Sharpen the Saw: This is How I Invest in Myself!

How are you investing in yourself? How are you investing in others? Seeing as how I am ‘obsessed with self-improvement’ (family, friends, and colleagues’ words not mine), I have had a few requests from friends and readers to share some of the things I do on a day-to-day basis to improve myself or sharpen the saw in my life.

As I am always picking other’s brains to try to find out what types of habits they practice in their lives, I suppose it’s only fair that I share some of the things that I do.

Understand, I don’t want this to come across as some kind of egotistical blog post – as if I think I have it all figured out. Because I certainly do not, far from it! But I think I am getting better and I think part of it has to do with some of the routines and habits that I have learned over the years and have integrated into my life.

When I say over the years, I really do mean over the years. I have always been an overachiever. It started at an early age when I started playing sports. I was always the smallest kid on the team and I had to compensate for my size with maximum effort and trying to get everything out of the pint-sized frame God gave me.  However, I think my obsession with self-improvement really started shortly after I graduated from college and…

It all started with a gift

And it wasn’t an expensive gift mind you, but it was one of the best gifts I have ever received.

It changed my life and it changed how I look at life.

This gift taught me two of the most valuable lessons I have learned thus far in my life: the importance of investing in yourself and the importance of investing in others.

You may be saying to yourself, “what the hell was the gift?”

The gift was a book.

More specifically, it was one of the best-selling self-improvement books of all time, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by the late, great Stephen Covey.

I’m not going to get into the whole book in this blog post, instead, I am going to focus on the last chapter and how it transformed my life and triggered my obsession with self-improvement. I will also use it as an outline to discuss some of the routines and habits that I have put into practice to improve my life.

Let’s begin by reviewing the last chapter which is titled:

Sharpen the Saw!

The chapter starts with a brief story where you encounter someone in the woods who is cutting down a tree. They have been doing it for 5 hours feverishly but are getting nowhere. You suggest they take a break for a few minutes to sharpen the saw they are using. They respond by saying they don’t have time to sharpen the saw as it will take away from the sawing itself.

The point Covey is trying to make is that by taking 5 minutes to sharpen the saw, the person will be able to cut down the tree in a fraction of the time.

And the analogy to our lives is that we must take time to sharpen the saw in our lives by engaging in daily self-renewal by investing in ourselves.

Reflecting on that analogy at that time of my life really struck a chord with me and it…

Made me realize…

That I needed to figure out how to sharpen the saw by investing in myself. By sharpening my saw and investing in myself, I would be setting myself up for success in all the different aspects of my life.

As Covey says, it is all about “preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have – you”.

Investing in Yourself – the 4 Dimensions

To sharpen the saw, I ‘try’, and I use the word ‘try’ because I am not always successful when I practice habits and routines that I believe will benefit me.

Some of the practices I use have evolved over the years and I am always trying to improve them. I am not scared to fail or admit I am wrong – which I am a lot.  A lot of things I do are trial and error and experimental, but I think that is an important principle in investing in yourself – you can’t be afraid to try new things, and you can’t be afraid to fail – that is how you learn and grow. Remember, you don’t learn from doing things right; you learn from doing things wrong.

I sharpen the saw in 4 different dimensions of my life, as Covey instructs.

These dimensions are areas of your life that are common to most philosophies of life. They may be referred to differently by different philosophers – but that is simply semantics. The 4 dimensions are physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional.

Let’s briefly look at each and I will discuss some of the practices I employ in each, starting with…

Physical

This relates to caring for our physical body and includes providing it with the proper nutrition, exercise and rest/relaxation.

Nutrition

This has to do with the nutrients you put in your body to make it run optimally. For me, it means:

No sugar – study after study has proven how bad sugar is for us.

Low-glycemic carbohydrates – like oatmeal, sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice etc. which help control my blood sugar levels and give me sustained energy throughout the day.

Lots of vegetables – I have a good masticating juicer (it operates at a slower speed meaning it yields a higher nutritional yield than a high-speed juicer) and juice every day with broccoli, kale, cucumber, spinach.

Enough protein to maintain the muscle mass I desire since I lift weights 6 days a week. I eat a lot of egg whites, ground chicken, ground turkey, chicken breast, bison, and also supplement with protein shakes.

In terms of fruit, I don’t eat a lot, but I do like blueberries as they are good for your brain and high in antioxidants.

I also drink a ton of water as it is good for the skin, the brain and organs.

Am I a little extreme? Probably. But I would rather feel good, have a ton of energy and look good than experience the instant gratification that comes with eating junk food – but that’s me. Of course, you have to live a little, and when I do go out I eat whatever I want and will have a few beers or a glass of wine on occasion.

Exercise

Covey breaks down exercise into 3 categories and he is spot on with that: endurance, flexibility and strength training.

Endurance – This has to do with aerobic exercise and working your heart by doing cardiovascular exercise which usually involves the legs. I do high-intensity training 6 days per week which consists of sprints, stairs or intervals on a spin bike.

Flexibility – Is all about stretching and I stretch both my upper and lower body after every workout. As we get older this is crucial and should be part of everyone’s exercise program.

Strength training – Meaning some type of resistance training. I lift weights, one body part per day 6 days per week and I do legs twice. I am always switching up my routines to shock my muscles as well as to keep things interesting.

Again, I am extreme in my workout regimen. But at the very least, it is important to do something every day, for at least ½ hour inclusive of the 3 categories above. It can be as simple as walking for 30 minutes, doing some pushups and crunches and some light stretching. Always consult your physician first and start slow as you don’t want to overdo things.

