How Sharp is your Saw. Many of you know my journey. There have been so many things that have influenced me along the way. One of the greatest things about Recovery is that whatever level we are on there is instruction waiting for us. This instruction is there to help us reach the next level. This has been true throughout my 34+ years of personal recovery. It is said that when the student is ready the teacher will arrive. That is true tangibly and metaphysically. Very rarely have I reached a plateau and was looking to grow that I didn’t find the next catalyst to catapult me. This would most always guide me to the next level or dimension. If I didn’t see it in meant one of two things. Number one, it meant I wasn’t ready to grow. This might be because I hadn’t extracted everything from where I was at or what I needed to learn while in that phase of life. It could have also meant that I chose to rest on my laurels and not go to the next level. The latter is a very dangerous place to be for a person in recovery. Not moving forward can easily equate to going backward. As so many of you know one of my greatest influencers has been Dr. Stephen Covey. Dr. Covey introduced me to the concept of “sharpening my saw.” In the Bible, a verse reads “iron sharpens iron and so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Gleaning from both pieces of instruction I decided that I would make this concept part of my recovery. The four areas where one is to sharpen their saw for lasting growth is the physical, spiritual, mental. Doing this as part of our daily life will not only help us maximize our effectiveness daily, but will almost guarantee continued growth moving forward. The joy of moving forward not only blesses me, but it also adds to my value of others. Because I am not longer characterized by extreme selfishness/self-centeredness, my greatest gift I receive is the gift of giving to others. Having something as great and wonderful as a new life if you can’t help others find a new life as well.
Let’s take a quick look at the 4 areas of my saw that needs sharpening and see if they help you.
- Physical is a good place to start. Without my health, not much else matters. Feeling good helps keep my energy high and helps remove distractions. Poor health will likely distract me from the necessary focus.
- Spiritual focus and relationships are what keeps me grounded and confident in my approach to daily living. The spiritual is where my relationship with God (as I understand God) resides. There are going to be times when my only hope will come from that spiritual connection.
- Mental sharpening is next because I must stay focused on what lies ahead. Mental acuity is necessary to understand concepts, sort through challenges, and look at things from a practical perspective.
- Social/Emotional is last for a reason. It is included because we are social creatures and socialization gives us the recognition we desire/need and it always is our avenue to reciprocate the acknowledgment we received from others. We need to stay on an even emotional keel so we don’t tend to operate emotion over intellect, but rather the other way around.
When you consider whether you should sharpen your saw remember that every tool that is used needs to stay sharp. Please let me know if I can assist you along the way. How Sharp is your Saw
Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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