reflection According to Stephen Covey, 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. Here are some examples of activities: Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer, or service I have no time to do any of the above mentioned. Sharpening the saw is the habit that I feel that I neglect the most. It has to do with taking care of #1, yourself. I have the 2 jobs in life that include the word altruistic in the job description. I am a mother of 2 little boys and a second grade teacher. I thought that I didn’t have time for myself and then I decided to start this masters program. Well, now I really don’t have time for anything, especially #1. Now I am getting the full picture of how important sharpening the saw is. Before I knew that I was not sharpening enough but now my perspective on habit 7 has changed dramatically. Since I get an average of 3 hours of sleep a night I sharpen the saw on the weekends by trying to catch up on my sleep. I will sleep up to 6 hours a night. Now that I don’t have time I have big plans for when I am done with the masters program. commitment I do have a commitment for this habit. But, it will have to wait until I am done with my masters program. I commit to going to the gym at least 3 times a week. I will also try to eat better. I remember that Cristal Herrera’s 20% project was making healthy smoothies in her Magic Bullet. I have a ninja and I plan on making healthy smoothies daily. My 20% project was a vegetable garden that I haven’t been able to tend to. I commit to becoming a better gardener and using what I grow in my smoothies. Exercising and drinking healthy smoothies will help me get healthier and gardening will help me relax and do something that truly brings me joy. how i will teach it to my son I plan on helping my son learn what sharpening the saw by making a connection to playing baseball. He plays because he likes playing sports but I feel that I can use baseball to help him understand the importance of exercising. He already was told by his doctor to make sure that he eats all of his vegetables so that he can be healthy. He also has made a connection between eating well and living a long life. He always talks about living until he is 110. He compares this age to his uncle Victor who died last year. He says that Victor died at age 54 (from cancer) because he didn’t like to eat fruits and vegetables. He constantly says that he wants to eat more fruits and vegetables so that he can live 110 and not 54 and die of cancer, like Victor. I think he will be good at practicing habit 7 and he will probably achieve his goal of 110. reflection According to the late Steven Covey synergy means "two heads are better than one." Synergize is the habit of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn't just happen on its own. It's a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal experience and expertise to the table. Together, they can produce far better results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or sixty--you name it. This is the ideal work environment, especially if you are a teacher. The teaching profession is one of the most isolating, competitive, and egotistical professions. Every teacher is out to make THEIR classroom the best classroom there is. Traditionally, teachers do not share ideas with others unless they “have to”. But at a school that not only encourages but expects collaboration the scenario that Steven Covey describes above IS possible and actually does exist. A couple of years ago I found myself in “team” that did not do too much collaboration and everyone was doing what they thought was best. I tried unsuccessfully to encourage everyone to work together. After that school year I decided that I would move to a different grade level. Only I wasn’t shopping for the ideal grade level, I was shopping for the ideal team. I found this team in second grade, my current grade level. My grade level works together whether we have something positive to work on or if we have a challenge on our hands. I cannot say that we always agree but we talk it out and find solutions to these challenges. I am so grateful for my team. We are a true example of what it’s like to synergize. This positive experience is also playing out with some members of my cohort who are also my co workers (see picture above). We agree to meet and do homework, keep each other’s focus and moral up, and push each other when we need that extra nudge. I am truly blessed to have such an awesome group of people on this hike with me. commitment It is difficult to come up with something to commit to because I feel that I synergize well with those around me already. One thing that I can think of that we have been talking about but have not done yet put into place is collaboration for PE time. I have a great idea where we will rotate our classrooms in order to maximize our planning time. So, here is the plan. Each second grade teacher will plan one lesson and then teach one group of kids a day until they have taught each class this lesson. If we do this each teacher will only have to plan one lesson every 2 weeks. This idea is synergizing but more importantly it is also a win for so many reasons for everyone involved. Teachers save on planning time, kids get to try out each teacher, teachers get a break from their own kids, we meet our PE minimum required minutes with less stress than if we taught our own class each day, and so much more. I commit to pushing my grade level to implement this PE rotation schedule in the next 2 weeks. how will i teach it to someone else One of the most stressful and difficult times as the parent of a 5 year old is our morning routine. The later I am the slower my son moves, or so it seems. I would like to apply this concept of synergy to our morning routine.
