Author: Tara West
September 25, 2019

 

Habit 7 is the habit of taking care of your body by eating right, exercising, and getting the right amount of sleep. It’s the habit of spending time with family and friends; to learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school. The habit is about taking the time to find meaningful ways to help others.
In a nutshell, habit 7 is about taking care of yourself.

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw®

Imagine you are going for a walk in the forest when you come upon a man sawing down a tree.

“What are you doing?” you ask. “I’m sawing down a tree,” he says.

“How long have you been at it?” You ask.

“Two or three hours so far,” he says, sweat dripping from his chin.

“Your saw looks dull,” you say. “Why don’t you take a break and sharpen it?”

“I can’t. I’m too busy sawing,” is his reply.


As an outsider, we could see that the process of cutting was dulling the blade. And the duller the blade, the greater the effort that is required to keep sawing. The solution, of course, was for the woodcutter to stop periodically to sharpen the saw. He was so engrossed in the situation he couldn’t see the need to take a break and do what was necessary to make his job easier.

Habit 7 teaches us to take the time to stop and “sharpen our saw.” “Sharpening the Saw” is synonymous with “self-care” or “self-renewal.”