Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 12th

Follow your heart, listen to your inner voice, stop caring about what others think. ― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

You will never follow your own inner voice until you clear up the doubts in your mind. ― Roy T. Bennett

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” ―Thomas Jefferson

As we continue on our journey to accomplish our dreams and goals, it is always great to be reminded how important the mind is on this journey.  To prove this statement, science is a great resource.        

Dr. Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist, decided to research the perception on how much we think we exercise compared to how our bodies actually look.  Langer talked with hotel maids to see how much they feel they worked out.  As we all know, they are very active in their jobs, but 67% of the maids did not believe they worked out and about 33% did not believe they got any exercise at all. 

The researchers measured the maids body measurements that would indicate overall health including body-fat, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, weight and body mass index.  These numbers indicated the maids’ perception of not exercising even though their job had them regularly exercising. 

Langer divided up the 84 maids into two groups.  Half of the group was told how many calories each of their daily activities burned and also told them that the surgeon general considered their lifestyles to be “active” based on their jobs.  When the researchers returned one month later, the educated group had a decrease in their systolic blood pressure, weight and waist-to-hip ratio.  Additionally, there was a 10 percent drop in the 42 maids blood pressure.  There was concern that the maids had changed their behavior and that is why the decrease may have happened.  However, researchers talked with both the maids and their managers and there was no change in their behavior. 

Langer believes that the change in the maids’ measurements was simply a change in their mindset because they had been educated about how much exercise they did daily.  She believes that our bodies may respond to a mindset over what we are actually doing. 

If you have a strong mind and plant in it a firm resolve, you can change your destiny. ―Paramahansa Yogananda

CHALLENGE: How do you need to change your mindset to help you accomplishing your dreams and goals?

Resources

http://jnsci.org/files/html/2017/e384.htm

Change Your Thoughts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-aBnBtsYKY

Positive Affirmations to Change Your Attitude - https://www.terri.com/positive-affirmations-to-change-your-attitude/

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17792517

https://businessthinking.com/podcasts/ellen-langer-1

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - March 5th

Become your own success story, not someone else's. - Stephen Richards

When dreams are not clear, the results are often as blurred. You won't be able to arrive at your desired destination if you are not certain of where you're going. You have to be able to see clearly and perfectly. -  Jan Mckingley Hilado, Rich Real Radical: 40 Lessons from a Magna Cum Laude and a College Drop Out

Visualization engages the mind and encourages the body. - Lorii Myers, No Excuses, The Fit Mind-Fit Body Strategy Book

We've been given the power to have what we visualize, but we tend to visualize what we already have. - Tommy Newberry, The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life

To finish the discussion about visualization, here are some tips: 

1. Be comfortable & relax - Visualize in the morning after waking up and right before going to bed because these are times when we are most relaxed and have a positive mindset.  This process should take 10 minutes or less each time. 
   
2. Visualize accomplishing dreams in very specific pictures.  Include location, clothing, facial expressions, body movements, smells, noises, emotions, other people involved, etc.  
3. State each goal and then visualize “as if” it is already completed.  Jack Canfield discusses in his blog post titled “Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes: A Step-by-Step Guide”, visualizing goals as already completed causes a conflict in the subconscious between what we are visualizing and the current situation.  Our minds then work to resolve the conflicting “scenes” and create the reality we imagined. 
4. When visualizing, remember to visualize completing the task perfectly.  As stated in last week’s blog post, if the basketball players visualized missing a free throw, the next time they visualized making the free throw.  
5. Repeat daily.  The basketball players consistently visualized making their free throws for 20 consecutive days and increased their free throw percentage!

CHALLENGE: Start visualizing “scenes” of yourself accomplishing your dreams and goals. 

Resources

Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes: A Step-by-Step Guide - https://www.jackcanfield.com/blog/visualize-and-affirm-your-desired-outcomes-a-step-by-step-guide/

5 tips for making visualization work - http://drdavidhamilton.com/5-tips-for-making-visualisation-work/

5 Secret Tips for Successful Visualization - https://www.applythelawofattraction.com/successful-visualization/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - February 26th

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. - Henry Ford

Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose. – Bo Bennett

I see myself doing what it is I want to do, and I do not let go of this picture until it manifests. – Suzanne Somers

Imagination is everything.  It is the preview of life's coming attractions. - Albert Einstein

Does visualization really work?  Is there science behind it? 

