Category: Responsibility

What Are We Thinking?

5/30/2019

I recently shared this image with my students for one of our weekly blog posts and a few of the responses that have been turned in so far, have gotten me thinking a little bit more about this. Our thoughts really are powerful, and sometimes that power might be causing us more problems than it does to help us. When we have thoughts running through our head - or at least mine - I find myself either being more inspired for the task that I am doing at the time or I'm too busy thinking about something else. With my lack of concentration for the task at hand, I find myself thinking about something else and then at times, stopping the current thing and moving onto something else just because the thought came into my head.

Now knowing that I do that at times - does help so I can stop myself more often to get back on track. Another thing I'm trying is to write a note down quickly about the thought / idea, and come back to it after I finish my current task. This really does affect how I am feeling - mainly about myself, but about life in general. When I'm fired up, feeling good about myself, my life, what I'm doing, etc., it for sure affects how I am acting at the current moment. Too many times when I'm not in a good frame of mind, my actions & words sometime come out in a very harsh way and sad to say, it's mostly at home when that happens.

This concept is very powerful as by reading some student posts and thinking about this post that I'm writing here, I can see how important it is for me to have control over my thoughts, beliefs, feelings and actions. Any moment that any of these are out of whack, I know that I can make an adjustment, just a little change (mostly it's my attitude & effort) that I can fix a little bit and great things seem to happen after that adjustment. It's funny, this point about taking control of our lives, especially our thinking, it's been said that life gets a lot easier when we do this. The things that we cut out that waste our time, make us feel down and to doubt ourselves, the people that are in our lives that whenever we walk away from a conversation with them - we are feeling worse than we did before??? Those are the things we have to fix. Taking responsibility for what goes into our heads, taking control of our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and actions; it's so powerful (not easy) to do! I'm seeing some BIG TIME results and I want to do more of this. How about you?

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5 Traits of Naturally Resilient People

4/15/2019

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Found a great article about being more resilient and if there is something that I have always needed more of, it's this! The first point is to get some perspective. Stepping back to see what our challenge really is, and how "bad" it is, that's something I need to do more of. One of the things - I was just thinking about this morning on my way into work, was that gratitude gives me tremendous perspective. Some perspective was shared with me (again) from Dr. Joe DiPonio, our Superintendent. He shared with my Leadership students last Thursday about Mr. Mike Popson who was a HUGE difference maker with him when he was a high school student. So much of a difference that Dr. DiPonio got into education and has really excelled (some would say over achieved... hehehe) at being a difference maker for others.

The second point was to be realistic about where you are. That one hits me on many levels, first of all is my age of 53 and that leads me to thinking about so many different things. My career as an educator and basketball coach and the fact that I am so grateful for each of those and the people that have come into my life from these 2 awesome professions. So fired up about what is next in my career too since it will still be about being an educator and coach.

The third point is to take responsibility. This one again, there is some element or relief and comfort when we realize how important it is to take control of things in our life. Owning the things that we do and letting go of the things that are not important or essential - that is the key in life.

Got to love this next one - Having a sense of humor! I was just talking with a former student today and a few coworkers too. This subject came up with all of the. We have to laugh. Especially at some things that are so bad that getting upset will not help, but laughing makes you feel better and I have found it to help calm me down so that I can see some other solution, some other door so often appears that will help me with the original problem. Plus I've heard it's good for you health wise to laugh a few times a day.

Last of the five points is to have courage. It's one of the most important factors in life. Some of us are better at it than others. I am not one of those... yet! I have been working on increasing my courage all throughout life. I'm getting better but I realize I need to keep working on it since I am not where I want to be nor am I at the place where I know I have to be!

Great article - check it out for yourself HERE.

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Responsibility - A Key Word In Success. One We All Need To Look At Taking

12/20/2016

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"Accepting responsibility is one of the highest forms of human maturity. A willingness to be accountable, to put yourself on the line, is really the defining characteristic of adulthood." — Jim Rohn

As we all get older – it is something we all have to face at some point and time and it really comes down to the fact that the sooner we start looking to be responsible, the better off we are. It’s one of the best skills we can have in life. In today’s world at times it seems that it is truly lacking and it causes a lot of problems.

