Habit 3 – Put First Things First
“It is the habit that draws upon the independent will to literally act upon those things which we, in Habit 2, determined are first things. The hard moments of Habit 3 come at us constantly. Will we carry forth our resolve? Will we execute? The deeper the resolve, the easier the execution – and vice versa.

For instance, perhaps the most powerful form of minority vocal control ever contemplated takes place when a few million taste buds are screaming “Yes, yes!” to something you shouldn’t eat, when at the same time, billions of unvocal cells in the rest of the body are crying out “no, no!

This is hard moment. When I fail this hard moment, I live with the consequences of not sleeping as deeply, of putting on unnecessary girth, of not having the same energy the next afternoon. I then also have the feeling that I have betrayed my integrity and stewardship to model what I teach and to champion other people’s growth around the same principles. True minority control!”- Stephen R. Covey

“There is also great value in recognizing the horrendous price we pay, both personally and socially, when we are weak in the hard moments. It’s like trading dust for diamonds. Shakespeare beautifully capture the effects of “giving in” to the pleasure of the moment rather than subordinating it to the real joy of contribution and growth:

What win I, if I gain the think I seek?
A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy.
Who buys a minute’ mirth to wail a week?
Or seeks eternity to get a toy?
For one sweet grape, who will the vine destroy?
The Rape of Lucrece,
Lines 211-215”

Stephen R. Covey