The Axe.

The Axe

Once upon a time, there was a very strong woodcutter.
He asked for a job from a timber merchant, and he got it.
The pay was really good and 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.
The Boss was very much impressed and said,

“Congratulations, 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 only
could bring down 10 trees. Day after day he was
bringing down less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought
to himself. 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 have been very busy trying to cut 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 than 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, like
our personal life, taking time to read etc. We all need time to relax,
to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don't take time to
sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

So start from today, think about the ways by which could do
your job more effectively and add a lot of value to it.