Sharpen the Saw

 

Life for the last six months has been anything but normal. So much of what is happening around us is negative and frightening. However, there is one positive thing. It has provided me with time to renew my acquaintance with some of the classic business books, including The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey.

While this book was first published in 1989 and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, the concepts Covey writes about hold true today.  Over the next few months, we plan to blog about the seven habits from Covey’s book and to get started, we’re actually beginning with number seven—Sharpen the Saw. The reason for starting with the last one will be obvious when we consider what our lives are like in this time of a pandemic, heightened racial tensions, and a highly divisive presidential election in 2020.

Habit 7 is all about self-renewal. Covey talks about “preserving and enhancing your greatest asset, yourself, by renewing the physical, spiritual, mental, and social/emotional dimensions of your nature.”

Self-care is now what used to be referred to as self-renewal. Self-care is described as a conscious act people take to promote their own physical, mental, and emotional health. Sounds like what Stephen Covey wrote about over 30 years ago. Especially now, self-care is critical to managing stress. Unfortunately, even though we know it’s important, many of us still see self-care or self-renewal as a luxury rather than a priority.

How are you doing at Sharpening the Saw? 

• A healthy diet and regular exercise are necessary to take care of our physical health. But have you thought about how important sleep is to your physical health?  

• This time of quarantine has reminded us of the need for social interaction. Have you found ways to stay in touch with friends and family—even when we can’t be together in person?

• How are you nurturing your spirit? Maybe it is religion or meditation or whatever works for you, but don’t overlook this important part of self-care.

Covey tied self-renewal to something that highly effective people made a habit of doing. This is a good time to think about how you Sharpen the Saw.