Habit 1 - Be Proactive Stimulus leads to response. A trait of animals. Stimulus, deciding how one feels and finally arriving at a conscious response. A trait of an independent person. The above were gleaned from Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. And I have to admit that those 2 simple lines have changed me more than all the books I have ever read in my entire life. I am finally in control.