Australian psychologist Alan Richardson conducted a study to determine if visualization would help basketball players improve their free throw percentage.  He selected random students that had never practiced visualization before and divided the students into three groups.  Group one practiced free throws every day for 20 days, group two practiced free throws on the first and twentieth day of the study and group three practiced free throws on the first and twentieth day of the study AND ALSO spent 20 minutes every day of the study visualizing making free throws.  If they missed their shot, they practiced getting the next shot in the basketball hoop. 

According to Richardson’s results, group one, which practiced their free throws every day, improved their free throw percentage rate by 24 percent.  The second group did not improve at all.  Group three, which visualized their free throws for 20 minutes every day, improved their free throw percentage by 23 percent, which is almost the same as those who practiced every day. 

The Llewellyn Encyclopedia states that visualization assists athletes in their success by increased confidence and motivation.  They also believe that a less obvious benefit of visualization is that it sharpens the muscle memory of athletes, which helps the athlete when they physical engage in the activity.

If visualization provides confidence, motivation and increased muscle memory, how would it assist someone who visualizes paying off debt, walking across the stage to receive a diploma for college graduation or finishing a marathon?

CHALLENGE: Based on last week’s “scenes” to visualize, what thoughts/actions do you need to visualize to accomplish your goals?  

Resources

https://expertenough.com/1898/visualization-works

http://jnsci.org/files/html/2017/e384.htm

Visualize Your Dream Life - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqu81F4WZq8

http://www.sportpsychologytoday.com/sport-psychology-for-coaches/the-power-of-visualization/

https://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/article/244

https://www.powerofpositivity.com/7-incredible-studies-that-prove-the-power-of-the-mind/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - Febraury 19th

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. - Thomas A. Edison

You become what you believe. - Oprah

What you think, you become. What you feel, you attract. What you imagine, you create. - Buddha

Now that productivity has increased, it is time to start focusing more on goals and dreams.  Many successful people visualize accomplishing their goals before they actually accomplish them.  In essence, they have thought through every aspect of the dreams and goals before they achieve success.

According to Merriam -Webster dictionary, visualization is:  

• formation of mental visual image
• the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form
• the process of making an internal organ or part visible by the introduction (as by swallowing) of a radiopaque substance followed by radiography

In Alejandro Reyes’s article Does Visualization Really Work? Here’s Evidence That It Does, he says in layman’s terms that visualization is “recreating all the images, sounds and feelings in your mind surrounding an activity in order to practice in a perfect environment”.

Here are a three people that have visualized their way to success: 

• Kenya Moore said in People magazine in 2018 that she visualized that she was already Miss America and even had “everyone referring to me as ‘Kenya Moore, Miss USA 1993”.  She won Miss America that same year.   
• Nate Sharansky was imprisoned in Russia for 13 years after being accused of spying for the United States.  While in solitary confinement, he claimed to mentally have played chess against himself to remain sane.  Ten years after being released he defeated Garry Kasparov, which was the world chess champion at the time, based on his visualization during his imprisonment.  
• Jack Nicklaus said: 

I never hit a shot, not even in practice, without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head.

CHALLENGE: Start thinking about your dreams and goals for 2019 and what “scenes” you want to visualize as if you were accomplishing them because you will!

Resources

https://www.powerofpositivity.com/7-incredible-studies-that-prove-the-power-of-the-mind/

https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17792517

https://expertenough.com/1898/visualization-works

http://jnsci.org/files/html/2017/e384.htm

https://www.wikihow.com/Visualize

Visualize Your Dream Life - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iqu81F4WZq8

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/beauty-queens-whove-had-the-most-success-in-hollywood/ss-BBMX8zi#image=38

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natan_Sharansky

https://www.jackcanfield.com/blog/visualize-and-affirm-your-desired-outcomes-a-step-by-step-guide/

https://www.gltgolf.com/golf-news-tips/golf-psychology-pre-shot-routine-jack-nicklaus-and-visualization.html

Success Secret: Visualization Part 1 - https://www.terri.com/success-secret-visualization-pt-1

Success Secret: Visualization Part 2 - https://www.terri.com/success-secret-visualization-pt-2/

Success Secret: Visualization Part 3 - https://www.terri.com/success-secret-visualization-pt-3/

