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

Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power. - William James

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. - Helen Keller

The sun is shining.  Temperatures are rising.  Spring has almost sprung.  We lost an hour of sleep over the weekend!

Spring is the favorite season of the author and with it fast approaching the author is challenged to get caught up on work and clean out her apartment.  She desires to return to exploring the area and having fun with friends.  The author has been working 10 and 11 hour days and working some weekend.  It is not what the author desires, but the work has to be done.  On Saturday night, the author was talking to Mama Flow and she asked the author, “Do you like it?”  The author paused for a minute and she said “yes”.  The author continued, “I know that this experience is preparing me to accomplish my dreams.  It is difficult, but knowing that there is a purpose helps me get up before 3am and into the office by 6:30am.”

Optimism is a happiness magnet.  If you stay positive, good things and good people will be drawn to you. -  Mary Lou Retton

Through the long hours and trying situations, the author still takes time to socialize with friends and make them laugh.  Often times, the author will energetically say “It is a great day!” when people know the author is having a trying day or it is just a Monday!  Or the author tells stories of how her plants are doing, which she currently considers to be her kids.  She is happy most days when she remembers to water “her children” and opens the blinds so they will have sunlight throughout the day.  People laugh at the author for her optimism and craziness, but her antics put smiles on faces and lightens up the work day. 

Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people. - Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Optimism is an important “weapon” in accomplishing dreams and goals.  – Terri Flow

CHALLENGE: As this new season is fast approaching, spend March getting caught up on any outstanding tasks, conducting a first quarter review of goal accomplishment and being optimistic that this is the best year of your life!

Resource

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=don%27t+be+a+complainer++joel+osteen&view=detail&mid=121F202D9A340C8B6F73121F202D9A340C8B6F73&FORM=VIRE

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

'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary.  I believe in me more than anything in this world. - Wilma Rudolph

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. - Wilma Rudolph

Over the last couple of weeks, Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week has discussed:

• Stop doing things that are not beneficial or helpful in accomplishing dreams. 
• Don’t have regrets
• Forgive
• Don’t judge
• Don’t gossip
• Control the mind 
• Don’t complain
  

And now…No Excuses. 

In 1940, a young girl was born and through her early childhood years encountered many illness including pneumonia, scarlet fever and contracted infantile paralysis, which was caused by the poliovirus.  Due to the various illnesses, she lost strength in her left leg and foot.  A doctor created a special leg brace that allowed her to walk, but her parents would not let her go outside to play with the other children.  Wilma was a no-nonsense girl and decided she did not want to stay inside and at the age of 12 started taking off her leg brace and went outside to play.  With her new freedom, she started running and would often go outside for hours to run.  A coach from Tennessee State University saw her athletic ability and started training her.  As a junior in high school at the age of 16, she competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.  She was defeated in the 200-meter race, but won bronze with her teammates in the 4x100 relay.  The 1960 Olympics were in Rome, Italy where Wilma competed again.  This time, she ran in the 100- and 200-meter sprints, plus the 4 × 100-meter relay.  She won gold in each of the events and became the first woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics. 

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. - Wilma Rudolph

CHALLENGE: Like Wilma Rudolph, take “I Can’t” out of your vocabulary and live with no excuses. 

Resource
https://www.biography.com/athlete/wilma-rudolph

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

http://media.lakewood.org.edgesuite.net/JOM/podcast/mp3_audio/JO643Podcast.mp3

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - February 25th

Don't complain if your're facing hard moments in life. Challenge yourself to face it, challenge yourself to beat it. - Jayson Engay

If you fail in life’s journey, just don’t complain. Make it a part of your journey. -  Debasish Mridha

Over the weekend, the author was reminded that today marks the one-year anniversary of her apartment fire.  She remembers that day and now looks back to see how far she has come and what changed in her life.  

She didn’t lose in anything in the fire, but what she gained is priceless: 

• Friendships 
• Laughter
• Military knowledge 
• Learning opportunities

Through her apartment fire, the author learned…DON’T COMPLAIN about the circumstances.  It may sound strange, but what an individual goes through prepares them for the future.  Through the stresses of the author’s job and personal life, the author is working on implementing this tactic of not complaining.  She knows she has big dreams and that she has to learn from her current experiences to help prepare her for the next lessons.  It is a mindset to stay determined, not complain about challenges, learn from them and be victorious over obstacles.    

