Here’s the final part to the 7 Habits series. I hope you’ve enjoyed it thus far, and have found these habits useful to you as you seek out your financial goals.

Habit # 7 – Sharpen the Saw or The Habit of Renewal

Stephen Covey named this habit after a story he once heard.

One day a man walking through the forest came upon a logger (lumberjack) who was sawing away at a large tree and not getting very far at all. The man approached the logger as he stopped for a moment to rest and observed that the logger may get further if he sharpened his saw. The logger replied that he just didn’t have the time to sharpen the saw because he had to cut down the tree, and went back to his work.

The moral of the story is that if the logger had taken the time to sharpen his saw, he would have achieved his goal of cutting down that tree much sooner. What this means to us is that in order to be effective with our goals, we must take the time to sharpen our own saws. To maintain effectiveness, we must renew ourselves in body, heart, mind, and soul. That’s very important – all parts of ourselves must be renewed. When we renew these four dimensions of ourselves, we improve capacity, build stronger relationships, and continuously improve.

Physical Dimension or the Body

We all know that our bodies wear out on us. It’s up to us to take care of them the best way we can, and sometimes that means we need to find ways to renew ourselves physically. Here are some suggestions of renewal for this dimension:

- Get the amount of sleep you know your body needs.

- Set health and fitness goals.

- Include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fiber, and lots of water in your diet.

- Ensure that your exercise routine includes flexibility, strength training, and cardiovascular endurance.

- Reduce stress by eliminating the unnecessary “urgent” activities, i.e. unnecessary meetings, emails, phone calls, other people’s minor problems, etc.

Social/Emotional Dimension or the Heart

This dimension deals with your relationships. Some things you can do to renew include:

- Value the differences in others and look for opportunities to synergize.

- Practice empathic listening regularly with the people who are important to you.

- Widen your circle of friends.

- Forgive yourself and others who may have hurt you.

- Build family relationships – both immediate and extended.

- Let go of any damaging competitive feelings you may have towards others.

Many people don’t realize the importance of relationships and people in their lives. Here are some facts, provided by the Covey company.

Did you know:

- The number one reason people leave their jobs is poor relationships with their managers.

- In a study of marriages lasting 25 years or more, the ability to solve problems together is the major factor contributing to satisfaction.

- Lifespan increase in direct proportion to the amount of contact people have with their close friends.

This particular area is the most challenging for me to renew because I’m an introvert by nature. I have a select group of friends and we tend to do a lot of the same things, over and over again. I’ve kind of reached my limit on that, though. I’m bored. So, I’m expanding my circle of friends and trying new things. I can tell you that I have felt better about myself and about my life in general because of it.

Mental Dimension or the Mind

The brain is a muscle that must be exercised just like any other. And to really renew this dimension, you should be learning new tasks. Some suggestions of renewal in this area are:

- Keep a journal/blog.

- Read voraciously…and, as the Covey company points out, if you don’t understand that word, you need to get to work on renewing this dimension.

- Collect quotations. The sentiments of great people stimulate the mind.

- Develop a hobby.

- Continue your education. Train your mind to stand apart and examine its own paradigm.

By the way, if you haven’t read Jonathan’s 42 ways he’s making 2009 great <masteryourcard.com/blog/2008/12/15/44-ways-to-make-your-2009-awesome/>, please do. It’s a great post, but more importantly, it focuses a lot on renewing the mind.

Here’s an interesting tidbit for you. According to one study, taking piano lessons for even four months can improve young people’s performance on math tests by an average of 27%. The more you challenge your brain, the stronger it becomes. The stronger your brain, the easier it is to find solutions to problems. May I personally recommend logic problems or rebus puzzles? These challenge you to use deductive reasoning and think creatively on each one, a skill highly sought after in any industry.

Spiritual Dimension or the Soul

This dimension is about your faith, sure, but it’s more than that. It goes to the very essence of your being. Your beliefs, inner peace, what legacy you want to leave behind. And think about that for a moment. If you only had a year to live, what legacy would you leave behind?

To renew this dimension, consider the following:

- Watch, listen, and enjoy the world of nature.

- Read inspirational literature, in particular biographies of those who inspire you.

- Commit to a life of total integrity to your priorities.

- Listen to inspirational, uplifting music.

- Practice spiritual worship that edifies.

There are many other things you can do to renew this dimension. Personally, I meditate. I’m not great at it, by any means. But, I can tell a difference in my day and my stress level when I don’t meditate. I do this everyday and it helps me feel at peace and less wound up, which allows me to accomplish my daily steps to achieving my goals.

