“Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have--you.” (Stephen Covey, 2015) According to Covey, sharpening our saw is the renewing of ourselves in the physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual. Balance is definitely the most difficult part of the sharpening the saw process. I’ve learned from many successful people on how they balance their responsibilities, one of the best pieces of advice I received was to have a regimen that is un-regimented. In other words, have a plan but remain flexible as life will not allow you to remain on a consistent schedule. Things always come up and you just have to be open to that.
Physical
The teaching profession is a draining profession because we are constantly pouring into others, physically and emotionally. One of the commitments I’ve had for the past few years is to remain healthy. My students deserve a teacher that not only preaches but practices what he preaches as well. I want to have great energy every day that I step in front of my students so I decided to make more time for the gym and to educate myself in the area of nutrition. Making time for the gym after work was very difficult due to teaching and family commitments so I decided to make my day longer and wake up earlier. I now go to the gym at 4 in the morning about twice per week and normal hours on the weekends. In the area of nutrition, I decided to educate myself by reading books, blogs and watched hours of youtube videos on health advice to ensure I’m eating the right food and the right amount for my body type. With this new regimen, I struggled with rest. I have given myself some days off where I don’t go to the gym and don’t do any school work just so I’m not depleted during the week.
Social/Emotional
For the past few years, I’ve entered a season where I was more cautious of the people I surround myself with. It wasn’t about judging others or that people that were around me were bad but I decided to make changes to improve myself. I wanted to eliminate bad habits that stunted my growth and affected my purpose. I began aligning myself with people that were positive and not afraid to pursue destiny. People that were not only risk takers but also had a heart to live in services to others. I also began associating myself with people in education that I can learn from and also with people that seeked my help as well. “People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.” Proverbs 27:17
Mental
During my journey to become an educator, I also began my journey of reading books. Books have changed my life. During a 2-3 year span I immersed myself into self development books to learn how to control my thoughts, finding purpose and following my purpose. That same journey continues to this day, at a much slower pace because I’m a bit busier but has continued nonetheless. I love learning from others and listening to other people’s stories. There’s so much to learn from others because I truly believe we will never experience a new problem. People that have come before us have experienced what we’re about to experience and wrote the answer in a book. This doesn’t mean we will be able to solve every problem from reading books but we can be better prepared on how to handle and react to situations.
Spiritual
My wife and I love going to the beach every Saturday morning. We love getting there early in the morning before the rush of the people. We take pictures, listen to the waves and just walk around with coffee in our hands. Life can be very hectic but there’s something about the beach that slows everything down for a few moments. We also pray daily, in the morning before we head to work and at night before we go to sleep. It allows us to start our day with our creator, thanking Him for giving us another day to fulfill his purpose and at night we thank him for the experiences we were given throughout the day. My faith means everything to me and I do my best to stay aligned with it by praying, reading the bible, worship music, helping others and through fellowship.
Commitment
I commit to sharpening my physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual saw on a daily basis because I know that being consistent will create growth and change in my life and the lives of others.
References
Steven covey, S.C. (2015). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Habit 7: Sharpening the Saw. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit6.php
Physical
The teaching profession is a draining profession because we are constantly pouring into others, physically and emotionally. One of the commitments I’ve had for the past few years is to remain healthy. My students deserve a teacher that not only preaches but practices what he preaches as well. I want to have great energy every day that I step in front of my students so I decided to make more time for the gym and to educate myself in the area of nutrition. Making time for the gym after work was very difficult due to teaching and family commitments so I decided to make my day longer and wake up earlier. I now go to the gym at 4 in the morning about twice per week and normal hours on the weekends. In the area of nutrition, I decided to educate myself by reading books, blogs and watched hours of youtube videos on health advice to ensure I’m eating the right food and the right amount for my body type. With this new regimen, I struggled with rest. I have given myself some days off where I don’t go to the gym and don’t do any school work just so I’m not depleted during the week.
Social/Emotional
For the past few years, I’ve entered a season where I was more cautious of the people I surround myself with. It wasn’t about judging others or that people that were around me were bad but I decided to make changes to improve myself. I wanted to eliminate bad habits that stunted my growth and affected my purpose. I began aligning myself with people that were positive and not afraid to pursue destiny. People that were not only risk takers but also had a heart to live in services to others. I also began associating myself with people in education that I can learn from and also with people that seeked my help as well. “People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.” Proverbs 27:17
Mental
During my journey to become an educator, I also began my journey of reading books. Books have changed my life. During a 2-3 year span I immersed myself into self development books to learn how to control my thoughts, finding purpose and following my purpose. That same journey continues to this day, at a much slower pace because I’m a bit busier but has continued nonetheless. I love learning from others and listening to other people’s stories. There’s so much to learn from others because I truly believe we will never experience a new problem. People that have come before us have experienced what we’re about to experience and wrote the answer in a book. This doesn’t mean we will be able to solve every problem from reading books but we can be better prepared on how to handle and react to situations.
Spiritual
My wife and I love going to the beach every Saturday morning. We love getting there early in the morning before the rush of the people. We take pictures, listen to the waves and just walk around with coffee in our hands. Life can be very hectic but there’s something about the beach that slows everything down for a few moments. We also pray daily, in the morning before we head to work and at night before we go to sleep. It allows us to start our day with our creator, thanking Him for giving us another day to fulfill his purpose and at night we thank him for the experiences we were given throughout the day. My faith means everything to me and I do my best to stay aligned with it by praying, reading the bible, worship music, helping others and through fellowship.
Commitment
I commit to sharpening my physical, social/emotional, mental and spiritual saw on a daily basis because I know that being consistent will create growth and change in my life and the lives of others.
References
Steven covey, S.C. (2015). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Habit 7: Sharpening the Saw. Retrieved October 7, 2015, from https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit6.php