Too Busy Sawing
Author: Stephen Covey

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job
from a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really
good; so were the work conditions. For that reason the
woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he
was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought
down 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 only could bring down 15 trees.
The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring
down 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing down fewer and
fewer 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 was busy trying to cut down
trees..."

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. We all need
time to relax, to think, to meditate, to learn and to grow.
If we don't take time to sharpen the "axe," we will become
dull and lose our effectiveness.