Our Desire to Help!

I am reading The Power of Everyday Missionaries: The What and How of Sharing the Gospel by Clayton M. Christensen. The chapter I read this week gave many stories of effectively sharing the gospel with people that are well off. I served my mission in Micronesia Guam Mission. The people there live in very humble circumstances and are generally more open to learning about the gospel. I have always pondered the best way to teach people that are financially well-off. Christensen's solution is to approach them with ways they can help the church through service.

In the networking exercise I did in Communications in Organizational Settings class, I came up with questions and then asked my peers what their thoughts were. I enjoyed hearing their advice, but more importantly, I like offering my advice, especially if I had a personal experience with their question.

From my reading and my in-class activity, I have learned that people have a desire to assist others. This is key in my life because I am working on choosing internships and a career. My path through school and into a career is still unclear, but many people have gone ahead of me and can give me advice. I will more confidently approach successful businessmen because we all have a desire to help.

Smash Brothers

     I never played Super Smash Bros. until I came to college. When I started playing, I was always the character that everyone would leave alone until I was the only other player left. Then it turned into more of a volleyball game as I did my best to make it back to the main platform after being knocked off the screen multiple times. 

     Last semester I became friends with a new group of guys, and every Sunday night, they play Super Smash Bros. At first, I would just watch and cheer them on, but then I saw the comradery they shared from playing together, I made a goal to be a contributing member of the group.

     I started practicing for an hour once a week. It wasn't much but little by little became better. We still played on Sundays, and each week I would inflict more damage or get the occasional kill. This last Sunday, I finally felt like I was apart of the Smash Brothers group. I felt confident dropping in on brawlers and sending them flying. I still don't get the most kills, but I do always get at least one.

Super Smash Bros. is just a game; however, I feel like it has made me closer to my friends. It is something that all of us share.

     Finding common interests with anyone will build stronger relationships. Sometimes it takes a little more effort from one of the parties to continue strengthening the relationship, but the benefit is well worth it.

Stand a little Taller

In a student-athlete fireside, BYU Vice President Richardson sympathized with those present that feel outside pressure from all angles. Everyone feels pressure. There is social pressure, academic pressure, family pressure, financial pressure, etc. Richardson advised to stand up straighter, smile, and remember who you are and whose you are.

Stand up straight, even if you feel things aren't going right.

Things will work out unless you choose to fail. In retrospect, our problems are never as big as they seem at the moment.

Smile, even when you think you have nothing to smile about.
By smiling on the outside, you will start feeling like you are smiling on the inside. Many people look up to you and the position you are in. They wish they had your problems.

Remember who you are and whose you are.
We each have self worth. We also belong to a family or larger organization. Our families and organizations claim us. We also need to remember that we represent them.

The Fearless Mind

Two months ago, Craig Manning, PhD taught the BYU Cheer Competition Squad about the mental preparation required before a performance. 10% of our brain usage is conscious and the other 90% is subconscious. What we fill our conscious with gets stored in our subconscious. In preparation for the competition, we have been filling our minds with positive thoughts and avoiding the negative so nothings negative is stored in our subconscious.

Before we left for UCA Collegiate Nationals, Manning spoke to us again. Now that we have gone through the physical and mental preparation, it is time to perform, Our routine is in our muscle memory, the subconscious, but we are still using the other 10%. If we do not occupy that space, fear of what will happen in the future enters the space and will affect our performance.

Throughout life we are required to perform. It may be that we are taking a test, giving a speech, or being interviewed for a job. Sometimes it seems that we don't have complete control over the outcome of our performance, but with the proper mental preparation we can overcome negative thoughts and have a successful performance.

Breakdown: 
For every negative thought, replace it with three positive thoughts
Picture yourself perfectly performing the task
Use power statements such as: "I GOT this." before and during a performance.

We are not FAILURES!

On Jan. 6, 2015, President Kevin J. Worthen welcomed BYU's staff and students back from  Christmas break. At the start of the new semester, he gave all of those present encouraging words of advice, "We will all fail, more than once, everyday... This does not mean that you or I are failures."

This statement struck me because I have recently gone through some trials in life. It is true that these trials caused by my failings have made me feel, at times, like a failure. Failing is a part of life, but I am not a failure. When I felt like giving up, I would just take a deep breath and do what I could. A failure is someone that falls down and stays down.

We need to accept that we will fail. NEVER give up! Get rid of the voice of discouragement inside your head.When we fall down, get back UP! We will all learn from our experience and become more resilient to our failings. We will learn that we can get through anything.

Rodney Atkins sings, "If you're going through hell, keep on going. Don't slow down. If you're scared, don't show it. You might get out before the devil even knows you're there.