Leader in Me Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw

This month's Leader in Me habit is habit #7- Sharpen the Saw. Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--YOU! It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual. I’ve found that in practice, however, most people fail to understand what sharpening the saw really means. If you’re overworking yourself and your productivity begins to fall off, common wisdom says to take a break, maybe even go on holiday. However, that isn’t sharpening the saw — that’s putting the saw down. When you put down a dull blade for a while, the blade will still be dull when you pick it up again.

Here are some habit 7 ‘saw-sharpening ideas:

Exercise
Improve your diet
Educate yourself (read, listen to audio programs, attend a seminar)
Learn a new skill
Join a club
Meditate
Write in your journal
Have a deep conversation with someone
Set some new goals or review/update your old goals
Organize your home or office Go out on a date
Clear out a bunch of little tasks that you have been putting off

As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish.

Feeling good doesn't just happen. Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew yourself. It's all up to you. You can renew yourself through relaxation. Or you can totally burn yourself out by overdoing everything. You can pamper yourself mentally and spiritually. Or you can go through life oblivious to your well-being.

HOW ARE YOU SHARPENING YOUR SAW?