Quotes

Our building posts quotations in the elevator- I guess it is a bit like De Bono's solution to slow elevators although we already have mirrors inside the lifts- they do need to put the mirrors outside the lifts too to resolve that feeling of slow lifts/elevators.
I digress...
The Chesterfield quote captured my attention as looking at people is what I often do rather than looking into them.
That superficial look at the person you are taking with or working with is often the reason why things haven't worked out.
I think this quote links in nicely with Covey's habit #5 Seek first to understand then be understood. In looking and thinking about these links i looked back at the 7 Habits and haven't explored Habit #1 for a while and that is Be Proactive. In looking at that habit i realized that my word for the year, Live, is very strongly linked to Habit #1!

Life doesn't just "happen." Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you. The choices, after all, are yours. You choose happiness. You choose sadness. You choose decisiveness. You choose ambivalence. You choose success. You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear. Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice. And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.

Lalique in Henri Bendel windows

Un petit chou in a garden bed in NYC

Habit 1: Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able." They don't blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame for their behavior. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather. All of these external forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice.
Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas--Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.
Proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about: health, children, problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern--things over which they have little or no control: the national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in which we expend our energies in is a giant step in becoming proactive. 

Chi, me, Fran and Vee heading out the door NYE

An so this year I have  chosen to Live- to get out there in the crowd on New Year's Eve- to enjoy the company of those I am with and to seek and find other places and times to enjoy living in New York City and the year that is 2013.
Savouring the moments and creating a space between the stimulus and the response!