Success Secret: Visualization Part 4 - https://www.terri.com/success-secret-visualization-pt-4/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expectancy_theory

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - Febraury 12, 2019

If I need to remind myself to bring something with me in the morning, I’ll usually put my car keys on top of it. - Des Traynor

Where your attention goes, your time goes. - Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability

Time management is about life management. - Idowu Koyenikan, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability

Consistency established your reputation. – Terri Savelle Foy

Here are the last three productivity suggestions:

Reclaim Dead Time

Going to a lot of events in D.C., I often have a lot of “dead time”.  With the traffic in this town and metro issues, I allow extra time in my schedule to make sure I am not late to an event.  Quite often, I arrive early and have a 20- or 30-minute wait before a meeting.  With this “dead time”, I have learned to take a book with me to read, sometimes I listen to a podcast or catch up on phone calls.  By having something to do during “dead time”, productivity increases!

Limit Number of Times Checking Email

Technology is wonderful, but it can be one of the biggest prohibitors of productivity.  It is very easy to get distracted when a “ding” sounds or when waiting “patiently” for someone to respond to an email.  Many experts suggest limiting the number of times in a day email is reviewed.  Some productivity experts recommend two times per day (morning and evening).  To make sure email does not overwhelm at the end of the day, the author suggests three times a day.  Check in the morning, around lunch to handle any issues from the morning and then check at the end of the day.  For the mid-day email check, it would be wise to limit the amount of time spent checking email or the whole afternoon could be spent “cleaning” out email.

Get Organized and Clean Out

When Opportunity Comes, It’s Too Late to Prepare. – John Wooten

As we are going full force and dreaming of “magic” for the year, it is important to be prepared when it comes.  During slow times when the weather is cold and now that football is over, it is a great time to prepare for dreams.  Does that mean a busier life may be in the future and cleaning out the house needs to occur?  Does that mean writing a book and being prepared when you meet the publisher?  That is for you to decide!

Preparation time is NEVER wasted time! – Terri Savelle Foy

CHALLENGE: What actions can you do now to prepare for when your dreams come true?   DO IT!

Resources

Terri Savelle Foy - https://www.facebook.com/terrisavellefoy/ - February 2, 2019

5 Bad Habits Successful People Ditched Long Ago - https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-bad-habits-successful-people-ditched-long-ago

The World's Most Successful People Don't Actually Start Work at 4 a.m. They Wake and Work Whenever the (Heck) They Decide - https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-worlds-most-successful-people-dont-actually-start-work-at-4-am-they-wake-work-whenever-heck-they-decide.html

The Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying_n_3640593.html

15 ways to be more productive and manage your time better, according to career experts - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/15-ways-to-be-more-productive-and-manage-your-time-better-according-to-career-experts/ss-BBQxtk1?ocid=spartanntp#image=1

The "Block Schedule" System - LIFE CHANGING productivity hack! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BKuSlstIBM&t=720s

10 Habits Of Unsuccessful People You Don’t Want To Copy - https://dariusforoux.com/10-habits-of-unsuccessful-people-you-dont-want-to-copy/

10 Bad Habits That Successful People Avoid - http://www.theelpodcast.com/10-bad-habits-that-successful-people-avoid/

5 steps to stop procrastinating once and for all  - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/5-steps-to-stop-procrastinating-once-and-for-all/ss-BBPMchz?ocid=spartanntp

5 Morning Rituals to Boost Your Productivity - https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/5-morning-rituals-to-boost-your-productivity.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - February 5th

People think, 'If I could only get motivated, then I'll act.' Nope. In actuality, it's the opposite. - Brendon Burchard

Waking up early, connecting with nature, and having my quiet time are priorities to me, and they are non-negotiable. - Danette May

If I fail to follow my morning routine I try to get a hard workout in. A hard workout is like a manual restart of the day. - Aubrey Marcus

Routines are powerful when they become rituals that no longer require conscious thought and willpower. Without iteration, however, they can become stale and can be hard to keep up. - Joel Gascoigne

Readers of this blog know I am a routine person.  Recently, I had a dream about my morning routine and that is when I knew had come to a new level of intention about my routines!

