Your goals

If you are anything like I am, you are very competitive, and hate being wrong. To feed my competitive spirit, I am involved in both volleyball and basketball, and I am in a few 4-H projects also. For myself, I set goals for almost everything that I am involved in.
For volleyball this fall, my goal is to play on the varsity team. That will be difficult for me, because the other players who would be on the varsity team, have played the sport for a long time, and most of them have played together, sense they were little elementary kids. Where I'm just coming in, because the high school I'm at doesn't have enough people to have any sports teams, so I go and practice with the neighboring high school athletics, so I'm the "new kid" and trying to fit in with the rest of the team, and I haven't had as much experience as they have, because our seasons in junior high are very short compared to all the schools around.
That is my volleyball goal for this fall, and it won't be easy, but I'm sure that if I try hard, and really do everything the coaches ask me to do, and follow instruction from my teammates, and work some on the side, I can play some varsity by the end of the season.

What are you involved in? Do you have goals on how you want to end a season, or chapter in your life?
The thing is, you can set goals anywhere, but you will never be able to achieve your goals unless you set them. You also always want to set your goals high!!! If you set your goals to a point that you think you can reach easily, it won't give you the effect that you will want, and it may end up giving you the opposite. You all have heard the quote "reach for the sky" or "the sky's the limit". There is a teacher at my school, and she is such an amazing person, she tells her students not that the sky is the limit, but it is the beginning, and there is no limit!! I think that is what every single person in the world should hear, "there is NO limit!!!"

To achieve your goals, you have to set them so high that you think it is almost impossible, but you also have to have a plan on how to achieve your goal. For example, last year I didn't even want to play volleyball in high school, now look at me, I'm trying to play for the varsity, but I have a plan on how I'm going to achieve this goal.

I hope this was helpful to you, or at least you were able to get something out of it.
Have a wonderful day, and you'll hear from me in at least a week!!!

Judging others and holding grudges

Far to often, we are all to quick to judge other people. We judge them, for stupid things, such as; what they wear, what they eat, who they talk to, and many other things. Have you judged anyone in the last week for a reason similar to this?
Almost any reason that you might have to judge someone is a bad reason, in fact, we are told to not judge anyone for anything. If you are a christian like I am, you would know that the bible tells us that it is not our job to judge, but our job to love others. The next reason why you might judge people, or have been judged is because of the past. The past is in the past, and there is nothing you can do about what has already happened, however, you can change how the future will look (to a certain point). I heard this song a while ago, and I really liked the message it sent. The person you were, doesn't have to be the person you are for the rest of your life, so if you are judging someone because of the way they acted in the past, just remember that they may not be the same person they were in the past.

If you have been holding a grudge towards someone, you should look back, to see why you were mad at them to start with, some of the time, you won't even know. That is a sure sign to forgive them and move on.
One thing that I've had to learn, is how to forgive someone, even if they're not sorry. It's hard, but even if you do know why you are holding a grudge, and it is a "good reason" it's not. I mean, no reason is a good enough reason to hold a grudge, and it is hurting you more than it is hurting whoever you are mad at.

What about the flip side? What if you are the person being judged, for a stupid reason?
Well, It's difficult, but you have to be the bigger person, and not let them get to you. If someone is acting judgmental to you, and you walk away, then you are out of all danger of acting hateful or judgmental back to them.

Freedom

Happy 4th of July!!! Now I'm sure every single one of you have heard that freedom isn't free. Soldiers are risking, and give up their lives everyday so that America can truly be the land of the free. It costs something to live like we do.
A few years ago, I was in sixth grade, and for social studies we were learning about the Vietnam war. Hearing the stories of soldiers coming home, expecting to be heroes, and the treatment that they revived was horrific! Now, I really didn't care that many people thought that involving America in the Vietnam war was a bad idea! My thought was: these soldiers were drafted into the war, and the only thing they could do to get out of serving, was to move out of the U.S. They left their homes, their families, and their lives to go and serve the country, the least we could do is show them respect when they come home.
The 4th of July isn't about BBQ-ing and playing with fireworks, parades, and rodeos (although it is fun), we should never forget how it all started. When you see that American Flag, and when you hear the National Anthem, remember all of the men and women who gave their lives for you and I to enjoy our freedom, and enjoy this country!
If you have served, or are currently serving, THANK YOU!!!
If you know anyone who has served, or is currently serving thank them, because they serve for us.

I watched this and it is amazing! Take only 4 minuets and listen and watch this, it's truly AMAZING!!!

Be better

Far to often we see that we aren't doing as good as we could be at something. For example, maybe I don't have the public speeking skills that I would like to have. So what should I do with that? Well I have two options: one, acknowledge that I have something I need to improve on, and then go to do something else, or two, acknowledge I have an area that I could improve on and then...you guessed it, IMPROVE. Work hard to achieve the public speeking skills I want. Practice, ask other people who will give you the truth, and just overall work hard.

A while back I listened to a speech titled "Dirty Laundry" the reason this man was speeding about it was because he wanted to improve in an area where he wasn't being sucsesf and that wasn't good for him. He was determined to it correctly. I'll attach the video so all of you can follow what I'm talking about. 

My hole point is that you should always be striving to be better all of the time. There shouldn't be a time when you notice that guy aren't as good at something and let it go!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!!

Dirty Laundry