Author Archives

    Terrie Wurzbacher

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    What Are Your 2023 Words?

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    Mine are “Patience” and “Memory”.

    Last year it was “Growth” and amazingly enough, it was a year of great growth.

    This last 8 weeks trying to let my stress fracture heal has required a lot of patience and it’s not over yet. So, today I thought that this must be the lesson I am to learn for the coming year.

    As for the second word, memory, I was writing a phrase “given my memory” when I realized that this will be a year for my memory. it will improve and there will be many wonderful memories. It’s great when you can apply one word to multiple meanings!

    Make your words focal points in your activities. Periodically reflect on them (use my reflection journal to help with that).

    Share your words (or maybe just one) with us if you feel like it…It will be fun to see what each person feels is so important they can put it in a single word.

    Happy New Year!

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    What Do You Want?

    Ready to Try Something New for 2023?

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    All the talk about goals and resolutions makes me bored.

    I don’t really know why we focus on one particular day just because we turn another page in the calendar….I know that’s Scrooge thinking but it sort of diminishes the importance of all the other days in the year, doesn’t it?

    Anyway, I thought there has to be a better way to go about your year. I decided that focusing on what you WANT is a great way to keep going in a positive direction.

    So, instead of listing goals and resolutions solely (if it works for you, keep using it), why not write down a list of the things you want. These can be long term wants (to be a billionaire) or short term wants (I want to get into Vol State for 2023). But they should be things that when you think about them make you smile and feel happy.

    “I want to be healthy” works much better inside of you than saying “I don’t want to be sick”.

    When you’ve listed your wants, go through the list and remove the frivolous ones you just jotted down. Pick out the ones that really get your excitement levels up. Maybe they are your “Wow!” wants. Maybe they are your “this would really be special” wants. Or even “this would really make life a lot simpler for me” wants. Whatever your wants, focus on them. Make the list something you think would be do-able for the year. For instance break down the “I want to be a billionaire” into the things that will get you there. Not the same as the chunking for goal setting where the chunks are really small. These breakdowns will bring you joy!

    Once you have your list, print it out, post it on your bathroom mirror or the refrigerator or somewhere where you’ll look at it often. Make a conscious effort daily to read the list, stopping to smile at each one. Play with this concept. Create visual images of you achieving each one. Make it a part of you.

    Joy is a limited commodity nowadays. We can generate our own internal joy with listing our wants. Let the oxytocin begin to build up in your system and you’ll experience more happiness.

    If you’re bored with goals and resolutions, like me, this is worth a try!

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    The Power of A Review

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    Is this a shameless post asking you to post reviews of my books on Amazon?

    Of course, that would really make my day but hopefully you’ll see why it would be a good thing to do when we look at reviews as a whole.

    There are tons of TVs at the gym – and fortunately the sound is not on because the very loud music is..sigh. Thank God for audiobooks.

    Lately at least one station a day is talking about what happened in 2022. So, if the news highlights the review process, it must mean one of two things, right? Either they think it’s important or they are just trying to fill up slots….or both.

    Why do we review things? You’ve heard that history repeats itself. If it does, wouldn’t it be great to study what went on so that you will be prepared next time.

    When you write a race report, it’s a review. When your boss evaluates your performance, it’s a review. When you look at your financial expenditures, it’s a review. When you get ready to send out Christmas cards, it’s a review. Etc..

    What are you looking for when you review something. You’re looking to see what went right, what went wrong and what trends are identifiable.

    When you share reviews, you’re helping other people know how to handle things. Or, in the case of a book review, you’re helping them decide if they should spend their money on that particular book.

    Why look back a the previous year only? How good is your memory? If it’s like mine, good luck with that.

    Why not do daily and weekly reviews – maybe you think that’s too much, then try monthly or quarterly. Use your calendars to see what’s happened.

    This is a much better way to improve your life. You may not be happy with something that’s going on in your life but don’t know what to do about it. You have to recognize patterns and actions as well as thoughts and feelings. You can do that by reviewing each situation that has happened that you’re not happy with. If you review enough of them, you’ll see the trends and be able to identify what to change. Then you can either simply alter your behavior or perhaps get help with some change. But at least you know what it is you want to change.

    Try the stop, start and continue process (daily or weekly is best for this):
    Write down the things that if you stop them, it’ll lead you closer to what you want. For example, I will get a lot closer to editing my next book if I stop playing games on my phone all day.

    Write down the things that if you start they will improve your situation. Example, when I had to stop walking and doing impact activities in November, I decided it would be a good time to start doing cardio at the gym every day. That included the stair climber which I had “intended” to start “sometime” to help me with the steps at Vol State. What better “sometime” than when I couldn’t do any other exercise.

    Write down things that are working well and you want to continue. For example, my morning routine is perfect. It enabled me to read over 44 books in 2022.

    Reviews are for you to see where you’ve been and where you might be able to go. If you choose to share your lessons, that’s great and will help others but it’s not essential.

    And if you write a review of one or both of my books, it will help people realize they are books that are not just about running. And I’d be forever grateful.