I love Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of an Effective People. Though I like his son’s Sean Covey version in the 7 Habits of an Effective Teen because it is more readable and funny. It was rather appropriate for me back then even if I wasn’t anymore teen because I was reading it while I was still in medical school while my contemporaries are already working.

We usually remember the 1st habit “Be Proactive” or the 4th habit “Win-Win” but we fail to remember the last habit, the 7th: “Sharpen the Saw”

We are all driven towards a goal. Often we tend to be aggressive and push ourselves to get to the finish line much to our destruction. We exhaust ourselves too much to reach our goal we forgot to chill, relax and ‘sharpen our saw‘. Human as we are we need this time to recharge. We need to do things that will calm us, make us happy and make us think. Burnt out is the enemy of success. I was very happy to have a week of leave to just recharged my worn-out human batteries. This little hiatus can do wonders to your mood and your zest for your work & other undertakings. Take a step back, assess and reassess and meditate. Things gets clearer when you press pause and re-evaluate.

Sharpening the Saw also means studying more, learning more and adding updated information relevant your profession or other aspects in your life. It means an upgrade. We need a tune up from time to time. Not sharpening the saw or sharpening your pen will leave you dull and useless.

Some suggested things you can do to “Sharpen the Saw”:

1. Get a massage

2. Read a book with a cup of warm choco in bed

3. Take yoga class

4. Swim in the beach or pool

5. Meet up for coffee with friends

6. Wake up at 6:00AM and meditate

7. Take a finishing school course

8. Join a Toastmasters Club

9. Enroll in a cooking class

10. Take that master’s degree

11. Go on a trip

12. Watch a funny movie with your spouse

13. Attend a self-empowerment seminar

14. Attend retreat or recollection

15. Accept the invite for that seminar for updates for your line of work.

Happy Sunday! Don’t forget to ‘sharpen your saws‘ and be a better version 2.0.