Time...Management?

Time management. Something we hear about throughout our lives, but how often do we actually manage our time?

First of what is time management? To me it means that you get what you need to done, in the time given, without burning yourself out. 

I am probably one of the worst people at time management. I go home, get on facebook and Pintrest and waste the day away on the computer. Occasionally, I will practice the piano or go outside, but it has gotten rare.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions....PLAYLIST!!!!!

Here is my list of the top 5 Decision making songs

#1 Let It Go - Frozen

#2 I Hope You Dance

#3 Somewhere With You

#4 (Kissed You) Good Night

#5 Mine Would Be You

Shoulder Angel vs. Shoulder Devil

Identify and define the specific problem, generate alternitives, evaluate alternitives

What can you do with a penny? Well there are lots of things but here is just what I came up with...
~Snap them at people
~Make a picture of the United States
~Collect them
~Make a memory key ring of important years
~Build a tower
~Toss them in a wishing well
~Donate them
~Leave them for people in the tip box at SUBWAY
~Kick them down the hall
~Lick them.....?
~Hate them (my number one reason for pennies)

Well unfortunately I didn't think of the number one reason most people use pennies... making decisions.  Sometimes when people are making decisions they think of an angel sitting on their right shoulder and a devil on their left.

In our lives there are many decisions to make. For me right now the biggest decisions in my life are where I want to go to college and what I kind of want to do with my life. Right now I'm not decided, but I have at least a year to make final decisions.

PS here's some videos about shoulder Angels and Devils. I hope you enjoy!

Kid History 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yy7AP7Dh6w

Shawn Bradly  Shoulder Angel (Studio C)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHM01zr1MuU

Presidential Shoulder Angel (Studio C)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Z9XBCwKzY

Shoulder Devil (Studio C)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uTpklGUvJw

Shoulder Angel vs Shoulder Devil (Studio C)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1wRdpAz3oM

Coaching in Life

Let's all take a minute and think of all the different coaches we have had in our lives. They have all been different and unique in their own ways. Some of them may not even know that we consider them a coach in the first place.

To me a coach is someone who is there to help make you better in a certain situation. It could be a teacher at school who really cares about how well you are doing, a coach of a team or sporting event, or even just someone who is able to be there for you and help guide what you are doing.

To be a great coach one must have to care about the people they are coaching. Coaches that don't care, usually don't have great teams. When the coach cares enough the team will care too. If the coach doesn't believe that the team can win or achieve their goal, they most likely won't.

A coach is different from other helping positions because they can't always be there with the team. They can prepare them as much as they can and in the end they just have to step back and hope for the best. Granted, the coach can still give direction, but not as directly as before.

Lets take a look at a sports team for a minute. The biggest game of the year is coming up against their arch rivals. They want to win this game more than anything. The buzzer starts signaling the beginning of the game. Soon they have fallen behind, both in scores and determination. The coach begins to see the downfall of his team and immediately calls a time out. He begins to rally his players, encouraging them and inspiring them. In the end, they still end up losing, but the team is still proud of how they played because they know they did the best they could do.

The same goes in life. There is always someone there watching for when you start to get behind in life and discouraged in what is going on. They will be the one to call a time out and help you get back on your feet.

"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth mor than an hour of praise after success."

Team Building Skills pt.2

#6  USE RELATABLE PROBLEM SOLVING
Make sure everyone can understand the problem and the solution. What good is a solution if no one understands what is going on, or even what the problem is?

#7 BUILD TRUST WITH INTEGRITY AND EXAMPLE
Be the person you want to see in the mirror. Make sure you are the kind of person you would want to work with. If you don't even want to work with yourself, no one else will. Without trust your team will get no where.

#8 COMMIT TO EXCELLENCE
Have heart. Without the drive and commitment what is going to get done? Nothing. Work hard at what you are doing and strive to be the best.

#9 PROMOTE INTERDEPENDENT THINKING
Avoid group thinking!! Yes, there is no I in TEAM, but there is ME. That doesn't mean that one person is better than the others. It means that each member has to think for themselves and promote their strengths. You have to have a strong base, middle, and top to have a successful formation.

