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Are You Looking After Yourself?
Self Care is Essential in Order for You to be Effective
“Most people see effectiveness from the golden egg paradigm: the more you produce, the more you do, the more effective you are. But as the story shows, true effectiveness is a function of two things: what is produced (the golden eggs) and the producing asset or capacity to produce (the goose).”
– Stephen Covey, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
How good are you about taking care of yourself?
In Stephen Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” he writes extensively about something called the “P/PC Balance.”
“P” stands for “Production.”
“PC” stands for “Production Capability.”
What is the “P/PC Balance,” why is it important & how does it relate to self care?
The “P/PC Balance” is a principle that is conveyed beautifully through Aesop’s fable of the goose and the golden egg.
Here is the excerpt from Covey’s book that explains the fable:
“The fable is the story of a poor farmer who one day discovers in the nest of his pet goose a glittering golden egg. At first, he thinks it must be some kind of trick. But as he starts to throw the egg aside, he has second thoughts and takes it in to be appraised instead.
The egg is pure gold! The farmer can’t believe his good fortune. He becomes even more incredulous the following day when the experience is repeated. Day after day, he awakens to rush to the nest and finds another golden egg. He becomes fabulously wealthy; it all seems too good to be true.
But with his increasing wealth comes greed and impatience. Unable to wait day after day for the golden eggs, the farmer decides he will kill the goose and get them all at once. But when he opens the goose, he finds it empty. There are no golden eggs — and now there is no way to get any more. The farmer has destroyed the goose that produced them.”
