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E-Quipped to...Sharpen Your Axe!

This newsletter refers to 'The Wood Cutter Stories', a comprehensive article found on my website.

February is Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month and 17 February is Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Day.

After setting your New Year’s resolutions (which hopefully include some goals for improved health and wellness in 2014), February is a good time to assess just how healthy your lifestyle is.

A healthy lifestyle means integrating all the different aspects of your life into a unified whole. It is important to be productive, happy and effective both at work and at home. Taking good care of your physical, spiritual and emotional well-being, while striving for a good work/social balance, all form part of a healthy lifestyle.

Sadly, most of us do not enjoy a healthy lifestyle because we do not achieve this integration. Our focus tends to be on just one or two aspects of our lives (usually work and/or the kids), to the exclusion of all other aspects. We are too busy, too stressed and too tired for anything else. Even when we consider slowing down and having more fun, we don’t. We get caught up in thinking that we must do more, achieve more and accumulate more and so work even harder.  But the harder we work, the less we seem to achieve - so we push ourselves even harder! It is a vicious circle.

The Antidote

There is 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 well-being, taking time to care for others, taking time to read and play and pray. We all need time to relax, to learn and to grow.

The funny thing is, when we create a healthy lifestyle, we stay sharp and so are able to do more and achieve more, because we are more effective, efficient and competent.

Remember… it is your responsibility to stay sharp and I trust that the story of the wood-cutter will inspire you to do just that!

The Wood Cutter – An inspirational Story

Once upon a time there were two men in a wood-chopping contest.  They were tasked with chopping down as many trees in the forest as they could from sun-up to sun-down.  The winner would be rewarded with both fame and fortune.

From morning till noon, both men steadily chopped and chopped.  By noon they were neck and neck, but then one man took a break and stopped chopping.  The other man saw this and thought to himself: “The lazy fool, he’s probably taken a break for lunch. He’s given me a chance to get ahead of him and I will without doubt win this contest!”

A while later the man got back to work. As the day continued he chopped more trees than his hard-working (and hungry) competitor and by mid-afternoon he had taken a clear lead.

When sundown came, the man who had taken the break at noon had chopped almost twice as many trees as the other man, who was drenched in sweat, hungry and exhausted.

“How did you beat me?” he asked puzzled. “You were lazier than I and even took a break for lunch!”

“Ah,” said the other man, “I did take a break, but it was during that break, that I sharpened my axe.”

Moral of the story:

Taking time out to sharpen your axe is worth many hours of hard toil. Take time to evaluate yourself and your life and make sure that you keep sharpening your axe!

How do I Sharpen my Axe?

Sharpening your axe can include things like setting up email filters, installing productivity software, and developing more efficient systems and processes. But (and most of us forget this), your most important tool is YOU – your ability to use your mind and body to its full potential. So take time to invest in yourself. Get enough sleep. Get involved in physical activity. Do interesting and creative things.  Have some fun!

For more ideas on how you can sharpen your axe read: Invest in Yourself

What do YOU Think?

Share your wisdom with others… How do you sharpen your axe?

Leave your comments here

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About These Newsletters

You may have been forwarded this email by a friend. In that case, allow me to introduce myself. I am a psychologist, speaker, trainer, coach and hat lover based in Durban, South Africa.

My goal is to inspire you to make the changes necessary to live the life of your dreams! I believe that by developing your YOU-Q - the term I have created to describe your unique intelligence, creativity and wisdom - you can find your Inner winner and live a Be-YOU-tiful life right now.

On my website you'll find more ideas to get you thinking about life, love, work and other important STUFF.

Contact me for more information or visit the website:

082 491 1136 | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | www.clairenewton.co.za

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