#10 PULL THE WEEDS
Like in a garden, in a team there are things that are hindering our growth. Weeds in a garden suffocate the plants and steal their nutrients. Problems in a team such as jealousy, lack of communication, and clashing personalities can suffocate a team and make it less useful. Pull the weeds! Don't let

Team Building Skills pt.1

#1 PUT THE TEAM FIRST
In a team one of the most important things is to have "we-optic" vision instead of "me-optic" vision. When you're in a team the team has to come first no matter what. You need to make sure the purpose and prioritys and purpose are clear and known

#2 COMMUNICATE OPENLY AND CANDIDLY
Information is POWER!! With information you can take power, but without it you are a captive. Know the score!

Information and knowledge is power. With out it nothing can happen. If you have knowledge then you are always more in charge of the situation than the others who don't have the same knowledge you do.

#3 BE PART OF THE SOLUTION, NOT THE PROBLEM
WANTED: high performance team members; passive observers need NOT apply! Get involved! Speak up! Share your ideas because we all know they are amazing! And volunteer your awesome time and talent.

Some of the most amazing ideas come from someone who never speak. Yes it might be scary to put yourself out there but you never know if they are worth it if you never share them.

Problems are good, not bad. Welcome them and become the solution!

#4 RESPECT DIVERSITY
Diversity makes life interesting with it we gain insight, and new options. There are alternatives to the sitation. We need to connect with our teammates and listen twice as much as we speak. (God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason)  Make sure others feel they are valued and important, because they are.

Diversity is amazing. Weather the diversity of culture or just diversity of oppinion. Accept it and embrace it!

#5 ASK AND ENCOURAGE THE RIGHT QUESTIONS
"Profound questions generate profound understanding." When we ask questions we gain more knowledge and help others who were too afraid to ask themselves. We are opening the door. We disrupt the status quo.

If we never asked questions we would never gain new knowledge and we would never move forward.

If  you take a close look at the most successful people in life, you'll find that their strength is not in having the right answers, but in asking the right questions.

To Be or Not to Be... A Team That Is

One of the most memorable teams I have ever been on is the dance team I was on at Morgan Acadamy, and I feel like it really shows the stages of team building.

Forming: Our first day of dancing came. All of us were nervous to meet the girls we would be dancing with. Would our teacher be nice? Would the girls be fun? Would there be any mean girls? These were all questions haunting our sleep the night before. When we arrived all of our fears went away. Little did we know, we would be dancing together for five or more years.

Storming: By our second week of dancing we soon learned that one of the girls on our team thought she was better than the rest of us, the teacher included. As our wonderful instructor would explain new steps she would be talking loudly over her trying to get us to do what she wanted us to do instead. As a young girl it was rather confusing. I wanted to be a good dancer, but I wanted this older girl to like me as well.

Norming: As the weeks wore on and we worked harder and harder on our dancing the older girl slowly stopped trying to be smarter than the teacher. As we learned new things we soon learned where certain girls were stronger than others. My friend Darian was extremely flexible while Jessica was amazing at pirouettes. Some of us could leap higher and others could spin for what seemed like hours without getting dizzy and falling over. By putting all of our strengths together we were able to make a beautiful dance.

Preforming: Finally the big day arrived. It was time for our first compitition at Lagoon. All of us were nervous as our mothers smeared our faces with make up and stabbed bobbypins into our skulls. Our tutus were fluffed and our slippers wiped clean. As we walked up onto the stage and the music started we began to dance the dance that had been drilled into our minds. Terrified of tripping over my feet or falling off the edge of the stage I forced myself to remember to smile. Finally the music ended and we all left the stage. Later during the awards ceremony we all sat together holding hands and eating donut holes and mini brownies. Then the happiest thing happened to the seven of us. They called Morgan Acadamy of Dance as the GRAND CHAMPION WINNERS! We were so thrilled. All of our hard work and dedication had finally payed off.

I loved this team so much and we all grew really close. For the next five years we were basically inseperable and were there supporting eachother through thick and thin. I miss these girls every day and hope someday I can see them again.

Where Does My Map Lead?

What do you think of when you think of a goal? Is it something in sports? Is it something in your life? For me personally there are a few different things I have as goals in my life.

The first one is to be able to pass off my Personal Progress (an activity book for the Young Women in my church) by my next birthday. I still have at least two or three 10 hour projects so it will take me a bit of time. I am giving myself six months figuring I can take two months for each. I can't wait until I am able to wear the necklace that signifies my completion of this impressive feat.

My second goal is to win the FFA Area Prepared Public Speaking contest. I have been working on this speech for two years now and am really excited to be able to speak on a higher level. It started out with our FFA Chapter contests in November 2012. I placed second. Then the next year I revised and was able to win in our little chapter. Now I will be moving on to one of the most competitive areas in the state of Utah. I cannot wait. The contest is on Wednesday, so I will post an update soon so you can see if I achieved my goal.

