Tag: how-to-be-happier

Habit 1: Be Proactive. (7 Habits Of Highly Effective People)

September 20th, 2024

Be Proactive—the first habit from Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It’s like Covey took the idea of complaining and set it on fire. Here’s the thing: most people live reactively. They wait. They stew. They blame the weather, their boss, the traffic, the stock market—everything *except* themselves.

Being proactive? It’s the opposite. It’s realizing that you’re not a product of your circumstances but of your decisions. You can’t control what happens around you, but you can control your response. Sound cliché? Well, it should—because it’s true, and truth loves being annoyingly repetitive.

Covey introduces this idea of a *circle of concern* and a *circle of influence*. The circle of concern is full of stuff you worry about but can’t control—global warming, your neighbor’s awful taste in music, politics. The circle of influence is smaller, filled with things you can do something about. Most people waste their energy on the concern circle, whining and waiting for things to change. The proactive person? They live in that influence circle. It’s small, sure, but it’s where the magic happens.

Here’s the kicker: proactivity is a choice. It’s choosing not to lose your cool when someone cuts you off in traffic (hard, I know). It’s choosing to focus on the things you can *actually* change. And the more you do that, the more your circle of influence grows. The universe rewards you for playing in the right sandbox.

But being proactive isn’t just about being calm in a crisis. It’s about ownership—complete ownership of your life. Your job sucks? You can quit, look for a new one, or do something to improve your situation. Your relationship is falling apart? You can communicate, seek help, or make changes. No excuses, no blaming, just action.

Deep down, it’s a mindset shift. It’s moving from “I can’t” to “What can I do about this?” It’s stepping out of the victim mentality and realizing that you, my friend, are the one holding the reins. You get to steer this thing. And that’s both terrifying and empowering.

Bottom line: Proactivity is the foundation. Everything else in the book? It builds on this habit. Without it, you’re just reacting to life instead of living it. Be the thermostat, not the thermometer. Control the temperature. Don’t just reflect it.

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What Comes Next?

December 10th, 2023

The last half of this year has been a whirlwind, to say the least. From visiting Spain (a pre-wedding honeymoon) to marrying the love of my life; from losing my father and other loved ones in the family; to starting a YouTube channel with absolutely no idea what to create content about; to establishing this blog as a place to organize my thoughts and ideas; to writing and self-publishing a book very quickly (it’s a shorty, but you can find it here if you are interested); to learning a bunch of micro-skills along the way that will hopefully make this internet thing easier down the road. Things have been moving fast, and I intend on enjoying the journey.

So what comes next?

I still feel like the YouTube channel will be the main focus. At the time of writing this we have 958 subscribers. I have posted mostly Shorts and Shorts Remixes (clipping other people’s content, sometimes reacting to it). There are some long-form videos on various topics, and the whole lot of it is very disorganized.

This was a time to throw spaghetti at the wall.

This was a time to gather data.

This was a time to learn and prepare.

Now is the time to narrow the focus.

Successful content tends to either be educational or entertaining (or both if you are that good). I want to create something that helps other people, and just need to figure out the “What,” the “How,” and the “Why.”

We called the channel “Grownup Pains” as a play on “growing pains” because becoming a grownup is hard. We started with this broad idea that we might be able to help some number of people by sharing our limited wisdom in what has helped us navigate the path of adulthood. For context, I am in my mid thirties and still feel like a kid.

I’m looking more closely at my values in trying to narrow the focus for this thing. Today I had this epiphany that Happiness is actually one of my core values. Happiness for me, happiness for you, and happiness for as many people as possible.

More specifically, I believe that happiness is a moral obligation. I believe that owning our feelings is important because we impact the lives of everyone we come into contact with. When we are miserable, we spread misery like a plague and sour the interactions we have with others. Conversely, when we are happy we tend to encourage happiness in those around us.

So where am I going with this?

I want to take the “Grownup Pains” idea and view it through the lens of prioritizing happiness.

I want to offer sincere and practical advice that helps others to grow while abiding by the maxim of “Happiness First.”

I want to help others build a better life for themselves and their loved ones.

I want to accomplish this through media, whether that be YouTube, this blog, or published books.

I want to do this because Happiness is important to me, and I want to help anyone seeking a happiness-centric life.

There is my “What,” my “How,” and my “Why.”

If you are willing to suffer through a little more randomness while I figure this thing out, consider subscribing to the channel.

Thanks for reading, and be well this holiday season!

-woodrow

Tag: how-to-be-happier

Habit 1: Be Proactive. (7 Habits Of Highly Effective People)

What Comes Next?