Stephen Covey’s legendary book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is a book that I’ve had in my hands several times, but never actually read. I’m trying to change that, and am a whipping 21 pages into it as we speak.
The interesting point that has been made in the first chapter is the difference in success philosophies in the last 50 (or 60) years versus the previous 150 years before that. The Character focus of the “old days” which has been replaced by the Personality focus of the past 50 years.
I agree with this assessment of these philosophies. The contemporary books that I’ve read all seem to share a very common element, which is the artificial over-inflation of self. This is a tremendous fault of this thinking, and gives devastating results. No sooner have you gotten “pumped up” on “positive thinking” only to get suckerpunched by a bad turn. Then you feel discouraged because you cannot overcome this negativity with your own positivity and the downward spiral begins. You have to get another fix of “positive energy” and wake up feeling hungover from bad vodka.
Of course, we all know that the only cure for this is the blood of Christ, and that our feelings cannot be relied upon. It is only through Him that we can remain truly neutral to this swaying, realizing that all things happen according to his purpose. We can truly be “positive” in the greatest sense, knowing that despite “negatives” in our lives, they are working for the good of those that are called according to His purpose.
