The Secret of Highly Effective People

Steven Covey mentioned in his book,“7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that we should prioritize different daily activities. In particular he recommends that we nurture the activities that may not seem very urgent, and that may on the first glance not even seem that useful, yet that are still very important to us in our daily life. For me that would be my daily attempt to connect with my Self with the help of meditation and creative writing. It activities like these that give our lives purpose. While others may need their coffee in the morning, I need to have access to these creative outlets to be truly effective in the day.

On a very busy day I do the opposite of what many others may do; instead of rushing into the tasks at hand, I take my time to meditate to put myself in the right frame of mind. Meditation helps me to anchor myself in the now and gives me the energy to deal with everything that comes my way. When Christian feels pressures at  work to do something in a hurry, the first thing he does is to slow himself down. Amazingly, the pace of the world adjusts to our inner frame of mind.

Christian always always reverts back to  Psalm 23 which describes the state of the holy now. What is the ongoing communication of the Tao for him is meditation and creative writing for me. Either method boils down to the same thing, there is an ongoing connection with the Self - a feeling of purpose and divine connectedness that we can always tap into. With this trust, confidence, and centeredness, what initially seems like a scary storm disintegrates into a harmless wind. Better than that, we can have the wind in our back and sail with it.   Read Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning" and discover how some remarkable people like him could even use the impact of a tornado - his horrendous Holocaust experience - and transform this energy into a life-long quest for teaching and healing. Victor Frankl shared his secret with us, find meaning in what you do and run with it.

Why do meditation and writing have such calming impact on me? It is the presence of the Self that I can feel at that moment. Everyone has access to this secret, you just have to find your idiosyncratic way of connecting with this Force. Some find the Self in external happenings like Christian's discovery of the Tao, while others like me are able to connect with an inner guide instead. Whatever your spiritual journey may be, please find this daily fountain of energy and wisdom. By being in touch with your Self you have access to eternal sunshine no matter what. Find this secret that other highly effective people have found before you and please share it with others.

By Su Zhen and Christian