A young chef once noticed his new apprentice struggling with every cut — vegetables mangled, herbs bruised, meat shredded instead of sliced.

The apprentice stayed late every night, blaming himself: “I’m just not good enough. Maybe this is not for me.”

One afternoon, the head chef walked over, took the knife, and ran a thumb along the blade. It was dull — so dull it couldn’t slice a soft tomato without crushing it.

The chef didn’t scold. He simply showed him how to run the blade along a honing steel, restoring the edge bit by bit.

Five minutes later, the difference was clear. Same hands, same ingredients — but now the knife did the work it was designed to do. Clean cuts. Smooth edges. No wasted effort.

It wasn’t about skill alone. It was about working with the right tool — sharp and ready.

How often do we wear ourselves out, blaming our talent, our effort, our worth… when the real problem is we’ve let our tools, our thinking, or our habits go dull?

Sometimes you don’t need to throw out the plan — you just need to check the edge and sharpen the blade.

Today’s “Peace of Wisdom” can be found when we sharpen what we already have.