Sharpen the Saw means preserving and enhancing the greatest asset
you have--you. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the
four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.
Here are some examples of activities:
As you renew yourself in each of the four areas, you create growth and change in your life. Sharpen the Saw keeps you fresh so you can continue to practice the other six habits. You increase your capacity to produce and handle the challenges around you. Without this renewal, the body becomes weak, the mind mechanical, the emotions raw, the spirit insensitive, and the person selfish. Not a pretty picture, is it? Feeling good doesn't just happen. Living a life in balance means taking the necessary time to renew yourself. It's all up to you. You can renew yourself through relaxation. Or you can totally burn yourself out by overdoing everything. You can pamper yourself mentally and spiritually. Or you can go through life oblivious to your well-being. You can experience vibrant energy. Or you can procrastinate and miss out on the benefits of good health and exercise.
You can revitalize yourself and face a new day in peace and
harmony. Or you can wake up in the morning full of apathy because your
get-up-and-go has got-up-and-gone. Just remember that every day provides a
new opportunity for renewal--a new opportunity to recharge yourself instead
of hitting the wall. All it takes is the desire, knowledge, and skill.
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My thoughts, sentiments, anything that matters to me. Relax as you go through my world
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE. HABIT 7: SHARPEN THE SAW
Monday, August 25, 2014
HABIT 6: SYNERGIZE
To put it simply,
synergy means "two heads are better than one." Synergize is the habit
of creative cooperation. It is teamwork, open-mindedness, and the adventure of
finding new solutions to old problems. But it doesn't just happen on its own.
It's a process, and through that process, people bring all their personal
experience and expertise to the table. Together, they can produce far better
results that they could individually. Synergy lets us discover jointly things
we are much less likely to discover by ourselves. It is the idea that the whole
is greater than the sum of the parts. One plus one equals three, or six, or
sixty--you name it.
When people begin to interact together genuinely, and they're open to each other's influence, they begin to gain new insight. The capability of inventing new approaches is increased exponentially because of differences.
Valuing differences is what really drives synergy. Do you truly value the mental, emotional, and psychological differences among people? Or do you wish everyone would just agree with you so you could all get along? Many people mistake uniformity for unity; sameness for oneness. One word--boring! Differences should be seen as strengths, not weaknesses. They add zest to life.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
Communication is the most important skill in life. You spend
years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But
what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen
so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?
If you're like most people, you probably seek first to be understood; you want to get your point across. And in doing so, you may ignore the other person completely, pretend that you're listening, selectively hear only certain parts of the conversation or attentively focus on only the words being said, but miss the meaning entirely. So why does this happen? Because most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating. Do any of the following sound familiar? "Oh, I know just how you feel. I felt the same way." "I had that same thing happen to me." "Let me tell you what I did in a similar situation." Because you so often listen autobiographically, you tend to respond in one of four ways:
You might be saying, "Hey, now wait a minute. I'm just trying to relate to the person by drawing on my own experiences. Is that so bad?" In some situations, autobiographical responses may be appropriate, such as when another person specifically asks for help from your point of view or when there is already a very high level of trust in the relationship. |
Friday, August 22, 2014
HABIT 4: THINK WIN-WIN
Think Win-Win isn't about being nice, nor is it a quick-fix
technique. It is a character-based code for human interaction and
collaboration.
Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing--that is, if I win, you lose; or if you win, I lose. Life becomes a zero-sum game. There is only so much pie to go around, and if you get a big piece, there is less for me; it's not fair, and I'm going to make sure you don't get anymore. We all play the game, but how much fun is it really?
Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. We both get to eat the pie, and it tastes pretty darn good!
A person or organization that approaches conflicts with a win-win attitude possesses three vital character traits:
1. Integrity: sticking with
your true feelings, values, and commitments
2. Maturity: expressing
your ideas and feelings with courage and consideration for the ideas and
feelings of others
3. Abundance Mentality:
believing there is plenty for everyone
Thursday, August 21, 2014
HABIT 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
To
live a more balanced existence, you have to recognize that not doing
everything that comes along is okay. There's no need to overextend yourself.
All it takes is realizing that it's all right to say no when necessary and
then focus on your highest priorities.
Habit 1 says, "You're in charge. You're the creator." Being proactive is about choice. Habit 2 is the first, or mental, creation. Beginning with the End in Mind is about vision. Habit 3 is the second creation, the physical creation. This habit is where Habits 1 and 2 come together. It happens day in and day out, moment-by-moment. It deals with many of the questions addressed in the field of time management. But that's not all it's about. Habit 3 is about life management as well--your purpose, values, roles, and priorities.