Today, you may be facing difficult times, but remember what Steven Furtick said:

What’s next in your life is always connected to what’s now.

CHALLENGE: Do not complain about what you are going through right now.  Analyze the situation to determine what you are supposed to learn to help you accomplish your dreams.  

Resource
The Secret to Solving Problems: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0MmNVLukyU&t=1518s

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - February 18th

Beware the Rattlesnake of the Mind. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Nobody can bring you peace but yourself. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

May the world be kind to you, and may your own thoughts be gentle upon yourself. - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

On a Friday night in November, the author asked a friend to do her a favor.  Going to bed tired, the author awoke around 4:30am and saw a text from her friend saying they needed to talk that weekend.  From that moment, the author’s mind spiraled out of control.  Every bad or negative thought that could arise in her mind did even to the point she was crying because she was so upset.  Later that Saturday afternoon, she talked with her friend and the outcome was nothing the author imagined.  

Another friend and the author were talking recently and they termed this brain phenomenon “spiraling”, which is where the mind creates an unending number of unique stories based on the circumstances the individual is encountering.  A great metaphor of spiraling is a rattlesnake.  The mind creates these stories and they coil around the mind and fully engulf an individual.  As they continue to repeat over and over in the mind, it is like the rattlesnake squeezes the life out of the individual.  The mind can only be tamed with determination, fortitude and patience.  

Over the last couple of months, the author has seen this spiraling occurring in her life more frequently.  One night, the author’s mind was spiraling out of control due to stress at work and in her personal life and the additional irritant of exhaustion.  When the author became frustrated with a friend who did nothing wrong, she knew she had to take control of the situation.  At that moment, the author made the decision to take time for herself, refresh, recover and reassess the situation.   

If you are proactive about controlling the direction of your life, then you must control the way you think. - Lanny Bassham, With Winning in Mind

CHALLENGE:  Control the rattlesnake.  The mind is the greatest asset or hindrance in accomplishing our dreams and goals.

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - Febraury 11th

Gossip serves no purpose other than to hear yourself talk. - Catherine Pulsifer

People who judge harshly, criticize and condemn others through gossip, rumor or bad word of mouth are setting themselves up for the same unfair trials. - Scott Allan, Rejection Reset

Bing defines gossip as “casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true”.

As we interact with individuals, we often have the opportunity to talk about other people.  When this happens, we have the opportunity not to judge the person and stop whatever false statement is being made about someone else.  In these situations, we do not know if what someone is saying is true and accurate.  As the author said last week, it is very unlikely that the whole story is known in a situation.  

When the opportunity arises to gossip:

1.       Unless the situation affects the reader, forget whatever someone else states about another individual. 

Forget the slander that you hear before you can repeat it. Forget each slight, each spite, each sheer wherever you may meet it. - Priscilla Leonard

2.       The time spent spreading rumors or listening to someone else gossip is time being wasted accomplishing your dreams.      

Nothing productive is ever achieved as a result of spreading, or listening to gossip. Don't waste your time! You can make more productive use of it. - Catherine Pulsifer, The Principles of Gossip

Achievement

3.       If the reader is someone that has the desire to state the latest thing they heard about someone, write it down and destroy it.  By expressing it, the reader releases the information and no one knows the potential inaccurate information.   

If you must slander someone don't speak it - but write it - write it in the sand, near the water's edge! - Napoleon Hill, The Law of success

CHALLENGE: When someone comes to you and starts gossiping, what will you do? 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - Febraury 4th

Who are you to judge the life I live? I know I'm not perfect -and I don't live to be- but before you start pointing fingers... make sure you hands are clean! - Bob Marley

The way that other people judge me is none of my business. - Martha Beck

The author has often wondered why people do things they do.  Why do some people say they want to change and then do not take the time to learn and incorporate changes to make life simpler and easier?  This blog post is not about why people do what they do.  It is about how the author is learning not to judge people.  

The author is single and currently focusing on her career and improving herself.  There is no one she has to take care of and sets her own schedule.  As the author has been working so much, she has not been able to do all of the things she used to do.  After 10-hour days, the author sometimes spends her evenings and weekends recuperating and preparing for the coming days and weeks.  Recently when the author was talking with friends about this, people looked at the author shocked that she was making some of the choices she was. 

