Commitment to Mastery: A Private Victory

Dominic Jarvis, 12 September 2017

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – By Stephen R. Covey. In this, Covey talks about the habits and behaviours that lead to being an effective person. The pathway that starts with achieving small, personal victories, and then how this shapes us and allows us to become capable of having effective, fulfilling interactions with others. Or, as he puts it – the private victory followed by the public victory.

In essence, a private victory is mastery over oneself – the journey to becoming independent. Not to say that independence is the end of the road, as truly effective people are interdependent, working with others to achieve something greater than one can achieve by oneself (public victory).

Introspection is the Foundation of Effectiveness

But in order to actually begin on this path, a certain perspective is needed. Who am I? What is my purpose? What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? It’s nigh impossible to act on oneself, to find a path, when you don’t even know where to look. So, introspection.

It’s important to have a strong sense of centre. An unshakable set of principles, something to refer to with each action. A proper evaluation of what is important to us, what we want to achieve and be, can help guide us in these matters. What roles do you see yourself performing? How do you want to be perceived? A full understanding of oneself and ones principles allows one to have a greater sense of comfort and security, an unshakable sense of self. Being comfortable with oneself is the first step to forming strong and meaningful relationships with others, as this allows you open and comfortable when expressing yourself to others.

A New Job, A New Opportunity

I have been reflecting since I started here at Magnetism. I’ve been looking at this new position as a new opportunity, a chance to define new roles for myself, and a chance for introspection; to look at and evaluate what drives me. With this approach, I’ve defined a set of goals for myself and evaluated what success looks like to me. This helps me to be proactive, gives the drive to bring a positive attitude and atmosphere, and work to improve myself all the while.

A new location, situation or position is an opportunity for a new perspective. A change in situation is sometimes exactly what we need. This most recent change has allowed me to re check my list of priorities and refocus on what’s important to me. Moving to a new workplace can be hard, but being equipped with the correct mind-set and motivations is helpful in building strong relationships and setting the foundation for a positive future environment.