Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 30, 2024

 Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. – Coco Chanel

 

Over the last couple of weeks, the author has been recapping lessons from almost ten years of Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week.  Lessons discussed include:

1.      Know when to end something.

2.      To accomplish anything, an individual has to start.

3.      The importance of a growth mindset and mental toughness.

In 2020, the author spent a couple months discussing simplicity. Dictionary.com defines simplicity as the state, quality, or an instance of being simple; freedom from complexity, intricacy, or division into parts; absence of luxury, pretentiousness, ornament, etc.; plainness; freedom from deceit or guile; sincerity; artlessness; naturalness; lack of mental acuteness or shrewdness.

The author’s quest for simplicity started while watching a sunrise in Virginia Beach, Virginia and then hearing a podcast by Patrick Lencioni. In that podcast, Lencioni quoted Leonardo da Vinci:

 

Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.

 

Over the years, the author has continually worked on her journey to simplicity. Through this journey, the author has tried to remove the complexity in life and make situations simpler. Simplicity created peace in the author’s life, and she added elements of a beach paradise in her home in Fort Worth just like she had her apartment in 2020 to remind herself to continue on the journey of simplicity.

 

The author’s role model for simplicity has been Audrey Hepburn. Her style was always known as simple sophistication, but her life also revealed simplicity.

 

Only simple people know what love is. Complicated people try so hard to make an impression that they soon run out of patience. – Audrey Hepburn

 

Simple is not a bad word. Simple people are usually known as the most sensible individuals and know how to focus on what is important in life: love, family, faith, and others.

 

Our society today is fast-paced, technology-driven and pressured to accomplish the next goal, dream, or big thing. In life, it is so important to remember the simple things as they are what really matter and make a difference.

 

ACTION: How do you have simplicity in your life?

Resource:

https://exploringyourmind.com/7-inspiring-quotes-audrey-hepburn/

https://totallyhistory.com/the-timeless-elegance-of-audrey-hepburn-a-life-of-grace-and-resilience/

https://catherinerobinsoncashmere.com/the-essence-of-simplicity-audrey-hepburn/

 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 23, 2024

 Becoming is better than being. - Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

 We like to think of our champions and idols as superheroes who were born different from us. We don’t like to think of them as relatively ordinary people who made themselves extraordinary. -  Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Our minds and thoughts are one of the biggest issues we must overcome to accomplish our goals and dreams.

In July 2014, the author read Mindset by Carol Dweck and decided it was time to develop a growth mindset. Through the process, she learned that it is easy to try new things and it is just as easy to resort back to the previous negative mindset. When we decide to move to a growth mindset, we must remember during transitions to notice the changes in ourselves even though we may not see a complete change.

In the fixed mindset, everything is about the outcome. If you fail—or if you’re not the best—it’s all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome . They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues. Maybe they haven’t found the cure for cancer, but the search was deeply meaningful. - Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

A growth mindset is a belief that a person’s skills and talents can increase over time if one puts forth the time and effort to improve.

Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going. - Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

This growth mindset will help develop mental toughness, which the author discussed for a number of months in 2021. A Navy SEAL trains for his purpose, but is also flexible and adaptable to help his teammates because of his training and mental toughness.

Mental Toughness is a personality trait that determines your ability to perform consistently under stress and pressure, and is closely related to qualities such as character, resilience, grit and perseverance. – David Goggin

 

People think SEALs are cold-blooded, heartless, wound-up, brainwashed killers. They imagine you can just point a SEAL in a direction and say, 'Go kill.' The truth is you're talking about a bunch of kind-hearted, jovial guys. The only thing that separates them is mental toughness. – Howard E. Wasdin

ACTION: Our mindset makes the difference in every situation. Do you have a growth mindset? Do you have mental toughness? Do you believe that you can improve and develop over time if you put forth the effort? Do you have the persistence and tenacity to push forward to accomplish your goals and dreams? Your mindset is what will catapult you to your future.

Resource:

https://www.bing.com/search?q=growth+mindset+definition&cvid=9cf2a24057c64eed936a7c85bf553bd6&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIGCAEQABhAMgYIAhAAGEAyBggDEAAYQDIGCAQQABhAMgYIBRAAGEAyBggGEAAYQDIGCAcQABhAMgYICBAAGEDSAQg0ODYyajBqNKgCCLACAQ&FORM=ANAB01&PC=HCTS

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 16, 2024

 If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it. - Olin Miller

 There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting. – Buddha

 

The next lesson the author has learned over almost ten years of writing the blog: To accomplish anything, you have to start.

A great example is this week’s blog post. The author has the topics she wants to cover over the coming weeks, but had a crazy last twelve days and had to develop how to write this. A couple times the author had ideas, but never jotted them down. Once she finally took the time, she was able to write the post and then let it set and made updates and improvements.

Rarely is something perfect on the first try. A new idea takes time to percolate and make improvements. Dreams are seldom accomplished on the first try or first thought. Start and see what happens. 

Another hindrance to starting is fear. To overcome the fear, just start.

 ACTION: What have you feared and not started. This week, start the task, goal, or dream.

Resource:

https://pastorrick.com/take-a-step-of-faith-in-spite-of-your-fear-3/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 9, 2024

You can do anything, but not everything. – Jon Acuff

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. –

Seneca

I started this blog because I was leading a lady’s group at my church, and it was suggested to me that I should write a weekly blog to encourage ladies and share my wisdom. That was in July 2014. In the almost 10 years I have been writing Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week, I have lived in Austin, Texas, Arlington, Virginia for 5 years and now Fort Worth, Texas. There have been many life changes, some amazing and some sad. Throughout, I have shared what I learned from each event and how it moved me closer to accomplishing my dreams.

Now, I share that I have decided to end this blog after at my 500^th post. My life is changing, and new doors of opportunity are opening for me that need my full attention. Over the coming weeks, I am going to highlight some of my favorite blog posts I have written over the years.

For today, the lesson is to learn when to end something. This decision has been coming for over a year. I knew I still had more to share, but I also knew the end was coming. As I continue to recover from perfectionism, ending at my 500th blog seemed fitting.

 Unfortunately, perfectionism dies slowly. It’s persistent and particularly dangerous because it masquerades as excellence. - Jon Acuff

 

ACTION: Is there something in your life that you have known for a while you need to end? This task/action may still give you joy or it may not. Other priorities may need to take the top spot in your life. What steps do you need to do to end the task/action?

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 2, 2024

 Carve out and claim the time to care for yourself and kindle your own fire. - Amy Ippoliti

Self-care is a deliberate choice to gift yourself with people, places, things, events, and opportunities that recharge our personal battery and promote whole health—body, mind, and spirit. - Laurie Buchanan, PhD

Welcome to April!

To finish up the first quarter update from the author, the author continues to focus on meeting new people and networking. As she discussed last week, the author has been going to different activities with friends. Some of the events attended provided the author the opportunity to network with local business owners, business leaders, political contacts, etc. Networking can occur at any activity and intersects in various ways.

In addition, the author has worked on her style in the first quarter by reading articles, going to stores to view the current trends, etc. The author knows the best attire for her body and knows that she wants to have a simple, sophisticated style like Audrey Hepburn, and she continues to strive toward that.

Lastly, the author analyzed her goals for the first quarter of the year. The author is listening to podcasts, going to events, hanging out with friends, and volunteering. With the various activities and work, the author does need to focus on her reading goal. Also, the author will focus on visiting new places now that the weather has improved since spring has arrived.

ACTION: How are your goals progressing this year? What changes will you make in the next three months to catapult you to success at the end of 2024?