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

ndividuals and teams have a sense of ownership, and are focused, disciplined and collaborative, while holding each other accountable for outcomes. - Di Worrall, Accountability Leadership

My experience is that accountability is an extremely powerful tool to align an organization toward its objectives. - Susan Gomez

Good men prefer to be accountable. - Michael Edwardes

Simple organizational structure and clear accountability are necessary conditions for the exercise of effective leadership. - John Adair

A friend can inspire enthusiasm as well as accountability, and that serves to challenge you. - Deanna Cosso; Romuald Andrade, Success Cloning

On January 30th, I blogged that I was going to have an accountability partner for 2018 because someone asked me if I was interested in the opportunity.  I am a pretty disciplined individual, but I thought it might be beneficial to see how the process would work and if it would help me grow.  For this year, my accountability partner and I met in-person the first time and then all other communication have been via email.  We both have busy lives and trying to find time to meet would be to hard, but emails worked great!

Wikipedia defines an accountability partner as “a person who coaches another person in terms of helping the other person keep a commitment”.  For me, having an accountability partner pushed me even harder.  I knew that I would have someone asking how I was progressing on my goals, which challenged me to work more intently on accomplishing them.  Additionally, my accountability partner was very encouraging.  As I went through different parts of the year, I would email my accountability partner and give her updates.  She would be encouraging if I seemed down or if I was not making as much progress with a goal as I had hoped.

Lesson Learned: Accountability is important for SUCCESS!

CHALLENGE: If you found having an accountability partner helpful in 2018, start thinking about who you want to be your accountability partner in 2019.

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

Always appreciate what you have.  There are people who pray for the things we take for granted.  - Messages for the Soul

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, "thank you," that would suffice. - Meister Eckhart

Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. - W.J. Cameron

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day. - Robert Caspar Lintner

As I was thinking about the second lesson I learned this year and Thanksgiving this week, I thought back to the Pilgrims coming to the “New World”.  In September 1620, 102 people left Plymouth, England with dreams of the opportunity to freely practice their faith, prosperity and land ownership.  After 66 days of perilous and hazardous conditions, they dropped anchor near Cape Cod.  During their first winter, the Pilgrims suffered scurvy and contagious diseases. 

When we hear about Thanksgiving, we often hear about how the Pilgrims made it to the New World and nothing else.  However, it is important to remember that they suffered and struggled for their dreams to come true.  They did not give up because they hoped for a better life but were facing regular trials. Regularly, they were thankful for this new opportunity in the New World with religious freedom and for the relationships they established with the Indians that helped them establish their lives in the New World.

When times were difficult this year, I made myself find things to be thankful for such as finding a great parking spot, completion of all the tasks on my to-do list, encouragement from someone and my friends.  Like the pilgrims, it was a choice to be thankful even during the hard times.

Lesson Learned: Find Something to be Thankful for in Every Situation!

CHALLENGE: Make a list of the things you are thankful for in 2018.

Resource

https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving

https://pastorrick.com/an-attitude-of-gratitude-will-lower-your-stress/?roi=echo7-34624216462-53481466-e4f6affcbf1a37e732f5e6afac7187fd

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

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. - T.S. Eliot

A good goal is like a strenuous exercise – it makes you stretch. - Mary Kay Ash

By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination. - Christopher Columbus

As 2018 is coming to an end, I have been reminiscing about the year and reviewing my goals.  This has been an interesting year and not what I expected; however, I came up with 6 lessons I learned. 

On January 9, 2018, I challenged Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week readers to set “stretch goals”.  When I wrote about the “stretch goal” challenge, I challenged myself to read 50 books, which included the 11 books in a pile that had been sitting on a chair in my apartment (TTTW – February 20, 2018) for way to long.  When I set this stretch goal, I had two concerns:  

ü  Would this stretch goal prohibit me from building relationships?

ü  Would I learn something from each book I read since I would be averaging about a book a week or would I only be reading to accomplish the goal?

I accomplished my “stretch goal” of reading 50 books and I completed the pile of books around mid-August.  Even though I had this goal, I still attended different events throughout the year to build relationships including continuing to attend the after-church lunch group that I had been attending for over a year.  Additionally, shortly after finishing the pile of books in mid-August, I was asked to lead the after-church lunch group, which continually allows me the opportunity to work on leadership skills and relationship building. 

For 2019, I will probably lower my goal for the number of books I am going to read, but maintain a high number of pages to read.  As I was reading books this year, I noticed that I would choose a shorter book to increase the number of books read instead of reading a longer page book that might be more beneficial for learning to help accomplish my dreams and goals. 

Lesson Learned: Take the Challenge!

CHALLENGE: Finish strong with your “stretch goals” and start thinking about what stretch goals to establish for yourself in 2019.

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

Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause. - Abraham Lincoln

In valor there is hope. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! - Maya Angelou

Patriotism - love for or devotion to one's country

Over the weekend, I was talking with a Marine and he told me he chose to serve because of his love and devotion to our country and the desire to defend and protect others. 

As I thought about what he said, I started thinking about all of the men and women that have served this great country in the United States military.  My favorite soldier is my grandfather who flew planes during World War II in the Army Air Corps before it became the United States Air Force.  As I will tell anyone who will listen, I am a sassy Texan because of this great man. 

This coming Sunday, we have the opportunity to thank these amazing veterans who have protected our great country by serving in the United States military.  Because of these amazing men and women, TODAY Americans will be going to their polling locations to cast their ballot to vote in various elections.  These men and women dedicated their lives to protect and defend our great land so that ALL AMERICANS have the right to cast their ballot.

CHALLENGE: Today (Tuesday) – Vote; Sunday – Thank a veteran for his/her service!