Day 18：The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Book	Reading Part @July 26, 2017
Stephen R. Covey	Habit 7：Sharpen the Saw (Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal), P299-319

Summary:

习惯七（sharpen the saw）重点是让我们养成不断自我更新迭代的习惯，所谓的“磨刀不误砍柴工”就是这个道理。自我完善包括身体、精神、智力和社会情感四个方面。其中身体、精神和智力方面是和习惯一（积极主动）、二（以始为终）、三（要事第一）密切相关；而社会情感则是和习惯四（双赢思维）、五（知彼解己）、六（统合综效）相关。因此，作者建议我们每天至少“磨刀”一小时。

Habit 7 talks about taking time to sharpen the saw, which means that we should renew four dimensions of our nature - physical, spiritual, mental and social/emotional.

Four Dimensions of Renewal

• physical dimension: involves caring effectively for our physical body-eating the right kinds of foods, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis.
• spiritual dimension: provides leadership to our life. It’s commitment to our value system. It can be practiced and renewed through "four prescriptions", which are "listen carefully", "try reaching back", "examine our motives" and "write our worries on the sand".
• mental dimension: mainly renewed by education, including formal and continuing education etc. Besides, reading, writing, organizing and planning can also represent other forms of mental renewal.
• social/emotional dimension: centered on the principles of interpersonal leadership, empathic communication, and creative cooperation.

Words and Expressions:

If you have a basically sedentary job and success in your life-style does not require a lot of strength, a little toning through calisthenics in addition to your aerobic and stretching exercises might be sufficient.

sedentary, adj, [more sedentary; most sedentary]

1. doing or involving a lot of sitting: not doing or involving much physical activity；(指工作等)坐着干的,案头的；(指人)不爱活动的；2) staying or living in one place instead of moving to different places; 定栖的, 定居的

A sedentary lifestyle is a type of lifestyle with no or irregular physical activity.
Sedentary activities include sitting, reading, watching television, playing video games and computer use for much of the day with little or no vigorous physical exercise.

Nature bequeaths its own blessing on those who immerse themselves in it.

bequeath, vt, 1) to officially arrange for someone to have something that you own after your death [SYN leave]
bequeath something to somebody or bequeath somebody something; 把…遗赠给；2) to pass knowledge, customs etc to people who come after you or live after you; 把…传下去；
e.g. The old man decided to bequeath his whole life experience to his son.

His enthusiasm waned; his writing efforts were fruitless.

wane, 1) vi, to become smaller or less : to decrease in size, amount, length, or quality; 变小, 衰落, 亏缺, 消逝; 2) vi, of the moon: to appear to become thinner or less full; 月亏；衰退; [OPP: wax] wax and wane (月的)盈亏圆缺;〈喻〉盛衰; 3) n, on the wane ：becoming smaller or less; 逐渐衰落.
e.g. Her passion waned since no one support her ideas.