Covey described the spiritual dimension as “your core, your center, your commitment to your value system. It’s … a supremely important area of your life. It draws upon the sources that inspire you and uplift you and tie to the timeless truths of all humanity. And people do it very differently”. He added that for him, daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures was important because they represent his value system (I resonate with this too).

           The key for us is to embrace the concepts of continuous learning and continuous improvement. We have all experienced success in our lives, but future growth and success is contingent on avoiding complacency and being intentional to grow and develop ourselves. Rick Warren cautions, “The greatest enemy of tomorrow’s success is today’s success.” I suggest a two-step process. First, embrace being a life-long learner. Second, put our learning into action. Jim Rohn encourages, “Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge. Let your learning lead to action.”

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.”

           There are a number of other ways to feed our souls. Examples include nature, music, art, great literature, and service. I find that being actively involved with a faith community (my local church at Milwaukie GracePointe) is valuable to my spiritual development as I worship, love, serve, learn, encourage, and grow alongside others on the same pathway.