The seventh habit of Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is to “Sharpen the saw.”
The idea is to take time from the task at hand (sawing down a tree) in order to sharpen the tools (the saw) necessary for the task.
Stopping a primary task to work on a secondary one may feel like a waste of time, but two things become possible:
- The primary task runs smoother.
- The whole process becomes more effective.
To keep on sawing with a dull blade is short-sighted and foolish.
For the past two years I’ve been sawing away. Because of all of our travels, it was hard to see into the far future. Every month we were going somewhere, every few months, we’d move. Creating structure was essential.
Sharpening the saw is about finding balance for self-renewal. I did a fairly good job of it, but my goals were constricted by the next time we left, often leading to an unbalanced feeling.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed traveling. The experiences have proven invaluable. I will never regret it. That framework, however, was not conducive for fulfilling longer term plans.
As soon as we settled here in Virginia, as soon as the expectation for being in this area was years, not months, I had a paradigm shift. I came back to a plan I’d forgotten I made.
My career thus far has consisted of two parallel paths: writing and teaching. For the past two years, I’ve been working almost exclusively on writing. Now it’s time to recommence walking on the other path.
Since I began pursuing it, writing has been my primary goal, but teaching has its place. Teaching isn’t a fallback, nor is it a waste of time. It’s as much a part of rising up into the writer I want to be as the act of writing itself.
My dad once told me you don’t really know something until you can teach it. Being able to explain something proves that it’s a part of you. Teaching will necessitate a deeper understanding of English, and it will help me write better.
To be a writer, one must read and write constantly. The same holds true for teaching. The end, ultimately, is the same: to reach people and make a difference.
To succeed in this ultimate pursuit, I need to continue to develop myself. It is because of others that I must improve, which is a direct part of the balance I hope to achieve. Teaching provides the structure I need to develop a well-balanced life, in a way that the writing life alone cannot.
My vision for the future is to have one foot on each path, because the paths are not just side by side, they’re one. Becoming a teacher again isn’t a detour or setback on my writing path.
It’s sharpening the saw.
Onward and upward,
Lee
