Self-Improvement

Reading about The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People this week, I found myself thinking about which habits I feel the deepest connection to.  I found that there are some I am fairly practiced at, and some that stood out to me that I need to work on.  The one I feel I need to focus on improving in the most is Habit 7, “sharpen the saw.”  I am a very busy person, with very little time to take care of the things I have to do, let alone the things I don’t have to do. After reading this section, I realize that I am approaching it all wrong.  If I neglect myself, and don’t do some of the things I want to do for myself, I will be less effective at everything else.  I plan to set goals for myself of realistic things I can do to make sure I am sharpening the saw everyday. 

The other habits that I connected with are habit 3: “put first things first,”  habit 4: “think win/win,” and habit 5: “seek first to understand, then to be understood.”  I feel that these habits work together, and can help me achieve my goals.  Think win/win was especially interesting to me as it is something I had never thought of before.  I was very intrigued by the idea that if we engage in a transaction where one person make all the compromises, both people lose.  I really put that idea in my heart and it is the other habit that I want to improve in my life.  I want to make sure that any solutions I may find to a problem are mutually beneficial, and that everyone is able to walk away happy.  I know that as I work to improve in this area, I will improve my relationships with those around me.