In March, our juniors were able to learn about “sharpening their saws,” the seventh habit in Sean Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. One of their activities for this lesson was writing down their personal tips for strengthening their body, brain, heart, and soul. We wanted to share those with you:
Body
- Cut back on fast food/Healthy food choices
- Learning dances from YouTube/Dance/Dance Class
- Gym
- Basketball/Hockey/Martial Arts/Golf
- Running
- Yoga
- Sleep
- Hair Care
- Walking at Festivals/Markets/Walking the dog
- Vitamins
Brain / Mind
- Learning new things (keep learning!)
- Watching Jeopardy every night
- Wordle
- Crocheting
- Sudoku
- Practicing an instrument
- Reading (ex. before bed, finding a series, Game of Thrones, autobiographies of people I admire)
- Learning outside of class
- Podcasts/YouTube videos
- Visit the zoo/museum/aquarium
Heart
- Open communication with parents (ex. feelings, talk about how your day went)
- Talking to friends/long distance friends
- Playing with the dog(s)
- Getting ice cream with a friend/Spending time with friends and family
- Volunteering/ Helping others
- Family Dinner/Spending time with Family
- Setting healthy boundaries with significant others
- Spending time with people who understand/uplift/encourage you
- Journaling/Gratitude Journal
- Watching Favorite Shows: Brooklyn 99, Derry Girls, The Office, Stand-up comedy specials
- Video games
Soul / Spirit
- Connecting with your chosen religion
- Church/House of Worship weekly
- Not holding grudges
- Prayer
- Spending time in nature
- Seeing live shows partaking in art
- Meditation
- Crocheting
- Painting
- Spending time with animals (ex. cats, dogs)
- Telling the truth/admitting when you’re at fault
- Listening to music
- Volunteering
We loved seeing how much overlap there is in some of these categories, which reminds us of a couple of things:
- There are opportunities where we can feed our body, brain/mind, heart, and soul at the same time. Let’s make conscious efforts to find what that thing is for us, if possible, so we can best “sharpen our saw.”
- Sometimes, your “sharpening the saw” moment may look completely different from someone else’s and that’s perfectly OK!
We just hope you will take conscious moments to “sharpen your saw.”
