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Daily Sharpening

“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the task has changed, but our ability to do has increased.” 
Ralph Waldo Emerson

The study this week was labeled: Moving Forward with a Driving Passion. As I studied I found that the lesson included lots of wonderful ideas on how to do that effectively and with out integrity intact. 

We discovered that character is a composite of our habits. A habit is the intersection of our knowledge about what to do, our skill in how to do it, and our desire and motivation to make it happen. 

We read an abridged version of Stephen R,, Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. It taught us that if we intend to master the 7 habits that we had to cast aside victim mentality, the notion of luck, and the idea that we achieve our success through some genetic tendency. The seven habits are as follows: 
1.)   BE PROACTIVE  - Subordinate impulses to values.
2.)   BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND - Have an eternal perspective, and have a mindset of what           victory means, feels like, and tastes like before you experience it.
3.)   PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST - Spend most of your time doing important jobs in a non-urgent             atmosphere. By doing this, you can focus on prevention and anticipation rather than crisis                   control. This means that you are scheduling time to achieve our priorities. That includes doing             preventative maintenance, relationship building, creative thinking, planning, organizing, and               recreation.  This section also included information about the key element of time management,           and making deposits into what they deemed our emotional bank account. 
4.)  THINK WIN/WIN - We should structure a relationship with others based on mutually benefiting         transactions both in business and personal interactions. We need to also develop an abundance             mentality where we feel that there is plenty of opportunity out there for everyone. 
5.)   SEEK 1ST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD - We need to learn how to be           effective and empathetic listeners. We should focus on others point of view/diagnose before we           prescribe our own diagnosis. Maturity is described as the balance between courage and                         consideration.
6.)   SYNERGISE - Strive toward the manifestation of all the other habits combined. This works               with others as well and draws its energy from the differences between people.
7.)   SHARPEN THE SAW - We need to take time regularly to sharpen the saw in the physical,                 spiritual, mental, social or emotional dimensions. They suggest completing a "Daily Private                 Victory" which is 1 Hour daily consisting of exercise, spiritual uplifting, planning and                         organizing, and good communication.

I really wrapped my brain around the 3rd step and where and how I have been spending my time. I see the need for more maintenance to avoid constant crisis mode in my family life. There is also a need in my life for a "daily private victory" session to energize me and keep me going.  

I also completed reading the book Mastery this week. While I really struggled to get through the first 2 sections of the book, there was no problem gleaning golden nuggets for life from the 3rd section on the Tools of Mastery. I really enjoyed learning about why failure occurs in our pursuits, how to get more energy to master things, how to avoid pitfalls, and the need to embrace the everyday stuff.

Overall, I learned a lot this week and look forward to trying to implement some of these ideals and habits into my daily life. 
        

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