Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job
in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work
condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he
supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried
harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried
even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing
less and less trees.
“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He
went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was
going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss
asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very
busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we
don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone
is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay
“sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not
get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our
personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for
our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn
and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull
and lose our effectiveness.
Author: Stephen Covey
From: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
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