Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw
Choices 11
Ms. Y. Vazquez
Arleta High School
What are the 7 Habits of
Highly Effective Teens?
• Habit 1: Be Proactive.
– Take responsibility for
your life.
• Habit 2: Begin with the
End in Mind.
– Define your mission and
goals in life.
• Habit 3: Put First Things
First.
– Prioritize, and do the most
important things first.
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win.
– Have an everyone-can-win
attitude.
• Habit 5: Seek First to
Understand, Then to Be
Understood.
– Listen to people sincerely.
• Habit 6: Synergize.
– Work together to achieve
more.
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
– Renew yourself regularly.
Saw Away
Imagine that you go for a walk in the forest and
you see a guy furiously sawing away at a tree.
“What are you doing?”, you ask.
“I’m sawing down a tree,” comes the curt reply.
“How long have you been at it?”
“Four hours so far, but I am really making
progress.” he says, as sweat drips off of his chin.
“Your saw looks really dull.” you say. “Why don’t
you take a break and sharpen it?”
“I can’t, you idiot, I am too busy sawing.”
Four Dimensions of Renewal
•
•
•
•
Physical - Body
Mental - Mind
Social - Heart
Spiritual - Soul
Sharpen the Saw - Body
• Care for your body
–
–
–
–
You are what you eat
Use it or lose it
All about how you feel
Quit whenever you
want
– The refusal skill
Ruun Forrest Ruuuuun…
• Think of the movie Forrest Gump. It’s the
story of a naive young man from Alabama
with a good heart who keeps stumbling
upon success despite himself. At one
point in the movie, Forrest is frustrated
and confused about his life. So what does
he do? He starts running. After running
back and forth from one coast to the other
two and a half times, Forrest feels better
and is finally able to sort his life out.
Use it or Lose it.
• We all feel confused, depressed or
apathetic at times.
• It is at these times where perhaps the best
thing we can do for ourselves is do what
Forrest did: exercise ourselves better.
It’s About How You Feel,
Not How You Look
• Be careful not to get too obsessed with
appearances.
• Unfortunately, our society has become one
that is hung up on “looks”.
Real Life or Art?
• Many years ago, beauty queen and
actress Michelle Pfeiffer was featured on
the front of Esquire Magazine with the
caption “What Michelle Pfeiffer needs…is
absolutely nothing.”
• She actually needed more help than
meets they eye, as author Allen Litchfield
revealed in Sharing Light in the
Wilderness:
But another magazine, Harper’s, offered
proof in it’s edition the following month that
even the “beautiful people” need a little help.
Harper’s had obtained the photo retoucher’s
bill for Pfeiffer’s picture on the Esquire cover.
They charged $1,525 to render the following
services: “Clean up complexion, soften smile
lines, trim chin, soften line under earlobe, add
hair, add more forehead to create better line,
and soften neck muscles.”
Drugs and Your Body
• Up with Hope, Down with Dope!!
• “I can quit whenever I want”…then why
don’t you?
• Drugs are expensive and they ruin your
mind and body and possibly your entire
future.
Sharpen the Saw - Mind
• Care for your brain
– Sharpen your mind
– Find your niche
– School in way of
education
– Post high school
– Mental barriers
– You gotta wanna
Socrates…(He’s great with kids)
There was once a young man who came to Socrates, the wise Greek
Philosopher, and said “I want to know everything you know.”
“If this is your desire,” Socrates said, “then follow me to the river.” Full
of curiosity, the young man followed Socrates to the nearby river. As
they sat on the bank, Socrates said, “Take a close look at the river
and tell me what you see.”
“I don’t see anything,” said the young man.
“Look closer,” replied Socrates.
As the man peered over the bank and leaned closer to the water,
Socrates grabbed the man’s head and shoved it under the water.
The man’s arms flailed wildly as he attempted to escape, but
Socrates’ strong grip kept him submerged. About the time the man
was about to drown, Socrates pulled him out of the river and laid him
on the bank.
Socrates…
Coughing, the man gasped, “Are you crazy, old man? What are you
trying to do, kill me?”
“When I was holding you under the river, what did you want more than
anything else?” asked Socrates.
“I wanted to breathe! I wanted air!” he replied.
“Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking wisdom comes so easily, my
young friend,” said Socrates, “When you want to learn as badly as
you wanted air just now, come back to me again.”
SO WHAT’S THE MORAL OF THE STORY?
Nothing comes in life easy. You have to pay the price!
Write it down, underline it, memorize it.
There is no such thing as a free lunch!
Be a Smarty Pants
• Surveys indicate that the television is on in
most homes thirty- five to forty hours per
week. (But I thought “Are You Smarter
Than a Fifth Grader” was educational…)
• Reading good literature on a regular basis
is a good way to renew your mind.
• Keeping a journal of our thoughts,
experiences, and insights is also
beneficial.
Sharpen the Saw – Heart
• Care for your heart
– Relationships
– Laugh or you’ll cry
Take Care of your “Heart”
• This area of our lives is primarily
developed in our relationships with others.
• We can help script others as principlecentered, value-based, independent,
worthwhile individuals.
Laughing and Crying (or both)
• Have you ever laughed so hard that you could
barely breathe? How did you feel when you
finally stopped laughing?
• Have you ever had a really bad day and you go
home and just cry for a few minutes? How do
you feel when you are done?
• Was there ever a time where you laughed so
hard that you started crying?
Sharpen the Saw - Soul
• Care for your soul
–
–
–
–
–
–
Back to nature
Teen’s best friend
Spiritual diet
Disturbing my sleep
Fried frogs
Get real
Your Soul and Spirit
• The spiritual dimension is your core, your
center, your commitment to your value
system.
• Spiritual renewal is a Quadrant II
investment of time that we really can't
afford to neglect.
• A personal mission statement enables us
to have an understanding of our purpose
which we can review frequently.
Balance
• Know your goals for the roles that you play
in life (student, daughter, son, employee,
boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend, etc.)
• Be sure to take time out for yourself and
do something relaxing or that you enjoy.
• You must take time to rejuvenate if you
want to be effective in all areas of your life.
Keep Hope Alive
Hope
So be sure when you step
Step with care and great tact
And remember that life’s
A great Balancing Act.
And will you succeed?
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed)
Kid, you’ll move mountains
~Dr. Seuss
Self-Renewal
• The self-renewal process must include
balanced renewal in all four dimensions of
our lives.
Synergy in Renewal
• Renewal in any dimension increases our
ability to live at least one of the Seven
Habits.
• Improvement in one habit synergistically
increases our ability to live the rest.
OBSTACLES
• What obstacles do you think that you will
face or are facing that may hinder you
from “Sharpening Your Saw?”
7 Habits Review…
What are the 7 Habits of
Highly Effective Teens?
• Habit 1: Be Proactive.
– Take responsibility for
your life.
• Habit 2: Begin with the
End in Mind.
– Define your mission and
goals in life.
• Habit 3: Put First Things
First.
– Prioritize, and do the most
important things first.
• Habit 4: Think Win-Win.
– Have an everyone-can-win
attitude.
• Habit 5: Seek First to
Understand, Then to Be
Understood.
– Listen to people sincerely.
• Habit 6: Synergize.
– Work together to achieve
more.
• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.
– Renew yourself regularly.
The End
“You can’t make
footprints in the sands
of time by sitting on
your butt, And who
wants to leave butt
prints in the sands of
time?”