Sharpen the Saw

I attended a conference a number of years ago where one of the speakers talked about Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In his book Steven talks about sharpening your saw by working 12mths in 11mths and taking 4 weeks holiday. This was something that I couldn’t even comprehend back then –particularly because I justified my existence by being “busy”. Thankfully I have changed this and take regular holidays throughout the year and I encourage everyone to do the same.

It wasn’t until I started studying the Lead the Field program recently that I heard a story about swimming that I wanted to apply this “sharpen the saw” approach to each week instead of each year.

Brian Biro was one of America’s top swimming coaches. He explained, when a swimmer is bringing their arm down through the water; that is referred to as a resistance stroke. When they take their hand out of the water, bring their arm back over getting ready to go back in the water, he called that a recovery stroke.

It didn’t mater how strong a swimmer’s resistance stroke was, if they didn’t have a good recovery stroke, they would never make it in competitive swimming. An effective recovery is something we all require – frequently.

Last week I did this and took an entire Saturday off and completely focused on family activities, walking on the beach relaxing and having a sleep – the recovery phase.

Next week I am even going to bring in to my “recovery’ a social media free day as well. I recognized that I needed to make recovery a regular part of my week and day and am now creating time for this within my weekly plan.

Sharpening the saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest assets you have – YOU. It means having a balanced program for renewal in the four areas of your life. 1) Physical, 2) Social/Emotional, 3) Mental, 4) Spiritual

Some ideas could include Physical – Exercising, beneficial eating and resting. Social/Emotional – Making social and meaningful connections with others. Mental – Learning, reading, writing and teaching. Spiritual – Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, prayer or service

What can you do this week that can be your “recovery stroke”?

0 Comments

Keep on reading

Watch your words

Watch your words

The word Abracadabra is said to have ancient Aramaic roots connected to the idea of “I create with my words.” There is an old saying: “You are hung by the tongue.” What are you saying about yourself, your life and your circumstances? Be mindful of the story you speak...

One of the hardest things to do…

One of the hardest things to do…

One of the hardest things to do… is REST. This was something I was never really good at. I couldn’t even take five minutes out for myself without justifying how “busy” I was. It used to feel really uncomfortable to put myself first. Thankfully I have learnt how do to...

Is there ever a “right time”?

Is there ever a “right time”?

People often tell themselves  that they are  too busy, too early, too late, or I’ll start "when the time is right." But what if time isn't the problem? Nature doesn't hesitate. A tree knows when to let go of its leaves and when to grow new ones. It doesn't overthink...