My third and final goal is to be able to graduate high school with a high enough GPA and ACT score to be able to go to Utah State University. I have always loved that school and think it is a good choice for me.

For now,

Aften

Who Am I?

Haha sorry, just a little Les Mis humor right there. I feel like I should add a little more about about myself considering my last post was really short.

I was born on July 21, 1997. As my family's first child I became the center of their world. From the very start I was a daddy's girl and I still am today. I doubt it is something that will ever change. I love doing anything with my dad, even if it is just going to pick up some hay for our horses.

When I was three years old, my first brother was born. I remember being so excited to finally have someone to play with at home. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that all Craig did was sleep, eat, barf, and drool.... Yeah, I wasn't the happiest person around and I sure didn't like not having all the attention to myself. When he got older, however, I began to enjoy having someone to dress up in my old dresses and play dolls and horses with.

I got my very first pair of cowboy boots when I was four, and I wore them constantly. I would pull them on and ride my white stick horse around the house like a wild child. I would pull pillows off the couch and set them up in the barrel racing pattern and run around them for hours. It was by far my favorite pass time. I would put a plastic tiara on my cowboy hat and run around waving like a rodeo queen. When anyone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would smile as bright as I could and say, "I wanna be a Rodeo Queen or a cowgirl." My mom just laughed and told them that would never happen...she should have watched her words a little closer.

When I was six my second, and last, brother was born. I remember crying when I found out my mom was having another boy. All I wanted out of life was a sister...  Before he was born my parents would talk about names. I remember hanging upside off the couch and saying, "Why do you argue about names? Just name him Alex." I was promptly told that the couch was not a jungle gym and to get off and behave. Well, later while in the hospital they still couldn't think of a name so they decided to just call him Alex. So that is how I got to name my youngest sibling.

Around this same time my dad bought us two new horses. I fell in love with them instantly. There was a big white and grey mare named Dee Dee and a sorrel gelding named Clyde. We still have them today.

I also started dancing when I was in 1st grade. My mom took me to a studio called Morgan Academy  of Dance and Tumbling so I could learn ballet. I danced for five years there and I still think that was some of the best times I ever had.

Elementary and Middle School passed fairly uneventfully and if anything really happened I don't really remember it. All I remember was hanging out constantly with my two best friends: Cheyenne and Arielle.

Remember how my mother said I would never be a Rodeo Queen? Well when I was 11 I tried out in my first contest. Honestly, I didn't do very well, but I made it into the court as Miss Congeniality. For the next four years I tried out and moved up a rank every year. The summer I turned 15 I was finally able to wear the Queen banner and crown and fulfill my childhood dream.

My Freshman year of High School started and everyone kept telling me to join FFA. Eventually I gave in and did and it has been the best decision of my life. I was able to compete in Creed Speaking on a State level, even though I didn't think I was able to speak in front of people. I also was able to start horse judging. It was the time of my life.

I am still involved in FFA and am enjoying every minute of it. I am competing in Prepared Public Speaking on an Area level next week. I am nervously awaiting the contest. I still love riding horses and miss dancing just about everyday.

I can't wait to see what this year has in store.

For now,
Aften

About me... About me...? What can I say about me....hmmmm....

Well for starters, I guess, I am the Reporter for our school's FFA chapter. I love FFA.

Thats me on the bottom row, far left, with the short hair, next to our advisor, Mrs. Silcox.

I've been riding horses since I was six and I absolutely love it. Personally, I think there is no better way to spend my time then on the back of my horse.

If I could choose any kind of vehicle to drive and it didn't matter the cost of gas and all that fun stuff, I would probably choose a black Ford F150. I love trucks, and honestly I don't care what they look like. If it has 4-wheel drive and can pull a horse trailer, its good enough. 

I also love archery. When I was little I used to watch Disney's Robin Hood every day. I used to pretend I was Skippy and my dad was Robin Hood.  Everyday I would run around pretending to shoot things with my toy bow.

Now that I've grown up a little bit I still love archery and love the idea of Robin Hood coming and saving the poor from the rich.

In the Gallup Strengths finder test, I found that my top five strengths are 1.Input  2.Empathy  3.Adaptability  4.Developer  5.Includer

And here's just a random picture for ya...

That is me and one of my best friends on Halloween. I was Little Red Ridinghood and she was Alice in Wonderland