SUMMARY OF HABIT ONE BY JANET AUSTIN!

Humans have accepted 3 deterministic explanations of human limitations: genetic determinism, psychic determinism and environmental determinism.
Giving a closer look at the statement above, we figure out that between stimulus and response, man has the freedom to choose. Things don’t happen on their own, in fact we make them happen.
Pro activity means every person is responsible for their own lives. Our behavior is a function of our decisions, not our conditions. We can subordinate feelings to values. We have the initiative and the responsibility to make things happen.
Our most difficult experiences become the crucibles forging our character and developing our inner powers.
There are three central values in life: the experiential which are things that happen to us, the creative things which we bring into existence and the attitudinal which our response to difficult circumstances. What matters most is how we respond to what we experience in life.
Taking the initiative means recognizing our responsibility to make things happen. Use your Resourcefulness and Initiative.
Pro activity is actually relates to facing reality but it is also about understanding that we do possess the power to choose a positive response to our circumstances.
Organizations of every kind can be proactive by undertaking the perfect blend of creativity and resourcefulness of proactive individuals to create a proactive culture within the organization.
We need to understand how we focus our time and energy to be effective. The things we are concerned about could be described as our "Circle of Concern". There are things we can really do something about, that can be described as our "Circle of Influence". When we focus our time and energy in our Circle of Concern, but outside our Circle of Influence, we are not being effective. However, we find that being proactive helps us to expand our Circle of Influence i-e working on things which are under our control.
Reactive people focus their efforts on the Circle of Concern, over things they can't control. Their negative energy causes their Circle of Influence to shrink.
Our problems fall in three areas: Direct Control include problems involving our own behavior, Indirect Control which relate to problems involving other people's behavior or No Control are the problems we can’t do nothing about. Direct Control problems are solved through being pro active, keeping the end in mind and giving priority to the things that are important to us. Indirect Control problems are solved through methods of influence. No Control problems are best dealt with through attitude.
The Circle of Concern is filled with the "have" statements. The Circle of Influence is indicated by "be" statements. Anytime we think the problem is "out there," that thought is the problem.
While we are free to choose our actions, the consequences of our actions are governed by natural law. Sometimes we make choices with negative consequences, called mistakes. We can't recall or undo past mistakes. The proactive approach to a mistake is to accept it instantly, correct and learn from it. Success is the far side of failure.
At the heart of our Circle of Influence is our ability to make and keep commitments and promises. Our integrity in keeping commitments and the ability to make commitments are the clearest manifestations of pro activity.