Paradise Perspective by Jim Stovall

As I dictate this week’s column, I’m preparing to travel to a little island in Mission Bay in San Diego, California, where I go twice each year to give a speech, do a day of consulting, and spend some time relaxing and reflecting. My late, great friend and colleague Dr. Stephen Covey—in his fundamental book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—described one of the traits shared by the leaders among us as what he called “sharpening the saw.” Dr. Covey expressed that the fastest and most efficient way to cut down a tree is not to simply saw faster and harder, but instead, to periodically pause, reflect on your work, and sharpen the saw.

My semi-annual trips to the island for over two decades have given me parentheses in my personal and professional life so that I can review where I’ve been, evaluate my progress, and map out where I’m going. These times of evaluation and reflection are best done when they are conducted consistently.

I remember when I was slowly losing my eyesight as a teenager and young adult. The gradual decline was not noticeable from day to day, but each Thanksgiving I went to my grandparents’ home and sat in the same chair at the table for dinner. A quick glance around the room and at the pictures on the wall instantly confirmed to me how much my sight had diminished over the past year.

Periodically, I will go back and listen to the audio versions of the books I wrote early in my career. While I’m grateful to be able to say I still find them to be pertinent, informative, and impactful, I can clearly evaluate how much my writing has improved over two decades and fifty books.

Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” If your life is to be examined, it is best that you examine it yourself in a consistent and systematic way that is meaningful to you. No one can judge your life, your goals, or your dreams like you can. Whether it’s New Year’s Day, your birthday, or some other consistent point on the calendar, commit some time, effort, and energy toward examining where you’ve been, evaluating where you are, and determining where you want to be.

As you go through your day today, commit some time for relaxation and reflection.

Today’s the day!

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached at 5840 South Memorial Drive, Suite 312, Tulsa, OK 74145-9082; by email at Jim@JimStovall.com; on Twitter at www.twitter.com/stovallauthor; or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jimstovallauthor.