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.
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.