Written by Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” I think Lincoln means that we can be more effective when we are prepared. In other words, you can increase your personal productivity by taking the time to develop a more balanced strategy which renews your focus.
Veteran Vs Rookie Lumberjack
A veteran lumberjack was challenged by an energetic young rookie to see who could chop down a tree faster. The young and energetic rookie challenger was convinced that he would win against the older veteran lumberjack, and with ease.
The rules were simple; whomever chopped down their tree the fastest wins.
Both men selected a tree of equal size and began. Within minutes, the veteran lumberjack stopped. From the younger fellows‘ perspective, he could see the veteran taking a break and eating a sandwich. The younger man’s confidence went through the roof.
At this point, the rookie thought for sure he would win. From his perspective, the veteran already appeared to be tired.
Once the veteran lumberjack returned to chopping his tree, the young buck began vigorously chopping and laughing to himself – “there’s no way that old timer can catch me now”.
After a few more minutes, the veteran took what appeared to be another break.
The young buck could now see the veteran appearing to be smoking a cigar. With the youngster’s over confidence in full swing, and thinking that he was clearly going to win, he decided to walk over to the veteran and angrily confront him.
“Say Old Timer, why are you wasting my time with this challenge? I see you chopping for a few minutes, then eating a sandwich. Next, I see you chopping for a few minutes, and now you’re smoking a damn cigar!”
The Veteran yelled out “TIMBER” as his tree falls to the ground.
The veteran lumberjack then points out to the youngster: “what you did not see was me sharpening my axe every chance I got. This simply made every strike on the tree more effective. He then asked the rookie, “when was the last time you sharpened your axe?”
The rookie then replied “Sharpen? I haven’t had time to sharpen my axe, I’ve been busy just trying to cut my tree.”
How This May Apply to Life
The same practice as the story above may apply to life. We need to take the necessary time to cultivate our dispositions so we can increase our happiness, increase our ability for better decision-making, and thereby increase our productivity.
Instead of focusing solely on the problems (or tasks) at hand, develop a more holistic and balanced strategy to renew yourself in the four aspects of life: Physical, Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual.
Physical: Eat well, sleep well and exercise well.
Emotional: Process your emotions. Build meaningful connections with others. Cultivate relationships.
Mental: Learn new things. Develop your interests. Read books. Find a Mentor. Do some writing.
Spiritual: Expand your spiritual self and spend time relaxing in nature. Walk your spiritual path.
Sure, there will be times when we need to act quickly. There will surely be times when immediate and decisive action is required. But in most cases, taking a step back and being thoughtful about our approach may pay off in the long run.
Since we are all still learning as we collectively traverse earth school, let’s learn from each other. Just like the rookie lumberjack, we have to be open to learning. Sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know.