Rest/Relaxation/Recovery

The last part of the physical dimension is rest, relaxation and recovery. It is crucial to get enough rest for your body and your brain to repair itself. I try to get between 7-8 hours of sleep a night and may slide a 15-minute nap in to recharge my batteries. As I said in a previous blog post, I use the sauna for 20 minutes per day after my workout and you can read about the benefits in that post – again, consult your physician first. I also get deep tissue massage once a month which really helps in my recovery. Lastly, I only take cold showers as they are not only good for your body, but they also help build mental toughness.

Now, there is no doubt I take my ever-evolving nutrition, exercise and rest/relaxation practices to the max.  I don’t share them to impress you, I share them to impress upon you what is possible. You simply need to figure out what works for you, and what you are willing to sacrifice to improve yourself. I don’t want to sound like a preacher but when someone tells me they don’t have time to eat well, exercise, and rest properly, I respond ‘you don’t have time not to!’ Just exercise 30 minutes per day, eat a little healthier and get enough rest and you will feel much better, I promise!

Now, on to the next dimension in sharpening your saw or investing in yourself is…

Spiritual

This centers around your core values and your commitment to your values. It is about taking time to consider your motives deeply by reflecting on what life is all about to you.

People sharpen the saw in this dimension of their lives differently.  Personally, I take time to meditate every day for 10 minutes as soon as I wake up using a free app called ‘Calm’. I also take walks, in nature if possible, and take time every day to do personal reflection. I find it really helps me see the big picture and helps me understand if I am doing the right things.

Others engage in prayer, and some immerse themselves in great literature or music. Again, figure out what works for you.

Let’s move on to the third dimension, which is…

Mental

This is all about continuing to learn through our life. Many of us leave school and stop learning which causes our brains to start to atrophy, just like our muscles atrophy if we stop working out.

While sharpening our mental saw can include continuing education in a classroom or a systematized study program, usually, it consists of other types of self-learning.

Some of the ways I sharpen my mental dimension:

Reading – I read a lot – blogs/articles/books.

Podcasts – When I drive or go for walks, I listen to various podcasts.

Writing – I write every day for this blog.

Journaling – Part of my morning routine includes a journaling practice called ‘Morning Pages’ which I discussed in a recent blog post.

Planning – I work on the blog/business Monday-Friday. I now take Saturday’s off (this is a recent phenomenon with me and it has really allowed me to recharge and come back refreshed). On Sunday, I plan for the week ahead by visualizing what I want to accomplish, then I map out the individual steps I need to take to get there. Do not underestimate the practice of planning. This is a habit I have added in recent years and it has been a game-changer for me. As Covey says, ‘wars are won in the general’s tent’.

Covey recommends spending at least an hour on the first 3 dimensions as it “will improve every other hour of the day, it will also build long-term physical, mental and spiritual strength to handle difficult challenges in life.” ¹

The last dimension is one that we don’t necessarily need to take extra time for, unlike the first 3, as it is manifested in our day-to-day relationships with others, that dimension is…

Social/Emotional

This dimension has nothing to do with intellect, but more to do with emotion and having a sense of personal security.  It is about being secure and confident with yourself and living from a place of principles within your mind and heart. This doesn’t come from what others think of us or how they treat us, but rather from living a life of integrity, where our habits are influenced by our values.

Some of the ways I try to practice this habit, and like the other 3, I still have a ton of work to do:

Coming up with win-wins with others instead of compromises. This is done by trying to understand the other person’s point of view, then, communicating mine.

Serving others by helping them, performing random acts of kindness, and just being a good person.

Lastly, and in my opinion most importantly…

Being encouraging to others. I have had a lot of people who have believed in me throughout my life, and the impact it has had has been profound. I now try to pay it forward by being encouraging and showing others that I believe in them when they may not believe in themselves. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Goethe who said: “Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be, and he will become as he can and should be”. Covey calls it ‘investing in the emotional bank account of others’.

Those are the 4 dimensions

And how I use them in my life. It is important to note that our self-renewal or sharpen the saw process should be balanced in all 4 dimensions. For if you neglect one area, it will negatively impact the rest.

The concept of investing in yourself is optimally synergistic, meaning that the dimensions are so interrelated that things you do in one dimension will positively affect the others.

Before I Go…

I am going to end this blog post with the same two questions I started it with for you to reflect upon:

How are you investing in yourself?

How are you investing in others?

Until next time, keep investing in yourself and others and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use It or Lose It – How to Sharpen the Saw in Your Life

You can sharpen your saw by focusing on improving yourself in the following 4 dimensions:

(1) Physical – this includes nutrition, exercise (endurance, flexibility, strength training), and rest/relaxation/recovery.
(2)  Spiritual – meditation, prayer, walks in nature, literature, music.
(3)  Mental – via lifelong learning – reading, taking classes, writing, journaling, planning.
(4)  Social/emotional – looking for win-wins, serving others, being encouraging and investing in the emotional bank accounts of others.

When to Use It:

Covey recommends that you sharpen the saw every day – at least for the first 3 dimensions, you can sharpen the saw in the last dimension in your normal daily interactions with others.

What Do You Think?

Do you take time to sharpen the saw every day?  Are there any other ways you sharpen the saw other than some of the ways I do? Please share in the comments below!

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References

1 Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon and Schuster.