You see, when we don’t take responsibility for ourselves that means that we put the responsibilities on others. Whether that’s other people, the government, our place of work, etc., this will always lead to more troubles. When we think others are responsible for us and our well-being, we will always be let down. Nobody else knows what we have inside of ourselves. Our dreams, hopes, goals, aspirations, etc., are not part of anyone else’s plan. They are only part of our plan. The sooner we realize that we have to take that plan on instead of someone else doing it, the better off we will be.

We must also remember that there are other people depending on us to take responsibility for ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have influence on others. That’s what Leadership is all about, having influence over others. Not being a boss over them, telling them what to do. True Leadership is leading by example to help others.

Whether it’s our family, friends, coworkers, players on a team, neighbors, etc., by us doing things we have to do to take responsibility we are setting the example for others to follow. When others see us sacrificing and putting in hours and hours of work to accomplish things, that’s a powerful message that many people pick up on – even if we don’t see them picking up the examples we leave. Remember that success always leaves clues. Leave clues for others to follow. It’s all part of being a difference maker, which I think is we all can do, no matter what career we find ourselves in.

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Great Philosophy To Look At For Ourselves

1/10/2016

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"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." — Oprah Winfrey

What a great way to start thinking for the start of 2016. There are certain people in the world that we should listen to, Oprah is one of them. The results that she has in many areas should show us that listening to her might help us in some way. Some people may not like her, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn valuable lessons from. I for one, like her and admire her for what she has done throughout her life and I realize she has some valuable lessons that I can learn from.

There are two huge lessons in this quote. First, we are indeed responsible for our own life. We can think on our own, make choices on our own, get up and do things, go places, connect with people we want to connect with, choose our career that we want to go after, choose what we say, etc., the list goes on and on and on. It all has to do with our habits and our thinking. The input we put into our heads, the information that we choose to let affect us – that is what helps or hurts us as we go through life.

The second part is equally as important. Those choices and decisions we make, not only affects us in the here and now, but it also sets the table so to speak about where we go in our future too. It’s so important to recognize the fact that the choices, thoughts, decisions, etc., that we make today, does indeed affect the direction of our tomorrows.

The sooner we take responsibility for ourselves and our futures, the sooner we can go into a great direction that will make a difference in our lives. It also makes a difference with each and every person we come into contact with too as we do affect others. Notice, we affect others – as other people affect us too. It’s a fine line of how much we let others affect us and our lives. We have to look towards surrounding ourselves with good people. Those that add value to our lives and are a positive influence on us. This helps in our making decisions and choices that truly affects our lives and our futures. It’s true on the other side too. If there are people that influence us that take away value, that affect us negatively – there are results that come with those relationships too.

Always remember this too – we affect others as well. Are we adding value to others? Or are we taking value away from them? Which one do you want to be? A few good thoughts to get us going into 2016.

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Quote of the Week - November 25, 2013

11/26/2013

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“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Short one this week due to final exams going on. I actually got this from one of my students' blog posts. It really hit me as to how right on Ralph was. I have heard a few times that the most important two days in a person's life is the day they are born and the day they figure out what they were meant to do with their life. Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us that it's up to us. I'm here to help you to understand that this process is a huge journey that takes most of your life.

Sometimes we figure out what we were meant to do early - but then it still could take a lot of time to get it going and figure out how to make it happen. That's where I am now. I've figured out about making a difference with people; mainly young adults, athletes, teachers, coaches, parents, etc. Now I'm on the part of the journey to make that happen.

What part of your journey are you on? It's easy to figure out - as one of the two important days has already happened for us. :-)

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Quote of the Week - August 12, 2013

8/13/2013

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“You are the only person on earth who can use your ability. It’s an awesome responsibility” ~ Zig Ziglar

Zig strikes again! This idea I've heard from both Zig and Les Brown lately - and I'm sure many others have mentioned it too. I guess it's finally connected with me that I wanted to get this out and have hopefully some people take it in and think deeply about how true this statement really is. I guess getting older too helps open up my mind a little bit more to accept and think about new thoughts and ideas. Once again, sure would be nice to have that concept earlier, but I'm very happy I have it now.

