Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 31, 2023

 Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. – Proverb

Enjoy the little things. For one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. - Robert Brault

As we begin the “gratitude month” tomorrow, the author wanted to start the month explaining how gratitude impacts our lives. It is impossible to be grateful and negative at the same time. According to “The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain”, the benefits of gratitude include psychological, physical and social. Psychologically, gratitude provides the reader with a positive outlook on life. Physically, gratitude provides a fitter persona. And socially, gratitude provides an overall better self, including stronger communication, empathy and better relationships.

What does it take to have these benefits of gratitude? There is no grand gesture needed to have these benefits. If we say thank you to someone or we receive the same feedback from an individual, our feeling is of joy and encouragement. Simple expressions of thankfulness help develop relationships, handle difficulties and overcome discouragement with gratitude and motivation.  

For the author, she often tells her boss that she is the pessimist and her boss is the optimist. For the month of November, the author is challenging herself to turn negative emotions into gratitude moments where she finds some aspect of gratitude to change her perspective. When the author came up with this idea, she had a hard week, but the morning she wrote this blog post she wrote at least three things in her gratitude journal after returning from her morning run. Her gratitude included the rain stopping while she ran, finding her trash can that ended up at the end of the street after a bad storm the night before and Fort Worth receiving four inches of rain that was desperately needed.  The whole day the author’s perspective was grateful instead of negative.   

ACTION:  As tomorrow is November 1^st, how will you change your habits to have gratitude moments instead of negative emotions to receive the many benefits that gratitude bestows on us? 

Resource

•       Chowdhury, M. R. (2019, April 9).   The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain. PositivePsychology.com.  https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 24, 2023

 Good character is the single most important attribute of a successful and worthy life. - Michael Josephson

Character is more important than intelligence for success. – Gilberte Beaux

When the author thinks of character, she thinks of various words, so she decided to see what Merriam-Webster defined it as.  Character is “one of the attributes (see ATTRIBUTE entry 1 sense 1) or features that make up and distinguish an individual”.

In last week’s tip, the story of John Stephen Akhwari was discussed.  Akhwari had setbacks when he was running the marathon, but his character was strong, and he finished the marathon no matter what challenges he encountered.

When the author heard this story, she thought about her own life.  It has not been an easy year and she has had some difficult times.  Through the challenges, the author hopes that her character has been strong and showed through. 

Many things will come and go, but one’s character will last forever.

ACTION: Through difficult times, how does your character hold up?  What can you do to work on that going forward?

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 17, 2023

 Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently. - Maya Angelou

I never thought of stopping. – John Stephen Akhwari

John Stephen Akhwari…a name most readers have not heard of; however, he is a man that we all should remember and challenge ourselves to be like. Akhwari ran the marathon in the 1968 Olympics for Tanzania. He did not win a medal, but taught the world a great lesson.  

John Stephen Akhwari never expected to win the marathon, but his dreams were devastated when the high altitude affected him, and cramps slowed him down. Additionally, while jockeying for a position, Akhwari toppled to the ground and slit and dislocated his knee. When he fell, his shoulder hit the pavement causing another injury. The spectators thought he would withdraw from the marathon, but instead he received medical attention and returned to the race.

With a few thousand spectators in the stands, Akhwari finally crossed the finish line limping, in last place with the bandage from his leg flying in the wind. By the time he finished, all of the medals had been awarded. Akhwari was asked why he continued after so many setbacks while running, his response was “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race,” he said. “They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”

In 1970, Akhwari competed again and finished fifth in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games and also competed in the 10,000m. Making it to the Olympics showed that Akhwari was a great runner, but his passion and determination to finish the race even when he had to overcome so much adversity showed his character.

As we move closer to the end of the year, Akhwari is a great reminder of how we need to “stick with it” as we push toward the end of the year.

ACTION: What lessons did you learn from Akhwari’s story?

Resources

•       https://olympics.com/ioc/news/-i-never-thought-of-stopping-marathon-man-akhwari-on-his-epic-effort-at-the-68-games/

•       https://olympics.com/en/news/marathon-man-akhwari-demonstrates-superhuman-spirit

•       https://www.lyrahealth.com/resources/guide/managers-guide-to-preventing-employee-burnout/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=pa-2022-q3-search-bing-managers-guide-preventing-burnout-2022&utm_content=preventing-burnout-managers-guide-2022&utm_term=reduce%20burnout&campaignid=424270955&adgroupid=1364495321297599&adid=&msclkid=69dde5d482651c5fe1c580f79f8ffd2e

•       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-to-be-yourself/202105/7-ways-to-recover-from-burnout

•       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout

•       https://thestrive.co/quotes-about-focus/

•       Foy, Terri Savelle.(Executive Producer). (2023). Live Your Dreams [TV Series]. Victory Television.

