Your Saw Will Dull

In Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" the seventh habit is Sharpen the Saw. This may be one of the most important of all the 7 habits but may be one of the most overlooked. Sure it is the last habit and you just wanted to finish the book. The other habits are so rich and grouped by Private Victories and Public Victories. The seventh habit seems to sit there by itself. Mr. Covey could have left it out but he didn’t because it is so important that it had to be included.

It is easy to go with the flow. Allow yourself to go through your day much like you did yesterday. Mr. Covey's advice is important because if you aren't learning, you aren't growing. It's easy to read a book, or listen to a podcast, or read a magazine, or attend a seminar and believe that applying what you just learned is all you have to do. The reality is if you don't keep reading books, listening to podcasts, etc. you slowly drift away from what you learned. You become less likely to apply what you learned. Your mind gets focused on something else. In order to keep growing you must keep feeding your mind. Whatever you do today, make a point to learn something new and sharpen your saw. If you don't your saw will dull.