How will I do this you ask? Good question. I’m not fully sure yet but this is my idea so far. Instead of asking him to do specific things I will ask him if he would like to be my special helper. I will give him a list of tasks that he must accomplish if he wants to be that special helper. The tasks will be things that he already has to do in the morning but currently doesn’t do them independently. If he completes all of his tasks then we each receive a marble in our marble jar. I think that he will be excited for both of us to receive marbles. (2007). Books - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Habit 6 ... Retrieved February 26, 2015, from https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit6.php. reflection The most difficult habit to accomplish you say? I agree. To often we find ourselves busy, distracted, or uninterested in what someone is telling us and we tune them out or ignore them. Habit 5 advises one to listen with your mind as well as with your heart. Let’s follow the order of how to practice this habit.
commitment I commit to trying a lot harder to truly listen to people, even people who might not be on my favorite list. I cannot commit to trying when someone has made me mad though. I plan to follow the order that I listed above, especially number 2. I will check in with my accountability partner once a week to see how I am doing. how will i teach it.... to my 5 year old I thought practicing habit 5 would be difficult for me. I hadn’t considered what I had committed to when I agreed to teach it to my 5 year old. I am not saying that he cannot learn it I just doubt myself to remain calm enough when he is not seeking to understand me when I am talking to him long enough to learn about habit 5. I think that I will begin with the end in mind, what do I want to accomplish? Do I want him to understand the habit or do I want him to practice it? I think it might be easier to get him to learn the habit and what it means. Wish me luck. I will need it with this one.
reflection I can honestly say that I have a win win attitude. I am not competitive, except if playing a game, and I can celebrate other people's victories. I do my best to treat others with respect. If they don't earn my respect I simply avoid them so that I don't have to be rude. I value the traits that are apparent to others and do make a conscious effort to be honest with others about what I am able to do and don't set myself up in situations where I will disappoint. I try to do random acts of kindness when I can. I don't make promises unless I have every intention of honoring it and I have double checked that I am able to follow through. If I cannot do something I am honest, clear, and try to tell people well in advance. Now I am not perfect. There are those times when unexpected situations come up or I overlooked something on my calendar. But I try to communicate in a sensitive and honest manner. So far things have worked out for me. The are about win win that I struggle with the most is the emotional bank account. Sometimes I am so busy that I take and don't thank others as I would like to. Time is not on my side. I don't send the thank you cards, make the phone call to say thank you, or sometimes even remember who it was that helped me with what. Because of the nature of my job and my family life others make withdrawals to my bank account and don't make those much needed deposits. I find myself making sure that others win and don't always take the time to ask for enough help so that I win also or simply accept the situation without receiving deposits. commitment I would like to make more of a conscience effort to receive more deposits into my bank account. I take the time out of my life to help others win I would like to verbalize to others a plan that would include me winning also. How do I plan on doing this? 1. I will set boundaries with others. When others need something I will be sensitive, open, and honest. When I cannot do something I will be firm and say no. 2. When helping someone with something I will include them in the plan and give them a job. Their job will be something that is mutually beneficial and I will point out the benefits of what we have accomplished when we are done. 3. I will try to make more deposits into other people's emotional bank accounts. 4. I will plan and seek out situations that are win win. how i will teach it to another (my son) Putting first things first is not a strength of mine. I spend my time in quadrant 1, 3, and 4. I often say that quadrants 1 and 2 take up my time and so I spend time in quadrant 4 to rest. I wonder how different my life would be if I did put first things first and spent a lot more time in quadrant 2. I know that I will still have the baby crying, the sickos at home, roof leaking, and bills. But, I believe that I would also have a plan that I can look back to when I have a free moment. Instead of getting distracted by the phone calls, emails, television, and Facebook I would refer to my plan for next steps. I am a procrastinator. I don't like to be and truly dread that night of the deadline feeling. But, sometimes I feel that I have no power over it. Don't get me wrong I do not put off homework. I am doing something every night in order to get a If I try to start the task before it is due I feel like I have a something either physically or mentally impending me from finishing, or in some occasions, starting my task. Having just written this I realize how silly that sounds. Of course I have control over my actions. I just have to convince myself of that. Tonight is a start. It is only Monday and I am in the process of completing this post which isn't due until Thursday. I also watched the video for module 2 and have finished the readings. Have I realized that I have to put first things first? Or is that last minute feeling so dreadful that I would like to avoid it at all cost and have decided to start working on things early? I am not sure. I need to ponder this a bit more. Which ever the reason, I feel really good to be ahead of schedule. Commitment I am committed to trying to spend more time in quadrant 2. I have already started putting first things first and have done my homework earlier in the week. I would like to start planning out my week and my day each morning in order to get more organized. I do this for work already but I would like to plan out my time before and after work. It is more difficult to ignore something if you have it written down. Teaching to Others The person that I chose for this experience is my 5 year old sone Kaleb. Kaleb has had some trouble getting into a homework routine that enables him to finish his homework by the due date (sounds familiar). It is not that he doesn't want to finish his homework it is instead that he is 5 and has other priorities like playing on my phone or Ipad, playing outside, or playing with his brother. I am trying to teach him that it is his homework and not mine and that he has to make a conscious effort to do it throughout the week instead of waiting until it is due to hurry and complete it. He loves school and I want him to start having positive experiences at