•       https://wisdomquotes.com/goals-quotes/#:~:text=Review%20your%20goals%20twice%20every%20day%20in%20order,and%20you%E2%80%99ll%20be%20more%20motivated%20on%20tough%20days

•       https://www.success.com/18-motivational-quotes-about-successful-goal-setting/

•       https://www.govictory.com/episode/live-your-dreams/

•       https://www.christywright.com/e/BAh7BjoWZW1haWxfZGVsaXZlcnlfaWRsKwhzE%2FyRAgA=--d3f4c547c69fe49039fbb4f14ebed8ebab970779?cid=3fdceb97-8044-4840-b7ad-edbd62ddd668&skip_click_tracking=true

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 10, 2023

 Burnout happens when you avoid being human for too long. – theblissfulmind.com

If you do not pick a day to relax, then your body will pick it for you. – Jim Rohn

Burn out is not an indication of how much work someone has. Burn out is a failure to schedule recovery. – Brendon Burchard

As the author discussed last week, she hit burnout this year. It has not been an easy year and she has struggled with many things. To help prevent and overcome burnout, here are some ideas the author is implementing in her life:

Volunteer – When we serve others, our perspective changes and our joy and energy are renewed by serving others.

Energy – As the author has discussed throughout the year, she has focused on her sleep and clean eating. To help recover and be ready for the next day, our energy needs to be renewed daily.

Fun – The author has taken a couple trips, but the author has stopped doing weekend adventures. For the author, she needs to continue her adventures as they bring her joy and help her disconnect from work.

End the day – The author is a morning person and should be done with work around 4:00pm. Her coworkers are not early birds and continue to work after the author should be done. To ensure she is fast to respond, the author leaves her computer on and regularly checks it. This past weekend, the author turned off her computer and phone, which indicated an end to her day and had a fun filled weekend. Everyone needs a daily shut down routine to move from work to family no matter if they work from home or travel to an office.

ACTION:  What ideas are you implementing in your life to help prevent burnout in your life?

Resources

•       https://www.lyrahealth.com/resources/guide/managers-guide-to-preventing-employee-burnout/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=paidsearch&utm_campaign=pa-2022-q3-search-bing-managers-guide-preventing-burnout-2022&utm_content=preventing-burnout-managers-guide-2022&utm_term=reduce%20burnout&campaignid=424270955&adgroupid=1364495321297599&adid=&msclkid=69dde5d482651c5fe1c580f79f8ffd2e

•       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-to-be-yourself/202105/7-ways-to-recover-from-burnout

•       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout

•       https://thestrive.co/quotes-about-focus/

•       Foy, Terri Savelle.(Executive Producer). (2023). Live Your Dreams [TV Series]. Victory Television.

•       https://wisdomquotes.com/goals-quotes/#:~:text=Review%20your%20goals%20twice%20every%20day%20in%20order,and%20you%E2%80%99ll%20be%20more%20motivated%20on%20tough%20days

•       https://www.success.com/18-motivational-quotes-about-successful-goal-setting/

•       https://www.govictory.com/episode/live-your-dreams/

• https://www.christywright.com/e/BAh7BjoWZW1haWxfZGVsaXZlcnlfaWRsKwhzE%2FyRAgA=--d3f4c547c69fe49039fbb4f14ebed8ebab970779?cid=3fdceb97-8044-4840-b7ad-edbd62ddd668&skip_click_tracking=true

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - October 3, 2023

 Tough times never last. Tough people do. – Robert Schuller

 Burnout, occurs because we’re trying to solve the same problem over and over. – Susan Scott

Happy October! As the author is writing this blog post, she is sitting on an airplane on her way to beautiful, cool San Diego, California. This will be the first consecutive days off this year the author has had.

Over the months, the author has mentioned that she has been covering for a coworker at work. This started in February and due to unforeseen circumstances, it ended up being 8 months as of the writing of this blog post. To say the author is worn out is an understatement.

The author talks about goal-achievement, and she is an overachiever pushing herself to help others and usually forgets to take care of herself. Sleep is usually the indicator for the author that her life is out of whack when she wakes up at 1, 2 or 3am remembering things that she needs to do.

Throughout this time, the author researched burnout and believes she hit it. According to Psychology Today, “Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. Though it’s most often caused by problems at work, it can also appear in other areas of life, such as parenting, caretaking, or romantic relationships.”

Additionally, through this process, the author has learned she has a pride issue that she needs to work on. She is having to work through not always being the best at everything and focusing on those areas where she can make a difference.

ACTION: Have you ever experienced burnout? If so, what actions have you implemented in your life to not end up there again? If the reader has not reached burnout, what can you do now to help prevent this from happening to you in the future?

Resources

•       https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/burnout

•       https://thestrive.co/quotes-about-focus/

•       Foy, Terri Savelle.(Executive Producer). (2023). Live Your Dreams [TV Series]. Victory Television.

•       https://wisdomquotes.com/goals-quotes/#:~:text=Review%20your%20goals%20twice%20every%20day%20in%20order,and%20you%E2%80%99ll%20be%20more%20motivated%20on%20tough%20days

•       https://www.success.com/18-motivational-quotes-about-successful-goal-setting/

•       https://www.govictory.com/episode/live-your-dreams/

•       https://www.christywright.com/e/BAh7BjoWZW1haWxfZGVsaXZlcnlfaWRsKwhzE%2FyRAgA=--d3f4c547c69fe49039fbb4f14ebed8ebab970779?cid=3fdceb97-8044-4840-b7ad-edbd62ddd668&skip_click_tracking=true