Sharpen your SAW

There is an old story of a man who is walking through the woods and comes upon another man hard at work trying to saw down a tree.  Picture yourself in this situation.

“What are you doing?” you ask.

“I’m trying to saw down this tree.”

“You look exhausted, how long have you been at it?” you exclaim.

“Over 4 hours, and I’m beat! This is hard work.” he replies.

“Why don’t you take a break and sharpen your saw?  I’m sure it’d go faster.” you inquire.

“I don’t have the time, I’m to busy sawing.” the man says emphatically.

“If I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first 4 hours sharpening my axe.”

– Abraham Lincoln

Ever been there?  Ever been the one with the dull saw?  I know I have.  It’s in those moments that it’s vital to take a pause and reassess our plan and take the steps to continue moving forward as efficiently and effectively as possible.  In life there will be many points that will dull our saw.  Our saw is anything and everything in our life.  It’s our brain, it’s our body, it’s our soul.  We all are comprised of many saws, and some of us take care of our saws better.  We routinely sharpen it to slice through the challenges that come.  We stop, adjust our plan, sharpen our saw and start cutting again.

There are plenty of things out there that will try to drag our saw into the dirt to dull our edge.  The key is to minimize the dirt and maximize the amount of time we spend with a honing stone sharpening our saw.  It doesn’t need to be anything grandiose, it just needs to be a commitment to move in the right direction.  Whatever leads to a sharper saw is what needs to be done.  No matter how small of a step it might seem, it needs to be taken.  Over and over again.

Inside each and every one of us, we are comprised of many saws that make up who we are.  And sharpening any one of our saws leads to our overall saw getting sharper.   The sharpening process is forever ongoing.  It’s a dedication that we make to constantly be improving, a quest for personal change.  This isn’t like when the new season of a show comes out on Netflix and we binge watch it over a weekend…or a day, I’ve done that.  Self-improvement takes time.  Just like working out, getting stronger and getting fitter.  Steps can be taken overnight, but it’s never a completed process.  It's just the beginning.

This is the common struggle point.  In the world of instant gratification and promises for immediate results, it is a challenge to be constant like the sunrise and wake up everyday with a plan to get a little better.  A daily habit or ritual that is dedicated to the most important thing in your life…you.  It all starts with you and it all ends with you.  No one will be able to motivate you forever.  Over the course of time the sharpening of our saw will become easier.  Lay the foundations now, put the habits in place and rise and grind through it daily. 

Ask yourself what area of your life you want to improve.  Start small and dream big.  If you want to get stronger, talk to a professional, build a plan and put in the work.  Sharpen your saw.  If you want to learn a new skill, seek out an expert, find a course, buy a book, invest the time.  Sharpen your saw.  If you want to get in better shape, focus on what changes you can make right now, buy a kettlebell, join a gym, start training.  Sharpen your saw.  Even if you’ve failed in a previous endeavor, honor the past, learn from it, accept it and let it go.  Sharpen your saw.

The only thing that doing nothing guarantees is that nothing will get done and nothing will change.  Your saw is the most important thing that you have.  Let's all have the courage to live the life that is true to ourselves, and not the life that others are expecting us to live.  Sharpen your saw!

Thanks for all the continued support,

G

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