school instead of not earning the star because he didn't complete his homework. Again, I will try to accomplish this in a fun way and I will update you on his progress. The concept of beginning with the end in mind seems like such a breakthrough idea. Stephen Covey made a lot of money from promoting the 7 habits. But really they are more common sense than anything else. Maybe habit number 1 should be practice common sense. If we all had more common sense we might already be highly effective and wouldn’t need to read Covey’s materials in order to try to be highly effective. But there is the beauty of what Covey developed. He found character faults and looked for a solution for them. He is a living production of his work. In order to do what he did he had to practice the 7 habits himself. For habit 1 I stated that I do not have to be proactive because my reality keeps me in a constant reactive state. On a daily basis I spend my energy reacting to items on my imaginary to do list which require immediate attention. These items are usually so urgent that not completing them on that day would yield negative consequences. Having restated this I can go on to reflect on habit 2 Begin With the End in Mind. I spend so much time in the above mentioned state that I do not have time to stop and think about any ends. I would like to rewrite this habit to say Stop, Think, Decide... Begin With the End in Mind. I have to make a conscience effort to stop existing in the reactive and allow myself to think, something I don’t do too often. According to Stephen Covey Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen. I wrote my reaction first then found this quote and now I feel like Stephen Covey is speaking directly to me. His definition of habit 2 touches on all the reasons I stated above about why I don’t practice habit 2. The most interesting part is that he talks about “making a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life”. My Commitment I am able to picture the end from where I am standing. What I have trouble with is reminding myself that the here and now is a means to an end, that I cannot get to the end without taking the steps that I am currently choosing to take. I cannot finish my masters program without completing each and every reflection and assignment that is due. I cannot wake up on time in every morning if I haven’t taken the time to go to sleep at a good hour. That I cannot live to be 80 if I don’t live this 40th year of life and every year that follows. As part of my commitment I plan on doing exactly what my revised version of habit 2 says. I will stop, think, decide… and begin with the end in mind. As a starter I would like to develop a mission statement for my life. After I do this I would like to write a mission statement for different aspects of my life. Some of the ones that come to mind are career, motherhood, and wife. Lately I have felt like my time as a mother and wife has been compromised. Writing mission statements for these items will help me better appreciate the time that I do spend wearing these hats and in turn help me focus on how I would like each of these role to develop. Teaching My Son Habit 2 My son is 5 years old. In order to teach him the habits I will have to keep it simple. For habit 2 I plan on asking him to think of a goal that he might have for different activities. For example, we give him an allowance if he completes chores around the house. If he doesn’t complete a certain number of chores he does not get paid. So, maybe he can set a daily goal for completing a chore. He can commit to completing 1 chore a day. I will try to apply this plan to different aspects of his daily life. Being Proactive vs. Being Reactive I spend a lot of time being reactive instead of proactive but not by choice. When I “finally” get around to doing something I do it as a reaction to any possible negative consequences that might result from not doing the task. I truly would love to spend more time being proactive but when I have a few daily things that require immediate attention I don’t feel that I have enough time to spend in the proactive mode. I am so tired of living as a reactive responder that when I do have a little bit of time to myself I squander it. I don’t prioritize or use it wisely in order to get ahead. Instead I spend that time resting or watching TV. Ultimately, these activities set me even more behind and as soon as I’m done “relaxing” I am back on reactive mode. Being Proactive According to Steven Covey Habit 1: Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able." They don't blame genetics, circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame for their behavior. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance, and they blame the weather. All of these external forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice. Steven Covey states that proactive people take responsibility for their own life and actions and do not point fingers at others or outside circumstances. If I compare how I am to the above definition I feel that I am proactive. I don’t blame others or outside circumstances for how I react to certain circumstances. It is a fact that I cannot control others around me or what they do. I do take responsibility for my own actions and reactions. But too much is impossible to deflect. Even though others around me and their actions should affect me I refuse to give into their negative energy and instead choose not to react in a negative way. I smile and stay positive and don’t let others change my mood or my drive to do something. But I cannot say that their actions, needs, words, problems, whining, or lack of support do not build an obstacle for me that takes a lot of my time and energy that would be better spent on myself. Being proactive is an attitude and a way of looking at things. I believe that I have potential I simply need less obstacles on my road to proactivity. Teaching someone else about being proactive I would love for my son to learn to be proactive now so that it can be a life skill that he can learn and incorporate in his daily life. I would like to start by encouraging my son to do things when he is asked to do them. Often when we ask him to do something he whines, cries, and avoids the task. Then he waits until we are starting to get upset to continue to do the above-mentioned. Once we are upset we either speak more firmly to him or take a deep breath and think of a way that we can motivate him to do what he was asked to do, even if he doesn’t want to. I would like for him to do what is asked of him right after he is asked to do it. In order to teach my son how to incorporate habit one into his daily life I will try to make it fun. I will explain what being proactive means and some of the benefits that an individual can enjoy after being proactive. He tends to get excited to try new things so I will act excited when explaining it. I will then ask him if he’s ready to be a proactive boy. I believe that he will be excited and will really try to have me catch him being proactive. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2015
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