Pondering those conversations and being told she needs to change, the author came up with two reasons not to judge:

·       The time spent speculating and judging someone else can be spent dreaming and working on accomplishing goals.

·       People do not know what the author is dealing with and she does not want to be judged.  And in the same way, the author does not know what others are dealing with and should not judge them without knowing their story. 

If you don't know me, don't judge me. - Tupac Shakur

CHALLENGE: Judging someone can be very easy.  The next time you start to judge or criticize someone for the choices they are making, how will you stop yourself.  Being prepared with how to handle a situation is half the battle of changing. 

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - January 28th

In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself. - Deepak Chopra

Your past does not equal your future. - Anthony Robbins

The beautiful journey of today can only begin when we learn to let go of yesterday. - Steve Maraboli

You are not defined by your past. You are prepared by your past. -

Joel Osteen

Throughout our lives, we all encounter people that provide their opinions of us.  They may speak positive things or negative things over us.  According to “The Man Who Lied to His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships” by Professor Clifford Nass, the brain handles positive and negative thoughts/emotions differently.  Negative thoughts/emotions have a stronger impact on people because the statements are replayed in our minds over and over again, analyzed and then processed.  As we continually review them, it becomes ingrained in our thinking.  For positive thoughts, we may smile, say thank you and forget the encouraging words someone said in less than a minute.

It is imperative that we do not allow the past to define us.  We must take what was spoken to us, process it in our minds and determine if what was said is true.  If it is something we need to work on, then we need to develop a plan to change.  If the statement was false, we must reprogram our minds to know that it is not true.  It is not simply saying to ourselves, “That was wrong.”  We must replace the thoughts and emotions with positive uplifting statements.  Remember that we believe what we say about ourselves more than we believe what other people say about us.  Reprogramming our minds can be done for something that was said today or something that was stated to us 10 years ago. 

When we find those negative feelings, we must forgive the individual. 

Forgiving does not erase the bitter past. A healed memory is not a deleted memory. Instead, forgiving what we cannot forget creates a new way to remember. We change the memory of our past into a hope for our future. - Lewis B. Smedes.

By forgiving, we are letting go of the past and providing an opportunity to move forward in life and progress closer to our goals and dreams. 

CHALLENGE: If` there are any painful or hurtful memories from the past, forgive the person and reprogram your mind with positive statements.    

Resource

https://healthylivinghowto.com/we-believe-what-we-tell-ourselves/

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - January 21st

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done. - Lucille Ball

Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience. -  Victoria Holt

Don’t regret knowing the people who came into your life. Good people give you happiness. Bad ones give you experience. The worst ones give you lessons and the best people give you memories. - Anonymous

Last week, the author worked very long hours (between 9-10 hours per day) and then went to hang out with friends Monday through Thursday nights.  After working a very long day on Friday, the author ate dinner about 7pm, laid on the couch and was not able to move for an hour or so.  Climbing into bed, she slept 9 hours and then woke up later than her normal time on Saturday and was delayed accomplishing tasks.  For a very organized and goal-oriented individual, this could have been a major setback for the author.  Instead, the author remembered her goals for the year, which include spending time with friends and being present with them.  Additionally, her goals include doing activities with these friends and Thursday night the author experienced Restaurant Week in Washington, D.C.  The author is not a “foodie”, but the friends she was with are and everyone had a great time. 

The author does not regret the crazy week she had and the Saturday she spent on her couch recuperating.  According to a HuffPost article titled “10 Ways to Live Life With No Regrets”, we need to life our lives each day with no regrets knowing that it may be our last.  As the author compared her week to the list of 10 ways to live with no regrets, she discovered that she accomplished a number of the ideas on the list including: follow your dreams, take risks, take life less seriously, be yourself and practice kindness.

Last week could have been considered a bad week because the author did not read to help push her closer to her reading goal and the weekend not relaxing because there were so many tasks to complete.  However, the week was great because the author lived with no regrets, was present with friends, laughed and lived life to the fullest.  

CHALLENGE: How can you live life this week with no regrets?