Encountering Hard Moments

Now, I know we all lead very busy lives. I’m right there with you. I work full-time, go to school full-time, and freelance write full-time. That’s a lot on my plate and doesn’t leave a lot of time to do the things I need to do for myself. But, if you don’t make time, you’ll never have it. It’s very easy to say that we’re just too busy to sharpen our saws, but remember the story of the logger. How much quicker would he have chopped down that tree if he had stopped long enough to sharpen his saw?

There will be hard moments as you attempt to renew yourself regularly, make no mistake. Some common hard moments include:

- Getting up on time ( mind over mattress).

- Controlling your temper and not saying the unkind thing.

- Disciplining yourself to be healthy.

- Sticking to your reading regimen when you’re busy.

But, if you can discipline yourself to make it through these few hard moments, you will reap great benefits in the end.

What does this mean for your financial success?

I highly recommend that you spend some time with each of the four dimensions every week. You don’t have to do something in each one every day, but your overall week should include some activities that allow you to sharpen your saw.

As you rejuvenate yourself in this way, you’ll see a vast improvement in the way you view other areas of your life. Looking at your financial situation through the tainted glasses of a stressed-out, dissatisfied person isn’t going to make reaching your goals any easier. In fact, I’m willing to bet that it makes them damn near impossible because the negative feelings just ride your brain, telling you that you “can’t.”

I’m telling you that you can. And it starts by renewing your body, heart, mind, and soul. Taking a moment to relax and invigorate your mind will allow you to think clearly as you tackle your goals and figure out the best way to proceed. Say you’ve hit a stumbling block in repaying your debts. You had a plan of attack, but a small crisis has set you back. Naturally, you begin to question the “what-ifs.” What if this happens again? What if I never get this debt repaid? “What-ifs” only serve as mental road blocks to achieving your goals.

When you run into these road blocks, it’s a good opportunity to renew yourself. In fact, at this juncture, I’d say a nice run or hike would be beneficial. The exercise renews the body, but the endorphins will help ease the stress and let the positive thoughts come out from under all those doubts. Or, if you prefer, read a book, work on a puzzle, or do some algebra. Funny as that sounds, those activities stimulate the brain. And what did I say about that earlier? A stimulated brain will find solutions to almost any problem.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Recap

Habit # 7 – Sharpen the Saw or the Habit of Renewal talks about the importance of taking care of yourself in order to achieve your success. As a busy society we very often forget to stop and smell the roses. We’re stressed out, often high strung, and yet we wonder why it’s such a challenge to meet our goals. The problem is that we don’t take the time to sharpen our saw. Like the logger, we’re so consumed with getting to the finish line that we lose sight of the fact that our tools are practically useless.

In order to renew ourselves, we must make time to focus on the four dimensions of ourselves. The physical dimension focuses on the body. It’s the only one we get, so we have to take care of it. When we’re run down physically, it leads to sickness and disease, so take care of yourself. The social/emotional dimension focuses on our relationships with other people. Humans are social creatures by nature and holing yourself up, home a lone all the time, can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction and depression. Go out every once in a while, and enjoy the company of friends often.

The mental dimension focuses on the mind. Like the other muscles of your body, you must work your brain as well. By stimulating the brain, you begin training it to stand apart from the thoughts and words of others, and you begin to examine your own beliefs and paradigms. You find your own creative solutions instead of constantly relying on others. You have your own insights to contribute to discussions and conversations.

The spiritual dimension deals with the soul. This goes beyond religion and faith and asks what kind of legacy you would like to leave behind. Renewing your spirit will help with inner peace – which helps keep you calm in times of duress – and it clears your mind of unnecessary thoughts. It helps you focus your attention. More importantly, it helps you feel complete as an individual.

In terms of your financial goals, sharpening your saw keeps your tools in constant use. If we compare this to the story of the logger, that debt you want to pay off; or vacation you want to save for; or nest egg you want to build is the tree in the forest. It’s a big goal, but cutting it down isn’t impossible with the right tools. Your body, heart, mind, and soul are the saw. If they are dull and non-responsive, like the logger’s saw, they won’t cut down the tree. You won’t achieve your goal – or if you do manage to eventually wear them down and get to your goal, you’ve cheapened the experience for yourself because you’re just plain tired. Don’t do that. You’ve worked hard, enjoy it. So take the time for yourself and renew.

What are some thing you guys do to renew your four dimensions? Do you spend more time in one dimension than the others, or do you feel pretty balanced?

Related posts:

1. The Seven Habits to Financial Success – Part IV
2. The Seven Habits to Financial Success – Part II
3. The Seven Habits to Financial Success – Part III
4. 7 Habits of Financial Success…Part VI
5. 7 Habits to Financial Success – Part V