Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 29th

Most people want to hear or tell a good story. But they don’t realize they can and should be the good story. That requires intentional living. - John C. Maxwell, Intentional Living: Choosing a Life That Matters

The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat. - Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

 

This blog post falls during the week where most people are recovering from Christmas and preparing for a new year.  As the author has talked about in many blog posts, 2020 has been a crazy year.  The reader does not know what 2021 will hold.  No one knows when the vaccine will be given to the majority of the population, how each person’s career will progress or what will happen in the reader’s personal life.  Each of us can leave this up to chance or we can determine what we want to accomplish in 2021 no matter what else happens.  Brene Brown states it well:

 

It’s not about ‘what can I accomplish?’ but ‘what do I want to accomplish?’ Paradigm shift.

 

This week as we rest, recover and relax, take time to contemplate what the reader wants to do in 2021 to make a difference.  Do not be limited in thinking.  Do not be limited in time, resources, etc.  Dream big and do not allow anything to hamper what the reader desires to accomplish in 2021. 

 

ACTION:  Spend 30 minutes writing down what you want to accomplish in 2021. 

 

Resource

·       https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slowing-down-to-go-fast/id1474171732?i=1000503269447

·       http://www.aleanjourney.com/2014/08/walt-disney-lean-thinker.html

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH3j3yR3Qx8

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87qPf5PTT1M&t=29s

·       http://www.aleanjourney.com/2014/08/walt-disney-lean-thinker.html

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 22nd

 Hope is the last thing ever lost. —Italian proverb. 

The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof. —Barbara Kingsolver

 

Hope is outreaching desire with expectancy of good. It is a characteristic of all living beings. —Edward S. Ame

 

Over the last couple of weeks, the author has talked about the things she has learned in 2020: perspective, simplicity, resiliency.  Today, the last topic the author learned we all need in life is: HOPE. 

 

For the author, there have been some very hard times, but what she learned is that she needs hope in life.  Merriam-Webster dictionary defines hope as: to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true.

 

The author learned that hope can be as simple as planning and living in expectation to visit a new state park, planning and implementing a night out with friends or scheduling a vacation and waiting to go visit the beach.

 

With hope, we focus on what is ahead and not what is behind.  Hope is the expectation of something amazing. 

 

Always focus on the front windshield and not the review mirror. ― Colin Powell

 

ACTION:  As we near 2021, start planning fun and exciting activities.  2020 may not have been a great year, but have hope that 2021 will be your best year ever. 

 

Resource

·       https://pastorrick.com/the-only-place-to-find-hope/

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC5IUss2_Qk

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvBK_wpqCi4

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 15th

 Failure is an important part of your growth and developing resilience. - Michelle Obama

 

Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough. - Og Mandino

 

·       George Washington lost a majority of the battles he fought in the American Revolution.

·       Napoleon graduated 42^nd out of 43^rd in his class and later domineered Europe as the Emperor of France.

·       Albert Einstein did not speak until he was at least 4 years old.  At 16, he failed to pass the entrance exam for the Swiss Polytechnic School.  Later, he revolutionized science and math.

 

Like the historical figures above, probably everyone has had to be resilient in 2020.  On June 2, 2020, the author discussed how we would have to be resilient like a palm tree to make it through the pandemic.  When we are pushed down like the branches of a palm tree during a hurricane, we are developing and growing.  2020 has probably been a growing year for everyone in some way or another.  To help push through and be resilient, the answer is:

 

Become more resilient by learning to focus on solutions rather than problems. - Byron Pulsifer, Personal Development Goals

 

Struggles are hard but once we overcome them, we gain something - maturity, wisdom, confidence, balance, tranquility, and of course, resilience. - Sharon Cook & Graciela Sholander, Dream It Do It

 

The author’s resilience in 2020 has developed and grown her.  She plans to continue to implement these qualities in her personal and professional life in 2021 to help her continue to push towards her goals and dreams.  

 

ACTION: What actions steps did you learn in 2020 about being resilient that you plan to continue to incorporate into your life in 2021?

