Last but by no means least is Habit 7: Sharpen the saw.
For each of the other 6 habits to work, and for us to be successful in our lives, we must continue practicing them every day.
In doing so, Covey describes that we have four dimensions to our nature: physical, spiritual, mental, and social.
Working on ourselves is a task we will never complete. It’s about constantly and consistently striving to be the very best version of ourselves.
To be the best that we can, we need to be continuously improving each one.
Physical
Physical improvement means taking the time to exercise and care for our bodies.
We can do this by eating well, making sure we get enough rest and exercising regularly.
Improving our physical dimension helps us to develop Habit 1. It allows us to be proactive and realising that we have control over how we live.
Being physically strong gives us the power to recognise that we can make things happen for ourselves.
Spiritual
Working on our spiritual selves helps to give us purpose in our lives and reinforces the importance of our values.
To renew ourselves spiritually we can meditate daily, enjoy music, and spend more time in nature – whatever brings you peace.
Improving our spiritual dimension helps us practice Habit 2. When we are constantly working on living by our values, we are in a much better place to know what we want. When we know what we want, we can start with the end in mind.
Mental
Our mental health is important in giving ourselves room to expand our minds.
We can work on our mental health in many ways including regularly keeping a journal and spending time on activities that make you happy.
Working to improve ourselves mentally helps us to practice Habit 3. It teaches us to manage our time effectively so we can be as productive as possible.
Social
Social development helps us to build and maintain meaningful relationships.
Working on this regularly helps us to practice habits 4,5, and 6. It is all about building positive and healthy relationships with the people around us.
We can build on this through maintaining an abundance mentality and working with both causes and people we believe in to help them find success.
The Seven Habits
You are the best asset you have.
Having a balanced program that gives you time to work on each of your four dimensions helps you to create growth and change in your life.
This is why focusing on making time for the 7th habit is so important. It puts you in the best position to practice the 6 other habits.
The great thing about living by these 7 habits is that they are a lifestyle change. It won’t be a quick or easy fix, but it will help you to live a fuller life.
They all work in synergy and every habit we work on improving will help improve the others.