Resource

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/10-ways-to-live-life-with-no-regrets_b_8650168

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/top-5-regrets-of-the-dying_n_3640593?guccounter=1

https://www.ramw.org/restaurantweek

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - January 14th

Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t. – Steve Maraboli

...wanting change is step one, but step two is taking it. ― Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

As we are fruitful individuals pursuing our dreams, we need to regularly review what we are doing in life to determine if the activities/tasks are moving us closer to our dreams.   

Through the Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast titled “Six Steps to Your Best Year of Leadership”, the author was challenged by this statement in the leadership guide:

In order to accomplish more, you must do less. This seems counterintuitive, but the key is not simply doing more. The key is doing more of what matters. You only have so much time, energy, and resources. Consider what you need to have the courage to stop, both personally and organizationally.

This may seem trivial to some people, but the author decided to cut back on her exercise routine.  At the end of 2019, the author was lifting weights and running 2.5 miles.  In 2020, the author will continue weight lifting; however, she is now running only 1.5 miles.  This is minor, but for the author this is huge.  Each morning, this gives back 10 minutes to the author to either sleep or accomplish other activities/tasks she needs to complete.  As the author mentioned, 2020 is already crazy with work and that time can be used elsewhere. 

From this change, the author has not seen any changes in her physical physique and by not burning as many calories she is not as hungry throughout the day and retains the energy she would have burned off during that extra mile in her morning run.  Furthermore, the author has worked on her thinking to know that it is ok not to work out as much and that she would not gain weight from this small change.  The author increased the speed on the treadmill and still gets a great workout every day. 

It is mental slavery to cling to things that have stopped serving its purpose in your life. – Chinonye J. Chidolue

CHALLENGE: What do you need to change or stop doing in 2020?

Resource

https://api-assets.life.church/uploads/message/1235/podcast_show_notes/six-steps-to-your-best-year-of-leadership-part-1.pdf

Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week -- January 7, 2020

This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything. - Scott Reed

Intention without action is an insult to those who expect the best from you. - Andy Andrews

2020 is here and the author is determined to dream bigger than ever!  She wants this decade to be the best of her life.  At the end of 2019 when the author reflected on the previous 10 years, she thought about everything that happened.  The author knows that if that much could happen in the last 10 years she is ecstatic to see what will happen in the next 10 years.

Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years. - Bill Gates

2020 GOALS

In the December 17, 2019 and December 24, 2019 Terri’s Tuesday Tip of the Week, the author talked about how she changed her perspective when writing her goals.  As the author stated, her job keeps her extremely busy and her boss recently told her that 2020 was going to be crazier than the two months they worked together in 2019.  Based on the facts, the author incorporated different goals and put more emphasis on other areas as she will explain below.    

When the author wrote her goals, she focused on the 6 F’s (faith, family, friends, finances, future and fitness) in goal setting like she has for many years now.  Here is an explanation on a few of the author’s goals:

Friends – 2019 taught the author a lot about friendships.  As someone posted on the author’s Facebook page in early 2019, the author desires to focus on doing more acts of kindness for her friends in 2020 to help brighten their days: 

Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. - Maya Angelou

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. - Robert Louis Stevenson

Future – Goals that will help catapult the author toward accomplishing her dreams is where the biggest change came for her.  This year, the author knows she will not have time to read like she has in previous years.  The author desires to continue learning and knows that listening to podcasts and books are more realistic for her to accomplish based on her schedule and is best for her learning style.  Additionally, the author challenged herself to daily track the knowledge she gains by typing in an excel spreadsheet one thing she learned that day.  The author experimented with this in December 2019 and decided that she liked the goal because it forced her to synthesis the information she was hearing and track it.  Also, the author learned that some days she may not have 1 thing she learned that she can type up.  Her goal became on average to learn 1 new thing a day.  Some days she learns more than others.

Lastly, the author created the goal of developing and growing in her job.  The author did not like this goal because it will be very subjective at the end of 2020.  However, the author is daily learning about government, education and leadership.  Each of these topics will help her as she moves closer to accomplishing her dreams. 

Your big opportunity may be right where you are now. - Napoleon Hill

It is important to remember that setting goals is crucial in accomplishing dreams and it is also important to consider circumstances the reader foresees encountering in 2020.  We must stretch ourselves when creating goals, but they also must be realistic.  

CHALLENGE: Write your 2020 goals.