Morning Routine

Some articles state that to be successful a person has to be a morning person that gets up at 4am or they have to work out before they go to the office.  However, I would challenge that there is no right way to have a morning routine.  I am an individual that wakes up at 5am no matter what time I go to bed probably because I have been getting up early for so many years of my life.  However, there are some people that can not get out of bed until 7am.  No matter what time you get up, it is important to incorporate a morning routine into your life. 

Now is a great time to think about what you want to accomplish each morning.  Being a month into the year, have you said, “I wish I still didn’t do that” in the morning?  What do you need to incorporate or change in your life to make it easier in the morning?

For me, I have my morning routine of getting up, turning on a podcast, going to the gym and then return to my apartment to start completing my daily tasks.  Rarely do I stray from this and when I do, I can honestly say my whole day feels off.

Nightly Routine

After my technology detox realization, I did start thinking about what technology I wanted to remove from my life.  For me, I love to read and always want to take time to read when I can.  One of my favorite things to do in the evening was to complete my nightly activities and then climb into bed to read.  However, the problem for me is that reading in the evening actually puts me to sleep. 

At the beginning of 2019, I changed my nightly routine.  I changed my routine to where I now read from 7-8pm allowing me to be awake and learning while reading.  After that, I now clean up my apartment and prepare for the next day.  Then, I climb into bed and do something with technology.  Many scientist and doctors would be aghast at this because they believe the light from phones or iPads, etc. can actually spark brain function causing people to stay awake.  However, at this time, I do not agree with these individuals.  I have no problem falling asleep after scrolling through Facebook, watching a television show or a movie on my phone.  For me, it allows my mind to wander, relax and then I fall asleep. 

CHALLENGE: Evaluate your morning and nightly routines.  What changes do you need to make to make your life more productive?  Remember that there is no perfect way and it should be what is best for you. 

Resources

The 5 Morning Habits That Make Me Super-Productive - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMrnsi8Vgxw&feature=youtu.be

The World's Most Successful People Don't Actually Start Work at 4 a.m. They Wake and Work Whenever the (Heck) They Decide - https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-worlds-most-successful-people-dont-actually-start-work-at-4-am-they-wake-work-whenever-heck-they-decide.html

15 ways to be more productive and manage your time better, according to career experts - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/15-ways-to-be-more-productive-and-manage-your-time-better-according-to-career-experts/ss-BBQxtk1?ocid=spartanntp#image=1

The "Block Schedule" System - LIFE CHANGING productivity hack! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BKuSlstIBM&t=720s

10 Habits Of Unsuccessful People You Don’t Want To Copy - https://dariusforoux.com/10-habits-of-unsuccessful-people-you-dont-want-to-copy/

10 Bad Habits That Successful People Avoid - http://www.theelpodcast.com/10-bad-habits-that-successful-people-avoid/

5 steps to stop procrastinating once and for all  - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/5-steps-to-stop-procrastinating-once-and-for-all/ss-BBPMchz?ocid=spartanntp

5 Morning Rituals to Boost Your Productivity - https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/5-morning-rituals-to-boost-your-productivity.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter

Craig Groeschel – It’s About Time – Part 1 - https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/378/podcast_show_notes/its-about-time-part-1.pdf

Craig Groeschel – It’s About Time – Part 2-  https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/379/podcast_show_notes/its-about-time-part-2.pdf

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

You will never find time for anything.  If you want time, you must make it. – Charles Buxton, English philanthropist, writer and member of Parliament

Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. - Dallas Willard

Comfort is the enemy of progress. – Craig Groeschel

Now that the reader has contemplated a technology detox, it is a great time to start thinking about other ways to be more productive in 2019 to help accomplish goals and still allow time for “magic” in life.  Here are the first 3 productive ideas:

Scheduling

There are two ways to work with time.  Gary Keller (co-founder and Chairman of the Board for Keller Williams Realty) stated in his book The One Thing that people have craziness in life and often have many distractions that prohibit them from accomplishing projects.  Keller suggests that individuals schedule time in their day to accomplish “The One Thing” they NEED to accomplish that day.  He daily sets time to accomplish the one thing he HAS to do and does not allows interruptions to disrupt him from accomplishing his task/project.  When this task/project/activity is complete, he handles all of the other day-to-day tasks.