 

Resource

·       https://pastorrick.com/why-we-dont-give-up/

·       https://www.wow4u.com/resiliencequotes/#:~:text=39%20Resilience%20Quotes%201%20You%20need%20to%20develop,the%20face%20of%20adversity.%20...%20More%20items...%20

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 8th

 The role of genius is not to complicate the simple, but to simplify the complicated. - Criss Jami

 

Simplicity was a major topic the author pondered in 2020.  Throughout the year, she discovered the need for simplicity in her personal and professional life including in materials items, her writing, decision-making and thoughts.  

 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication… - Leonardo da Vinci

 

The author has always loved the ocean, but discovered an increased love for it and discovered the peace the ocean provides due to the simplicity of waves rolling onto the shore when she traveled to the ocean in June and October.  When she became stressed or overwhelmed, the author played ocean waves on YouTube and looked at the ocean themed surroundings she placed in her apartment and was reminded of the beauty, simplicity and enjoyment the ocean brought her. 

 

Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful. - John Maeda

 

The author also discovered how easy chaos appears in her professional and personal life.  A simple statement, email or conversation can create chaos if she allows it to. 

 

Chaos is merely order waiting to be deciphered. - José Saramago, The Double

In 2021, the author will continue to work on deciphering the chaos to create simplicity and order in all areas of her life.

 

ACTION:  How did you incorporate simplicity into your life in 2020?  What actions do you plan to take to incorporate simplicity into 2021?

 

Resources

·       https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9010638-simplicity-is-the-ultimate-sophistication-when-once-you-have-tasted

·       https://www.inc.com/gordon-tredgold/simplicity-is-the-key-to-success-here-are-26-inspiring-quotes-to-help-you-on-tha.html

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - December 1st

 There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception. ― Aldous Huxley

 

It's all in the mind. ― George Harrison

 

Today as we launch into the last month of 2020, this is a great time to reflect on what we have learned this year.  The author has written about many things she has learned and over the next couple of weeks will reflect on a few thoughts. 

 

2020 was definitely not the year many of us expected and the author has worked very hard to keep a positive perspective.  Reflecting on the year, she remembers the day when the Virginia Governor announced there would be a state lockdown.  She was not happy and voiced her strong opinions to Mama Flow.  However, this year has turned out better than she expected.  The author has had the opportunity to travel to a few different places and found a new interest in state and national parks.  This may not seem like a big thing, but this has opened her to a new love of the outdoors.  These learning opportunities are preparing her to accomplishing her dreams. 

 

A pessimist sees the difficult in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill

 

The author learned that to have the perspective of this being a time of learning and growing, it was her decision. No one can make the author see the positive in a situation. 

 

Humans see what they want to see. ― Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief

 

 

ACTION:  What perspectives do you need to change to finish 2020 strong?  How will you change your perspective to make it positive? 

 

Resource

·       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/here-there-and-everywhere/201210/50-quotes-perspective

·       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Bo8ZUoqwg

·       https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4047/20-Inspiring-Quotes-to-Keep-Things-in-Perspective.html

·       https://www.joelosteen.com/inspiration/blogs/2018/10/02/00/47/Keep-the-Right-Perspective

·       https://joycemeyer.org/everydayanswers/ea-teachings/how-to-win-daily-battles-of-the-mind?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=December%202019%20eNewsletter%20US%20(Full)%20(1)%20remainder&utm_content=

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - November 24th

 Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy. – Jacques Maritain

 

When the pilgrims arrived at Plymouth, they gave thanks for safe travels and the blessings of the previous year.  That celebration developed into Thanksgiving in the United States.  This year, we have many things to be thankful just as the pilgrims were. 

 

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. – Cynthia Ozick

 

Often times, individuals that are goal-oriented focus on accomplishing goals especially towards the end of the year and often forget the people that are helping and have helped them accomplish their goals and dreams.  Assistance may have been provided by helping with grocery shopping, babysitting kids, being a sounding board about ideas, etc.  When we isolate and focus only on goals, we are drawn away from people and this isolation often blinds us from the needs of other people.  This isolation often peculates selfishness in individuals.  To help counteract selfishness, it is important to thank people that support and help us.  Verbally thanking people reminds us of our dependence on them and fosters a desire inside us to serve them instead of them serving us. 

 

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. – William Arthur Ward

 

ACTION:  Find 5 people this week and thank them for the various ways they have helped you accomplish your goals and dreams.

 

Resource

·       https://www.success.com/why-gratitude-makes-you-a-better-leader/

·       https://rotaryeclubhouston.org/stories/the-black-dot-story

·       https://alltimeshortstories.com/inspirational-the-black-dot/

·       https://www.success.com/why-gratitude-makes-you-a-better-leader/

·       https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/gratitude-quotes/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - November 17th

When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears. – Anthony Robbins

 

Thinking back to last week’s story about the how the college students focused on the black dot on the white piece of paper and not the surrounding space, it reminded the author of her apartment fire in 2019.  That was a difficult time where the author only focused on the situation and did not realize the blessings that would come from it.  Through that experience, she made amazing friends that are supportive and have richly blessed her life during social distancing in the pandemic. 

The author learned that every experience can turn out for our good.  During difficult times, we need to be grateful no matter the situation. 

 

Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty. – Doris Day

 

Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity. – Eckhart Tolle

 

 

ACTION:  During this time of pandemic, what are you grateful for?

 

Resource

·       https://rotaryeclubhouston.org/stories/the-black-dot-story

·       https://alltimeshortstories.com/inspirational-the-black-dot/

·       https://joycemeyer.org/everydayanswers/ea-teachings/thankfulness-the-key-to-having-the-life-you-really-want?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Journey%20Through%20the%20Word-November-2020%2011-1-2020&utm_content=&spMailingID=18006307&spUserID=MTI2ODY0MzIzNDUyS0&spJobID=2000041279&spReportId=MjAwMDA0MTI3OQS2

·       https://my.bible.com/users/tlflow0811/reading-plans/11819-7-day-anxiety-detox-tips-for-overcoming-anxiety/subscription/571337453/day/5/segment/0

·       https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/gratitude-quotes/

  

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - November 10th

At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us. – Albert Schweitzer

 

Recently, the author heard a story that gave her a new perspective on 2020.

 

A professor walked into his classroom and told his student there would be an unscheduled test, which caused fear in the students as they had not prepared.  Placing the papers on each student’s desk, he placed them face down.  When the students turned over the test, all the students saw was a black dot in the middle of the white piece of paper.  Seeing his perplexed students, the instructor told his class to write what they saw. 

 

Towards the end of the class, the instructor read the responses the students provided.  Every student discussed only the black dot on the paper by describing its size, its location on the paper, etc.  Silence fell over the classroom.  Standing at the front of the room, the instructor gave peace of mind to the students when he told them he would not be grading their test.  He proceeded to explain that no one discussed the white piece of paper.  They only focused on the dot in the middle of the page.  The professor explained that is how we are in life.  We have so many things to be grateful for and to experience, but we often only focus on the dark spots in life.    

 

Life is a present that we should be grateful for daily.  The problems encountered are often small; however, they are the focal point and the blessings are often missed.    

 

Each day when we wake up, we need to have the perspective on life of the white open space on the paper.  2020 may have seen like a humongous dark spot in life; however, there are so many things to be grateful for including waking up this morning, being able to read this blog post and for the freedom’s we have in this country. 

 

ACTION:  Tomorrow (November 11^th) is Veteran’s Day, which is a time to honor those who have protected our country to provide us the freedom’s we have.  Find a military veteran and thank them for your freedom.  There is always something to be thankful for. 

 

Resource

·       https://rotaryeclubhouston.org/stories/the-black-dot-story

·       https://alltimeshortstories.com/inspirational-the-black-dot/

·       https://joycemeyer.org/everydayanswers/ea-teachings/thankfulness-the-key-to-having-the-life-you-really-want?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Journey%20Through%20the%20Word-November-2020%2011-1-2020&utm_content=&spMailingID=18006307&spUserID=MTI2ODY0MzIzNDUyS0&spJobID=2000041279&spReportId=MjAwMDA0MTI3OQS2

·       https://my.bible.com/users/tlflow0811/reading-plans/11819-7-day-anxiety-detox-tips-for-overcoming-anxiety/subscription/571337453/day/5/segment/0

·       https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/gratitude-quotes/

  

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - November 3rd

 

There are 365 days and 52 weekends in a year. Even if you are short on time off, you can still take weekend getaways. Does that count as a vacation? Of course it does. – Anita Kaltenbaugh

 

A picture is a poem without words. - Horace

 

As discussed last week, the author like many Millennials has determined that she would rather spend her time and money on experiences instead of material items.  During these unique times, it is important to still engage in adventures and think outside the box for these experiences.  They do not have to be expensive or take a lot of time.  Millennials, like the author, want these adventures to grow them and create memories that will last a lifetime.