What are "first things?" First things are
those things you, personally, find of most worth. If you put first things
first, you are organizing and managing time and events according to the
personal priorities you established in Habit 2.
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Wednesday, August 20, 2014
HABIT 2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND
Yesterday i shared with you all the first habit from the 7 habits of highly effective people which was "BE PROACTIVE". Habit 2 is "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND."
So, what do you want to be when you grow up? That question may
appear a little trite, but think about it for a moment. Are you--right now--who
you want to be, what you dreamed you'd be, doing what you always wanted to do?
Be honest. Sometimes people find themselves achieving victories that are
empty--successes that have come at the expense of things that were far more
valuable to them. If your ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every
step you take gets you to the wrong place faster.
Habit 2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your
mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the
principle that all things are created twice. There is a mental (first)
creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the
mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don't make a conscious
effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower
other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. It's
about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal,
moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and
fulfill yourself. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or
project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then
continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.
One of the best ways to incorporate Habit 2 into your life is to
develop a Personal Mission Statement. It focuses on what you want to be and do.
It is your plan for success. It reaffirms who you are, puts your goals in
focus, and moves your ideas into the real world. Your mission statement makes
you the leader of your own life. You create your own destiny and secure the
future you envision.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE.
Your life doesn't just "happen." Whether you know it or not, it is carefully designed by you. The choices, after all, are yours. You choose happiness. You choose sadness. You choose decisiveness. You choose ambivalence. You choose success. You choose failure. You choose courage. You choose fear. Just remember that every moment, every situation, provides a new choice. And in doing so, it gives you a perfect opportunity to do things differently to produce more positive results.
For
the next couple of days I will like to share with you all THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE
by Dr. Stephen Covey. We will talk about one habit daily and I hope we can all
take something from it.
HABIT 1: BE PROACTIVE
Be Proactive is about taking responsibility for your life. You can't
keep blaming everything on your parents or grandparents. Proactive people
recognize that they are "response-able." They don't blame genetics,
circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they
choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected
by their physical environment. They find external sources to blame for their
behavior. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their
attitude and performance, and they blame the weather.
All of these external
forces act as stimuli that we respond to. Between the stimulus and the response
is your greatest power--you have the freedom to choose your response. One of
the most important things you choose is what you say. Your language is a good
indicator of how you see yourself. A proactive person uses proactive
language--I can, I will, I prefer, etc. A reactive person uses reactive
language--I can't, I have to, if only. Reactive people believe they are not
responsible for what they say and do--they have no choice.
Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas--Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.
Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas--Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.
Proactive people focus their efforts on their
Circle of Influence. They work on the things they can do something about:
health, children, problems at work. Reactive people focus their efforts in the
Circle of Concern--things over which they have little or no control: the
national debt, terrorism, the weather. Gaining an awareness of the areas in
which we expand our energies in is a giant step in becoming proactive.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORDIA!!!
Astus Papa Kwesi Ahiagble, aka, Tordia Korsi Am'wonu Ahiagble. I don’t really have any lengthy speech to express this day. Am only grateful
that you have not been just a friend but a brother and to some extent a father. thanks for impacting a lot in my life and never giving up on me. I pray to make you proud and not let you down. You have become family and I really
thank God for you and your family. It takes few people to really understand
your personality. Don’t let his calmness deceive you.... lol. A mind in the frontline
of the battle of life…
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
DESIGN WITH FIGURE
The reasons
why a picture works are complex, but good design is undoubtedly a fundamental
element in its success. Without it, photographs would constitute a
straight forward but uninspired record of a portrait group. However the design
has given the viewer an extra insight into the feelings and emotions being
communicated. It is essential that from the outset you understand and isolate
what stimulate you in the subject and just as important, identify those
elements that you do not like. The latter can then be excluded.
Photographing
several friends together is a good way to start the exploration of composition
with figures. Being relaxed in each other’s company dispels any feeling of
awkwardness and when you work as a group, ideas usually around.
With three or four people the combinations of
arrangements and poses are endless and the results are as varied as they are
numerous. If the group are young, creative people – as there were – then the
session is likely to prove even more exciting and productive.
Changes of
clothing will add an extra dimension to the proceedings buy try not to overdo
it as too much choice can be a hindrance. Choose a setting which will
complement the subjects without dominating them, since the background is as
much a part of the images design as the subjects themselves.
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