Sharpen Your Saw: Research Paper on Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

Introduction

Habit 7 concentrates on the need to sharpen the saw as a way of self-renewal. In an individual life sharpening the saw can be seen done by enhancing the principles of balanced self-renewal. As a result, individuals can work effortlessly and more quickly. To achieve that mile, we must be proactive. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to discuss the principles of a balanced self-renewal and a list of physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual renewal items and the implementation plan I can use to achieve progress.

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Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal

The Physical Dimension

The physical dimension is concerned with how we care for our physical body, for instance, relaxation and getting enough rest, eating the right amount of foods, and exercising regularly. The principle states that our failure to take regular exercise often results in health problems. The central advantage of taking care of oneself is the expansion of an individual Habit 1 "muscles" of proactivity.

The Spiritual Dimension

The spiritual dimension is a person's centre, his commitment to his value systems. This dimension is drawn from the sources that uplift and inspire an individual and bring him to eternal truths of humanity (Covey, 2013). It can be explained as listening carefully, reaching back, examining one's motive and writing all the fears in the sand. When we consider the leadership centre of our lives and understanding what it is all about, it opens up everything else, which makes the mission statement to be significant in our lives.

The Mental Dimension

This principle is concerned with keeping an individual mind sharp through planning, organizing, reading and writing. Reading helps a person develop great minds. However, this dimension suggests that sharpening own mind can be hindered by watching television; generally, its a hindrance to mental renewal. As such, we should take time to practice these activities in enhancing physical, mental and spiritual. The practise is known as "Daily Private Victory."

The Social/ Emotional Dimension

The dimension concentrates on habits 4, 5 and 6: empathetic communication, creative cooperation and personal leadership. Personal relationships are developed out of a good relationship with others. The success of habits 4,5, and 6 are generally based on emotions; it relates to our sense of individual safety (Covey, 2013). Intrinsic safety comes from living an integral life in which behaviours reflects values

Scripting Others

The dimension states that individuals live in a reactive model that is based on a social mirror. Personal scripts in this dimension are based on their opinions, paradigms and prescriptions of their environment (Covey, 2013). As such, we recognize our duties as a part of the mirror, for instance, supporting others as interdependent and worthwhile individuals.

Balance in Renewal

Balance in renewal includes balanced renewal in the four dimensions. Neglecting any of the aspects impacts the others negatively. The same concept applies to companies where constant development is the sign of Total Quality movement and the key to industrial development.

Synergy in Renewal

All dimension is interrelated, and therefore, the things an individual does in sharpening a saw in one aspect positively impacts other aspects. The Daily Private Victory is the secret towards the growth of seven habits. As such, it is the foundation for Daily Public Victory.

The Upward Spiral

This principle suggests that renewal helps us to move on an upward spiral which is often characterized by growth, change and continuous improvement (Covey, 2013). This can be achieved through educating and training the conscience, which requires reading inspiring literature and living harmoniously with its small voice. Generally, this principle involves learning and commitments.

A List of Physical Items

In order to keep up with the principle of the physical dimension, the following is a list of activities that can be used:

• Eating healthy foods such as foods with low sugar and fat content. Besides, it can be achieved by eating fruits and vegetables and by reducing salt intake
• Drinking a lot of water to prevent dehydration
• Weight lifting to improve health, moods and brain functions
• Stretching to help flexibly and increase the range of motion.
• Enough sleep to lessen chances of diabetes, obesity and heart complications

Mental Dimension List Items

• Reading books to sharpen and keep the brain functionality at a high level
• Solving puzzles such as sudokus and jigsaw can keep an individual sharp
• Resting to reduce stress. This can be achieved by taking a day off
• Exercise your creativity by offering solutions and taking part in problem-solving processes
• Taking a vacation to reduce stress. Holidays break the stress cycle, and thus they enable an individual to work with a renewed enthusiasm

Social Dimension List Items

• Maintaining a healthy relationship with others helps in developing our emotional life
• Assisting in Family activities to form a strong bond with the family members
• Taking part in social activities
• Maintaining a level of synergy
• Maintaining a high level of empathy in comprehending the feelings of others
• Spiritual Dimension List Items

Taking part in Religious Activities

• Praying often to strengthen the spiritual relationship
• Meditation to an individual identify his or her depths
• Relaxation to increase calmness and reduce levels of pain

How to Implement the Activities

To achieve a balanced self-renewal, I would take a sequence of actions to complete a balance renewal. For instance, I would improve my diet by cooking meals that have a low-calorie rate and sugar contents. To achieve fitness, I would find a flexibility class, for instance, yoga at least once a week. Besides, I would attend gym sessions such as weight lifting. As such, this would help in the renewal of the physical dimension.

To renew the mental dimension, I would join various reading sessions and take part in solving puzzle competition. Also, self-assessment programs in workplaces are useful in helping an individual know the areas he should improve on. Therefore, joining such a program would help identify the knowledge and skills that I need to work on. Besides, I would join vocational programs needed to refreshes the mind. As such, the various programs would be useful in the renewal of the mental dimension.

To renew the spiritual, I would take part in community prayers as well as individual prayers. Also, I would join spiritual meditation lessons that would be useful in learning meditation techniques helpful in identifying spiritual depths. Finally, I would be involved in religious activities more often to improve the spiritual dimension.

Finally, to renew the social, emotional dimension, I would join social programs and maintain a good relationship with society. This can be achieved through learning empathy and synergy required in understanding other people feelings. Besides this concept can be renewed by joining the family in various activities.

References

Covey, S. R. (2013). The 7 habits of highly effective people: Powerful lessons in personal change. Simon and Schuster.