You don't take a photograph, you make it. - Ansel Adams

 

The author loves the beach and that will always be her favorite.  However, her adventures in state parks, museums, etc. have developed her character and created memories.  These memories have provided many conversational opportunities and challenged her thinking.  

Here are some inexpensive ideas for the reader to contemplate engaging in during the fall and winter seasons:

·       Go hiking in a state or national park

·       Take a walk near a lake or the ocean and embrace the calming water movements

·       Read outside with the beautiful fall leaves on the trees  

·       Shop at a local farmer’s market

·       Visit a museum or historical site

·       Play a round of golf…18 holes or miniature

·       Travel to a nearby town and experience its culture

A couple years ago, the author was trying to find adventures in the Virginia/D.C. area.  While researching online, she found a website that has weekend activities including museum openings or special exhibits, monuments and special events for the weekend.  Each Friday, the author reviews the website to determine if there are any adventures, she wants to take that weekend.

 

ACTION:  Take 15 minutes to research and write a list of ideas that are inexpensive that will allow you to create new memories. 

 

 

Resource

http://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/05/millennials-are-prioritizing-experiences-over-stuff.html

https://www.success.com/12-weekend-habits-of-successful-people/

https://everydaypower.com/weekend-quotes/

 

 

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

Travel makes a wise man better, and a fool worse. - Thomas Fuller (1608-1661)

 

According to a Harris Group study entitled “Fueling the Experience Economy”, 72% of millennials would rather spend money on experiences than materials things.  Through the years and especially 2020 as the author embarked on her quest for simplicity, she has come to the same conclusion that experiencing life is what she would rather invest in…both time and money.       

 

As the author discussed last week, her trip to Ocean City, Maryland gave her the opportunity to mark another destination of her travel list and she learned about the Assateague horses.  Here are some additional thoughts from her trip:

 

Change of environment

When the author left town on Saturday morning, she had been stressing over a decision she made.  In her mind, she knew she could not change it, but was concerned she made the wrong decision.  Indecisiveness is not what the author strives for in her quest for simplicity and she knew she had to overcome the thoughts in her mind.  About an hour and a half into her drive, the author had peace and knew she made the right decision. 

 

Additionally, changing the environment the author was in provided her the opportunity to clear her mind and start thinking about what she wanted to accomplish in 2021.  Based on the current situation, we have no idea when life will “get back to normal” so we need to start creating our 2021 goals as if we will be in the pandemic lockdown for a while longer.  This time allowed the author to start dreaming about what a successful 2021 will look like. 

 

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind. -Seneca

 

A wise man travels to discover himself. -James Russell Lowell

 

Relaxation

As the author said, the trip was very relaxing and it allowed her to get out of her 800 square foot apartment.  Walking on the beach was wonderful and the author picked up a number of seashells that she is using to decorate her apartment.  She lost a “fight” with the ocean and the waves covered her running shoes a couple times and they were soaked.  The sand that accumulated in her running shoes was brought back to Virginia and is being used to decorate with the seashells.  Laughing at the situation was a great reminder of how laughter provides an outlet and relaxes an individual. 

 

Laughter is an instant vacation. – Milton Berle

 

No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell. -Jewish Proverb

 

ACTION:  Fall is here and winter is not far off.  What opportunities can you create for yourself in the coming months to change your environment and relax?

 

Resource

http://eventbrite-s3.s3.amazonaws.com/marketing/Millennials_Research/Gen_PR_Final.pdf

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/05/05/millennials-are-prioritizing-experiences-over-stuff.html