How long will it take you to read over and think about this statement as to how much truth it really holds? As I think about it, my first thoughts about it for me tend to go towards the negative - I know, it's something I need to continue to work on. I will tell you that I am catching onto that fact that I realize my negative thinking comes on - this is happening faster and faster recently so that I can make a change or focus as to how my thoughts are affecting me. Now on that one. I'm proud of myself and looking to continue to get better. :-) Getting back to that point - I sometimes look first as to how I've dropped the ball on this "awesome responsibility" as Zig puts it. I do believe that I'm the only person that can take my abilities and use them for the good of helping others. For so long, I've really not taken this to the full extent that I know I can. I've done enough to be ok in many areas of teaching, coaching, being a dad, being a husband, a son, a friend, etc. But to say that I've always tried my hardest and done my best, well... that's where I know I have dropped the ball so to speak.

Again, I think the key is for me personally - is that I now realize that. Many times I would feel down on myself for realizing that fact and I am having a little more success in realizing that I can still change and get better. I am turning quicker from those feelings of sorrow on myself to knowing that I need to do something about it. We all must realize that if we don't act and do the things with our abilities that we know we have, we are really doing an injustice to so many people that we can help. I think the cost of us not learning about our abilities and talents that we can use to help others, is really something that will hurt us so much at the end of our lives. It is connected again with what Les Brown has said - that the most valuable piece of land or real estate is the graveyard. All the ideas, thoughts, plans, goals, dreams, etc,, that never were acted upon - all die with that person that had them inside of them. The other cost, probably a greater one is that the people we were supposed to help will never ever happen. There could be someone we help that in turn will help thousands or tens of thousands (or more) and without us doing what we should do - that person and all the ones after that will never know what they could do.

I don't know about you, but as I get started on my 25th year in education - I know that this quote among many others will help me probably more so this school year than any others in the past. With all the negativity and uneasiness in education and in life in general, I know the more people that listen to Zig and then listen to their hearts will help make a difference in so many ways. As I've told my students throughout the years - it's time for me to "shut up", because when I'm doing all the talking I'm not learning anything. What are your thoughts and ideas about this quote and any other quotes that I've posted. Me and so many others would appreciate your thoughts and ideas. I'm always interested... just let me know.

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Best Stories Come from Struggles.

7/10/2012

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This is one thing that is easier to see with age.

But, oh how important it is to learn this sooner rather than later.

Throughout life we have successes and we have failures and setbacks.

Any successful person knows that you learn much more from one than the other.

Our successes are easy to celebrate.

We have plenty of other people around us wanting to share our successes.

We feel good about ourselves during those times.

On the other hand, when things are not going so well we find out some things then too.

Many people are not around to help us get through tough times, except true friends that know how difficult a time you are having.

At these times is when we can learn the most about ourselves.

Will we quit, make excuses, blame others and just generally let negativity take over?

Or will we sit back, take a deep breath and look for ways to solve the problem.

Will we take ownership about doing something about the problem, rather than quitting, make excuses or blame others?

I think most of us, especially when we become teenagers and beyond, understand that there will be plenty of struggles in life.

It’s important to have a frame of mind that knows when those times hit; it’s not the end of the world.

It’s also important to know that we can indeed do something about it and we can learn from the experience too.

As we go through life and we deal with problems, disappointments, set-backs and failures; understanding that we should take responsibility for getting through those issues, we can learn from them and we will become better for getting through those situations – that is such a key ingredient to success.

The sooner we connect with that the better off our lives will be. Along with the fact that other people that we are connected to will be better off as well.

Always interested in your thoughts and comments.

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What Are We Thinking?

5 Traits of Naturally Resilient People

Responsibility - A Key Word In Success. One We All Need To Look At Taking

Great Philosophy To Look At For Ourselves

Quote of the Week - November 25, 2013

Quote of the Week - August 12, 2013

Best Stories Come from Struggles.

Coach John Daly

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