Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 27th

A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement. - Bo Bennett

Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness. - Napoleon Hill

Arise! Awake! and stop not until the goal is reached. - Swami Vivekananda

First quarter of 2018 is almost complete…how are your advancing on your goals?  The end of each quarter is always a wonderful time to review how we are doing to determine if we need to make any changes to our plan to accomplish our goals or if we need to continue progressing with the same intensity as we have been in the first quarter over the next three quarters of the year to accomplish our goals. 

As I have been conducting my quarterly review, I started questioning if I should continue with my “stretch goal” of reading 50 books this year or change it.  Contemplating this, I considered that I have read 20 books so far and am in the middle of a couple more books.  Now I will say that I did consider changing this goal because I am “fearful” of not accomplishing it.  However, I decided that at this point I am going to continue to push forward.  As I recently told a friend I was talking to, I cannot set goals based on what I “hope” happens in my life.  I have to continue pushing forward on my current goals and do quarterly reviews to determine if my life circumstances changed to help determine if my goals need to change.   

The danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short, but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. - Michelangelo Buonarrati

Here is a simply process that I came up with to complete a quarterly goal review:

1.       Review benchmark data and determine progress of goals.    

2.       With those goals that are not progressing, do the goals need to remain because they help fulfill a personal purpose statement or should the goals be removed from the list for the year?

3.       If the goals are staying on the list, what new habit(s) need to be incorporated to accomplish the goals? 

A great way to help accomplish large goals may be to set smaller goals.  Would it be beneficial to break large goals down into smaller goals such as a daily or weekly goal?

4.       Incorporate new habits into life.

5.       Celebrate the progress on the goals that have been accomplished! 

The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible.  That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Goals are dreams with deadlines. - Diana Scharf Hunt

Challenge:  Complete your quarterly goal review for the first quarter of 2018.

Resources

https://labs.openviewpartners.com/the-goal-of-conducting-quarterly-reviews/#.Wrj9d0xFzV-

https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasmith/2013/12/30/a-guide-to-evaluate-your-priorities-set-goals/#5d5ffb914c35

http://selahreflections.com/personal-quarterly-reviews/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 20th

If you don’t give up on something you truly believe in, you will find a way. ― Roy T. Bennett

Don't give up too soon. If you persevere you will succeed. ― Lailah Gifty Akita

Don't give up your greatness because of someone's cynicism or narrowness of mind. ― Debasish Mridha  

Don't give up on yourself. Leave that for the other people. ― Anthony T.Hincks

You have to dig deep for success. Often that means you have to keep digging beyond failures. Don't give up. ― Akiroq Brost

Recently, I was reading an article about how various successful people were told at one time in their life that they would never make it.  Here are a few interesting points that I read:

·       Thomas Edison was told by teachers that he was “Too stupid to learn anything”.

·       Oprah was fired from a television reporting job because she was “Unfit for tv”.

·       Fred Astaire performed in his first screen test and the MGM screen director wrote down, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”

·       Sidney Poitier was told by a casting director after his first audition “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?”

·       Lucille Ball was told she would never be an actress and that she should try a different profession. 

·       Theodor Seuss Giesel, which is the author of “The Cat in the Hat” and “Green Eggs and Ham”, was first rejected by 27 different publishers for his first book titled “To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street”.

Challenge:  Remember the dreams you have.  Focus on them.  Keep pushing forward AND BE CAREFUL WHO YOU LISTEN TO!

Resources

http://www.budbilanich.com/50-famous-people-who-failed-at-their-first-attempt-at-career-success/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 13th

Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction. - Germany Kent

A positive attitude can really make dreams come true - it did for me. - David Bailey

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. - Willie Nelson

Don't be pushed around by the fears in your mind. Be led by the dreams in your heart. ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

When negative thoughts come and finding the strength and passion to push forward is difficult, I have found it helpful to have ways to create a positive mindset.  Here are some of my suggestions:

1.       Help Other People – When I moved to Virginia, I knew no one.  Through my church, I found a great opportunity to volunteer at a local senior center once a month.  I have been volunteering for over a year painting fingernails and have learned that even when I am distraught about life volunteering changes my perspective. 

2.       Laugh – Through my volunteering, I have a “special friend”.  He is a nice 80-year old man that likes to talk to me.  He even gave me a Valentine’s Day card and I have coined him my “80-year old boyfriend”.  My friends laugh at me when I say this.  Valentine’s Day is not usually an easy time for me; however, this year I could not complain because I did receive a Valentine’s Day card!    

3.       Friends –  During the hard times, it is great to call or text friends.  Usually, I do not tell them I am down or discouraged.  Simply interacting with positive people changes my perspective.  

4.       Positive Music – Listening to positive upbeat music can change a person’s perspective.  According to a study in the Journal of Positive Psychology in 2013, two weeks of consistent positive music can help a person feel happier. 

5.       Remembrances – It is so important to remember the progress of how far we have come and events that have helped move us closer to our dreams.  This is often hard for me because I want my dreams immediately and I often forget what has already happened moving me closer to my dreams.  I learned that I have to hang up pictures or reminders from events that occurred and regularly look at them to encourage myself.  Also, I have a list of important dates reminding me of events/activities that occurred moving me closer to my dreams.  When I review these items, I am reminded that I am progressing toward my goals, the trials I am going through are developing my character and everything happens in perfect timing!

Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. - Joseph Campbell

Challenge: Find two ways to create a positive mindset for yourself.  Preparing in advance ways to change a mindset will help you immediately change your perspective instead of waiting until a negative mindset comes and then trying to figure out how to change it.

Resources

Choose Music to Boost Happiness: https://www.everydayhealth.com/depression/choose-music-to-boost-happiness-3267.aspx

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 6th

Be who you want to be, not what people want to see. – Unknown

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. — Eleanor Roosevelt

Be yourself.  The world worships an original. - Ingrid Bergman

Never let anyone tell you who you are, hold your head up high, look them in the eyes and TELL them who you are. - Sonya Parker

Last week, I wrote about the story of Monty Roberts receiving an “F” on a high school assignment and was given the opportunity to rewrite the paper for a better grade.  Monty told his teacher he could keep his F and Monty was going to keep his dream. 

This story greatly resonated with me as I have recently had people tell me that the dreams I am praying for are impossible.  Over the last month, I had an acquaintance ask me a question and then lecture me for five minutes about how I needed to walk away from a situation because it would never happen.  Another time I listened to a webinar and when I contacted the speaker to receive her husband’s perspective on a story she told, an employee of the company responded with her opinion of the question I asked and never tried to obtain the husband’s perspective.  

During the frustrating times when are dreams are not progressing at the pace we would like and people are telling us our dreams are impossible, these are the times to stay upbeat and have a positive mindset.  In the first example I gave above, the person I was talking with kept saying “What if” and my response was “Everything happens in perfect timing.”  Her response to me was “That is a positive person’s mindset”.

When people say your dreams are impossible and tell you why something is not going to happen, be gracious during the conversation, walk away when the conversation is over, take time to calm down and analyze what was said.  After these types of conversations, it is important to remember your purpose so that you can determine if what the person said is congruent with your life’s purpose or not.  If it is not, disregard what they said and move on.  If what they said is something you needed to hear, take time to analyze and incorporate changes into your life.

Remember that you have to work as hard as you can to accomplish your dreams and then leave the rest up to God. 

90% of life is about remaining calm. - Dr. Chris Feudtner

Challenge: Develop a process of how you will deal with negative and unsupportive people.