Shortform Books

Stephen Covey’s Quadrant 2—Be Insanely Productive

But what is Quadrant 2? How do you use it? And how can you use Quadrant 2 to boost productivity? Quadrant 2 is the area of Stephen Covey’s time management matrix that includes tasks that are important, but not urgent. As Covey explains in The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Quadrant 2 is the most important quadrant and to be productive, you need to spend most of your time in Quadrant 2. Working toward Quadrant 2 is an ongoing process that will be a consistent part of the 7 habits. Learn how to identify Quadrant 2 tasks to be

Emotional Bank Account—6 Examples for Stronger Relationships

So much of our personal growth and effect habits depend on our interactions with others. But how can we foster these relationships? And how can they help us grow and achieve our goals? That’s where Stephen Covey’s concept of an Emotional Bank Account comes in. An Emotional Bank Account is a system of emotional deposits and withdrawals that helps build relationships. You have an emotional bank account in every relationship that’s unique. And by making deposits, or acts of kindness and love, you strengthen it. Acts of cruelty or betrayal are withdrawals, and weaken the relationship. You want to ensure

Character Ethic vs. Personality Ethic—Change the Way You Think

There are two approaches to self-improvement: Character Ethic vs. Personality Ethic. When we think about self-improvement, we know it has to be built from the inside out. You must first know who we are, and understand our own perspectives and our character, in order to understand how we can change.

Social Mirror Theory: How Others View You Matters

Do you want to reflect back a clear, positive image that emphasizes a person’s potential, or a distorted one based on assumptions, stereotypes, and misunderstandings? This reflection is what we refer to as social mirror theory. Social mirror theory is the theory that people’s relationships with others create a social mirror that reflects images of themselves back to them and affects their paradigms. This is essentially the concept of self-fulfilling prophecy. Learn how social mirror theory works and why others’ opinions of you matter.

Change Your Paradigm and Change Your Life—Here’s How

Changing your paradigm brings powerful, dramatic change because it introduces a whole new way of thinking. This inevitably leads to a change in attitudes, behaviors, and relationships. But you may ask: how to change your paradigm? What does paradigm mean? You can work on how to change your paradigm and about the types of paradigms as you practice self awareness.

Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence—Use Time Wisely

What are the Circles of Concern and Influence? Where do you focus your time and energy? How many of those things can you impact? The Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence both affect how we structure our lives and tend to things and people. Read on to find out the differences between Circle of Influence vs. Circle of Concern, and how to direct your energy towards your Circle of Influence.

Proactive vs. Reactive—How Being Proactive Makes You Happier

What Is the Secret to Living a Happy Life?

In every situation, you have the choice of being proactive vs. reactive. If you’re reactive, you let your conditioning dictate how you respond to the people and circumstances around you; if you’re proactive, you decide how you’ll respond to create the results you want. Being proactive vs. reactive takes time and practice. You can learn how to be more proactive by making good choices, taking control of your actions, and communicating effectively with the people around you.

The Abundance Mentality: Believing There’s Enough for Everyone

Though there are several different mentalities, the Abundance Mentality is particularly useful and can help you learn and adapt. In habit 4, we discussed the win/win paradigm and the five traits that form a personality. Once of these essential traits was character, and a core part of your character is your mentality. Read on to find out more about the Abundance Mentality and its benefits.

The 9 Best Books on Decision Making, According to Experts

Are you a good decision maker? Do you ever wonder how improved decision-making skills could make you more successful, professionally and personally? The decisions you make today have far-reaching consequences, and research indicates that though we’re far more irrational than we’d like to think, there are proven ways to learn how to make better decisions, many of them recorded by experts in some of the best books on decision making. But finding the best, most insightful, and most practical books on decision making can be difficult, so we’ve done the hard work for you, narrowing down the extensive list to

Listening to Understand—Empathic Listening Builds Strong Relationships

When a friend comes to you with an issue he’s having, how often do you respond with a story about your own similar experience and what you did to resolve it? Or how commonly are you met with this kind of response when you are venting to someone else? We discussed in Habit 4 that an essential step in reaching a Win/Win solution is to try to understand the other person’s perspective and concerns. The key to truly understanding people is empathic listening, which is listening with the intent to see their perspective.