially a scientific term, now more broadly used to describe a model, theory, or frame of reference. Covey defines a paradigm as “the way we ‘see’ the world–not in terms of our visual sense of sight, but in terms of perceiving, understanding, interpreting.” Essentially, paradigms are the mental maps we use to navigate life.
Covey explains that each of us has many such maps in our minds, which can be divided into two categories: maps of reality (the way things are) and maps of values (the way things should be). These maps influence our attitudes, behaviors, and decisions, often without us even realizing it. We tend to assume that the way we see things is the way they really are, but this is not always the case. As Covey succinctly puts it, “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are–or, as we are conditioned to see it.”
The Power of Paradigm Shifts
To achieve meaningful change, we must be willing to examine and shift our paradigms. Covey writes, “It becomes obvious that if we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviors. But if we want to make significant, quantum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms.” This idea is powerful because it suggests that the key to personal growth and effectiveness lies not just in learning new skills or techniques, but in transforming the underlying perceptions that guide our thoughts and actions. Covey reminds us, “The more aware we are of our basic paradigms, maps, or assumptions, and the extent to which we have been influenced by our experience, the more we can take responsibility for those paradigms, examine them, test them against reality, listen to others, and be open to their perceptions, thereby getting a larger picture and a far more objective view.” This is how two people can see the same thing, disagree, and yet both be right.
When you looked at the picture on page 26, what image did you see first? Did it take a lot of effort for your mind to switch from the young woman to the old woman? Tell us your experience with this exercise in the comments below.
Aligning Paradigms with Principles
Ultimately, the goal is to align our paradigms with the fundamental principles of human effectiveness. The closer our mental maps align with these natural laws, the more accurate and functional they will be, leading to greater personal and interpersonal effectiveness. Covey explains, “Correct maps will infinitely impact our personal and interpersonal effectiveness far more than any amount of effort expended on changing our attitudes and behaviors.”
Understanding the relationship between principles and paradigms is key to unlocking the full potential of the 7 Habits. As we continue our journey through Covey’s work, let’s challenge ourselves to examine our paradigms, shift them where necessary, and align them with the timeless principles that lead to true success and happiness.
How are you feeling about the book club so far? What new insights have you gained and what are you looking forward to learning more about? Don’t forget to join the discussion in the comments below and join us on September 16th as we cover pages 35-45, finishing the section on “Inside-Out”.
As far as the pictures of the young woman and theolder woman I saw that right away, getting to the principals,I feel that our attitudes and the way we treat others right now in this country has to change, the’res no more respect for authority,each other or personal property uor quality of life has somewhat disappeared,theres no more family unity, sadly enough because of the political landscape & climate today,were seeing the negative effects of that. we seriously need a major paradigm shift and introspection in how we need to see each other and our country as a whole.
Once a paradigm shift has occurred – when we can see both the young woman and the older woman – how do we live or work either the fact that BOTH are there and true? Does this lead to an anything goes relativism? Or must one choose which paradigm to see or value? If both are there then how does an eye opened person move ahead without violating this new perception/map/paradigm?
As Covey states, two people can see different things and both be right! I think we need to decide what our perception is going to be and how that aligns with our values. However, I’d keep this question in mind as we continue reading, and I hope you’ll share what you discover!
This has been a great section to sit with for a little while. I really like the paragraph on pg. 28 that reads: “We see the world, not at it is, but as we are– or, as we are conditioned to see it… When other people disagree with us, we immediately think something is wrong with them. But, as the demonstration [with the pictures of the old and young woman] shows, sincere, clearheaded people see things differently, each looking through the unique lens of experience.” Something I am trying to improve on is becoming curious rather than defensive when someone has a strong opposing opinion/perception from my own. What experiences have they had that cause them to have such a different perception? Is it something I can learn from?
I loved the map object lesson. In order for us to experience a paradigm shift, the map needs to be accurate. Once that is in place, then I can work on my attitude and behavior. I have generally lived my life in reverse – working on my attitudes and behaviors in hopes of changing my map (paradigm). I think one way to help us shift our paradigms is to use the Belief Window that Hyrum Smith teaches in his book “10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management”. As we hold each of our beliefs up to examine and determine if they are accurate, we will be able to identify the areas we need to correct in order to have a paradigm shift. It is interesting to me how the teachings from both authors work together to help us achieve and become what really matters to us.