Another option is “Block Schedule” time throughout the day to accomplish tasks/activities.  In the YouTube video that discussed this idea (link provided in Resources), it referred back to block schedules that students had in high school.  The concept is to determine certain times to complete certain parts of a person’s life such as work tasks for project 9-11am, 12-1pm (which would be a lunch hour) personal errands and then complete activities that relate to that part of the person’s life during that time.

Environment

When working, what is the best environment for you to work in?  Some people can be in a coffee shop doing work while other individuals need complete silence to work.  Neither way is wrong because we are all created differently.  What is important is to know how you work best and then implement it to be the most productive!

Delegate

Listening and reading various books, articles, etc., it is evident that saying “no” to non-goal-oriented tasks can be one the best way for people to accomplish their goals and ultimately their life’s purpose. 

Many leadership podcasts talk about the art of delegation allowing the leader to place a task in the capable hands of someone else, while they work on another activity.  If a leader does not want to delegate the task, they have to decide if it is a task they HAVE to do or is it something that is not necessary in their life anymore. 

CHALLENGE: Which one of the productivity ideas do you think you can incorporate into your life this week?

Resources

The "Block Schedule" System - LIFE CHANGING productivity hack! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BKuSlstIBM&t=720s

5 Bad Habits Successful People Ditched Long Ago - https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-bad-habits-successful-people-ditched-long-ago

The World's Most Successful People Don't Actually Start Work at 4 a.m. They Wake and Work Whenever the (Heck) They Decide - https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-worlds-most-successful-people-dont-actually-start-work-at-4-am-they-wake-work-whenever-heck-they-decide.html

The Top 5 Regrets Of The Dying - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying_n_3640593.html

15 ways to be more productive and manage your time better, according to career experts - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/15-ways-to-be-more-productive-and-manage-your-time-better-according-to-career-experts/ss-BBQxtk1?ocid=spartanntp#image=1

10 Habits Of Unsuccessful People You Don’t Want To Copy - https://dariusforoux.com/10-habits-of-unsuccessful-people-you-dont-want-to-copy/

10 Bad Habits That Successful People Avoid - http://www.theelpodcast.com/10-bad-habits-that-successful-people-avoid/

5 steps to stop procrastinating once and for all  - https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/career/5-steps-to-stop-procrastinating-once-and-for-all/ss-BBPMchz?ocid=spartanntp

5 Morning Rituals to Boost Your Productivity - https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/5-morning-rituals-to-boost-your-productivity.html?cid=sf01001&sr_share=twitter

Craig Groeschel – It’s About Time – Part 1 - https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/378/podcast_show_notes/its-about-time-part-1.pdf

Craig Groeschel – It’s About Time – Part 2-  https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/379/podcast_show_notes/its-about-time-part-2.pdf

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

For any happiness, even in this world, quite a lot of restraint is going to be necessary... ― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best. ― St. Jerome

Find Your Balance. ― Kayla Kotecki

In the last couple of months, I was thinking about various television shows I watch and when I started thinking about deleting one from my DVR, I was actually scared that I would miss out on something.  When this happened, I knew I had a problem! 

According to the Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt in The coddling of the American mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, they believe there is an increase in mental illness in our country due to the frequent use of smartphones and electronic devices.  They state that spending less than 2 hours on a device does not have a detrimental effect on an individual; however, individuals that spend several hours a day on electronic devices have been shown to have an increase in mental health issues.

I will be the first to admit that I need to work on my technology usage because it is so easy to turn on the television after a long day and watch mindless television or scroll through Facebook.  What makes it even worse is according to Paul Lewis in his article titled Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia, developers have learned how to use small psychological tricks that “trigger” or create a “craving” for individuals incentivizing them to continually return to their technology. 

As I have written in previous blogs, technology is very helpful and I am not suggesting getting rid of all of it.  However, now that a new year has started and new goals are set, it is a good time to digitally detox. 

Give yourself time to digitally detox from your constantly connected life, and keep your phone away from your bed. - Caroline Ghosn

CHALLENGE: Evaluate your technology usage (social media, television, etc.) and determine how you want to change your usage.  How do you plan on preventing the triggers and cravings that are incorporated into increasing usage?

Resources

Prior, Karen Swallow. (2018) On reading well: finding the good life through great books. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press.

Lukianoff, Greg and Haidt, Jonathan. (2018) The coddling of the American mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure. New York; Penguin Press. 

Lewis, Paul. (2017). Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia.