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

To assess the quality of thoughts of people, don't listen to their words, but watch their actions. - Amit Kalantri

You can observe a lot by just watching. - Yogi Berra

Last weekend, I attended the Republican Party of Texas State Convention and I chaired the Senatorial District and Congressional District Caucuses.  After these events, I had one couple tell me they remembered the first time they attended a Senatorial District Convention and I was the Secretary.  They said I acted as if I was in charge and was respectable to everyone who participated.  A different individual came to me and said she was so impressed with my authority, strength and calm during a highly stressful time.  She was challenged to get more involved after seeing me chair the caucuses.

There were times during the caucuses that I was stressed and wanted to let my frustration flare up.  However, I paused, took a deep breath and knew I did not want to show my frustration in front of all the delegates and alternates.  A couple times I made an appropriate hand gesture to “pull” the negative thought or frustration out of my mind. This simple action did not do anything, but caused me to pause and regain my composure.  

CHALLENGE: As leaders, we must remember that we are always being watched.  Our actions are continually impacting someone else’s life even when we do not realize it.  What memory do you want people to remember you for?  

Frustrating times will come.  What can you do to help calm yourself down to not show your frustration to those watching you? 

Always wear a smile because you never know who is watching. – Gracie Gold

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

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. - Eddie Cantor

Stop thinking too much. It's alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it. – Unknown

I am a thinker and I LOVE to think when I run and recently termed it “Run Think”.  Even though I think through issues and try to figure out the “WHY”, I sometimes cannot reason out why things happen and just do not understand.  Over the past ten years, I have gone through many pains, trials and tribulations and often asked why.  Looking back, I now have a better understanding of why things happened when they happened.  

Over the last couple of weeks, I learned something and created a new perspective on how to think when I am going through a trial or tribulation.  In different situations, I have been told that I have helped people make decisions or provided guidance on how to proceed with a certain situation in their life.  Someone else used me as an example of how I recently made certain decisions in my life.  I realized that when I go through trials and tribulations I am learning how to handle things and I assist other people when they go through something similarly.  My new perspective in life when I am going through a situation is “What can I learn from this to help someone else?”  

Here is a great idea to put it all in perspective: 

Dear Past, thank you for all the lessons.  Dear Future, I am ready. -Goodmorningwishes

CHALLENGE: Each of us can use something we have learned in this life to help someone else.  It may be a word of encouragement, providing wisdom if someone asks for assistance, etc.  DO NOT underestimate how you can help someone. 

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

Fear makes come true that which one is afraid of. - Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Refuse to become a victim of your circumstances and give a lift to your potentials each and every day against the wish of any obstacle you encounter! - Israelmore Ayivor, The Great Hand Book of Quotes

Have you ever been told you cannot do something?  Has someone degraded you or talked down to you?  Most likely, the answers to these questions are yes because we have all dealt with issues like these. Someone may have intentionally or unintentionally said something that affected you.  I know this has happened to me and I have been working to overcome these barriers in my life.  

A couple weeks ago, I heard the story of Glenn Cunningham and it challenged me to strive toward overcoming the obstacles and barriers in my life.  Glenn was the first man to run the mile in four minutes and eight seconds on an indoor track.  What is unique about Glenn Cunningham is that he overheard a doctor tell his mother when he was eight years old that he would surely die. 

Each morning, Glenn would warm the schoolhouse before his teacher and classmates arrived.  On one cold morning, someone had mistakenly put gasoline in the kerosene container he used to start the fire and disaster struck when the school was engulfed in flames.  Over half of Glenn’s body was burned and the lower half of his body had no motor ability.  Time and time again, Glenn was told he would never walk, definitely not run and would be confined to wheelchair for the rest of his life. 

Through determination and support of his family, he refused to be confined to a wheelchair and continually pushed himself to overcome obstacles and “perceived” barriers in his life.  On a sunny afternoon, his mother wheeled him to the backyard.  Instead of staying in his wheelchair, he pulled himself across the yard.  He pulled himself up with the assistance of the picket fence.  Day after day, he would push himself and finally he developed his motor abilities so he could stand up and then walk and finally he started running.  He would run everywhere and that is how he became a college runner and then set the indoor track record.     

CHALLENGE: Overcome the barriers that are in your life due to past hurts, mistakes, etc.  Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  Take back your life, forget those past hurts and become everything you have dreamed of and more!

To read the full story of Glenn Cunningham, go to: http://www.wanttoknow.info/050702powerofdetermination

“Sometimes your belief system is really your fears attached to rules.”

― Shannon L. Alder