There are times when I require a bit more than the smell of the roses. I have recently started an exercise program. I have noticed many self-renewing benefits from doing so. I feel better in general. I don’t need as much caffeine to get through my day and I am sleeping much better. Bam! That’s a whole slew of benefits from one simple change. What is self-renewing to you will be different for me, it is a very personal activity.

As a family, you can “sharpen the saw” together by creating and observing family traditions. When we work to build family traditions together, we show we are valuing the basic needs of individuals and our families.  Renewing our family is where family bonding, identity, fulfillment, and happiness is found. Many of these renewal times come when we are giving time to the “Big Rocks” we learned in Habit ; regular one on one-time, regular meals together, regular family times and family rituals and traditions. It may be helpful to ask your family members what some of their favorite family traditions are. Is there anything they would like to make a tradition Is there a tradition they would like to discontinue

My day would involve riding my bike to get shave ice, then meeting up with friends at the park to spin on the merry-go-round. I would take off my shoes and play in the little brook that ran through the park. When it started to get dark, I would ride home to eat a home-cooked dinner made by my mom. Then, it would be off to play night games like “Ghost in the Graveyard” and “Capture the Flag.”

I would like to close with the following inspiring quote by Dr. Covey: “This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life—investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have to with which to deal with life and to contribute. We are the instruments of our own performance, and to be effective, we need to recognize the importance of taking time regularly to sharpen the saw in all four ways.”

I have literally never sharpened a saw in my life but I have flown in an airplane hundreds of times. Growing up in an airline employee family, we would fly numerous times a year. My sister and I would see who could memorize the various announcements the flight attendants were required to make. We also wrote notes to future passengers on the motion sickness relief bags (that’s the official name for barf bags). There is one particular announcement that has a specific order of operations.