Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods,
working feverishly to saw down a tree.
“You look exhausted,” you say; “how long have you been at this?”
“Over five hours—I’m beat!”
“Why don’t you take a break, and sharpen the saw—I’m sure it will go faster.” “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw! I’m too busy sawing!”
Sharpening the saw is preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have—you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature—physical, spiritual, mental, social/emotional... This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life—investment in ourselves. We are the instruments of our own performance...
Renewal is the principle—and the process—that empowers us to move in an upward spiral of growth and change, of continuous improvement. ...Moving along the upward spiral requires us to learn, commit, do on increasingly higher planes. We deceive ourselves if we think that any one of these is sufficient. To keep progressing, we must learn, commit, and do, learn, commit and do, learn, commit and do again.
Stephen Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
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