Self-renewal is preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have- you. It’s renewing the four dimensions of your nature-physical, spiritual, mental, and social. “Sharpen the saw” means excising all four dimension of our nature, regularly and consistently in wise and balanced ways. This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life-investment in ourselves.
The physical dimension involves caring effectively for our body-eating the right kind of food, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, exercising on a regular basis. Exercise is one of those high-leverage activities that most of us ignore because it isn’t urgent. And sooner or later we find ourselves dealing with health problems that come as natural result of our neglect. Renewing the spiritual dimension provides leadership to your life. Its a private area of life and a supremely one. It draws upon the sources that inspire and uplift you and tie you to the truth of all humanity. It may be through daily prayerful meditation on the scriptures, good literature or great music. Continuing education and expending the mind is vital mental renewal. Most of our mental development comes through mental development. Serious reading, exploring new subjects, habit of reading good literature and writing are powerful way to sharpen the mental saw. The social and the emotional dimensions of our lives are tied together because our emotional life is primarily, developed out of and manifested in our relationships with others. Renewing our social or emotional dimensions does not take time the same sense that renewing the other dimensions does. We can do it in our normal everyday interactions with other people.
The self renewal process must include balanced renewal in all four dimensions of our nature: the physical, the spiritual, the mental, and the social/emotional. Although renewal in each dimension is important, it only becomes optimally effective as we deal with all four dimensions in a wise and balanced way. To neglect any one area negatively impacts the rest.
