Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant. The pay was really good and so were the working conditions. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he would work.
The first day, the woodcutter felled 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only manage 10 trees. Day after day, he finished with 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’ve had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been so busy trying to cut trees….”
Source: https://www.netgainit.com/sharpen-your-axe/
The first time I read this story to my HR students, they looked at me in horror. One of them yelled out loud: “Teacher, did nobody save the test?” Reading this story after the final exams was looking for the learning reviewing, knowledge updating and resting, with a reflecting purpose. I find this us an interesting story which from my perspective it applies to several situations in general.
“Sharpen the ax” is not a very positive title that invites to appreciative reflection, but: How often do we allow ourselves the space to sharpen our axes? When do we allow the situations we have lived to decay in order to process what we have learned? How do we prepare for the results we are looking for?
We are in a hurry, we go forward, we strive, we have schedules, routines, and when we don’t get the results we want we just don’t understand the reason.
After this reading, I invite you to reflect on the pause as a personal and professional improvement tool. We don’t need talent, nor money to review and update, we just need to sharpen the ax.
PS: The HR students passed the tests, and I learned that the story title after the final exams is detrimental to academic health.
Image Source : www.abcoach.es