“Have you ever had to work on a team project at school? Have you ever had to work together with your family members to get something accomplished? It’s important to know how to work well in teams. It’s not always easy to work in teams but the rewards are worth it! Together Everyone Accomplishes More!

The key to working well in teams is to have great communication among everyone involved.

As a team member, communication is really important. If you are having a problem with other team members, talk to them directly. If you can’t talk and listen to other team members you might as well be working individually.

Communicating effectively can also make your team, as a whole, work better and accomplish your given tasks quicker.

Here are some other ideas to help you work well with team members:

1. First focus on the task(s) assigned to you. If you finish with your task before other team members, ask other members if they need your help!

2. Meet your deadlines. If you must miss a deadline, apologize, then tell your team when they’ll have your part, and then make sure you meet that deadline. The rest of the team will respect you more for owning up to your problem rather than blaming someone else.

3. Be supportive of your team members. When discussing ideas for the project you’re working on, be sure to consider other team members’ suggestions, even if you don’t think they’ll work. Considering other ideas shows you’re interested in someone else’s opinion.

4. Realize the project is a collaborative effort. It doesn’t belong to any one person. It’s important that each team member can claim ownership of some part of the project. By having ownership they’re more likely to put forth the effort to make the project a success.

5. If you’re leading the team, let the team members know what’s expected of them. Establish clear objectives and how each person will contribute. Be open to making changes if someone else can do a certain aspect of the job better than the person you assigned to do it.

6. Motivate the team. Work on establishing and maintaining each team member’s morale and their motivation to succeed as a team. Give them a reason to want the team to succeed.
7. Work together on the plan. The team will feel more ownership of the project if everyone works together to set goals and establish deadlines for the various aspects of the job.

* Meet together periodically to check on progress.
* Switch jobs among team members if necessary.
* Everyone needs to pitch in to be sure the job is done correctly and on time.

Learning how to work well in teams is so important, not only in school, but also in families. Everyone needs to learn how to cooperate for the greater good instead of being concerned only with their own good.

Practice these teamwork tips, and soon you’ll find better team cooperation and more successful team projects both in the workplace and at home.”

Quotes

The basic building block of good team-building is for a leader to promote the feeling that every human being is unique and adds value.
- Unknown

A boat doesn’t go forward if each one is rowing their own way.
-Swahili proverb

“When you think back through your Synergy Martial Arts career, isn’t it amazing how many people you’ve passed by? These are the people who started the same time you did, but for whatever reason, took a “break” and just never got back into it?

We often hear from member that they see past students around town. They almost always ask, “Are you still at Synergy?” My answer is always “of course!” Then I hear: “That’s awesome. I wish I had stuck with it. I would have been a black belt, too.” (They always say this with a look of regret in their eyes, too).

While I’m sad they didn’t continue, it serves as a reminder of how far you’ve come. It also reminds us how well we stuck to our goals when others fell by the wayside. It’s a self-esteem booster for you. And that really is the secret to being great in any endeavor – staying the course over the long haul.

Really, to be successful at Synergy, you don’t have to be the strongest athlete or the most flexible person. Or even have the toughest physically. No, when you start, none of those things matter. What does matter is your ability to persevere. Because in the long run, it’s not where you start, it’s where you end up that matters.

We Grow At Our Own Pace.

You’ve heard the old “Tortoise and Hare” fable, haven’t you? The Hare rushes through the race, sees the Tortoise way behind him and takes a “breather” midway through the race. But not the Tortoise. He knows he’s not as fast as the hare. So he stays focused and moves at his own pace. And to everybody’s surprise, he wins. That is the essence of “perseverance”.

Life Is Not a Sprint. It’s a Marathon.

Like any other trait, you can develop perseverance. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Here are some of the powerful ways our training helps develop your perseverance “muscles”.

Learning how to master your emotions through the martial arts helps you to develop perseverance and fuels you with a willingness to carry on reaching your goals, no matter what the cost.

Martial arts training teaches you to develop your second mental wind. This is the part of us that determines whether or not we quit, keep going, or intensify our efforts during difficult times. Once you discover what stops you, you can then find ways to overcome those obstacles.

Take a look around at Synergy. All the higher ranks you see are people who have embraced learning and growing. They’re people who put aside their egos, learned to be humble and adopted a “beginner’s mind”. They know that every day there is more to discover about martial arts.

You’ll meet more people like this the more you rise through the ranks. In fact, I would argue that you can’t make it to the rank of master without great humility as well as believing “there is always more to learn”. (Most true masters in any field – not just martial arts – are humble deep down and always strive to improve themselves.)

Success leads to more success. But to achieve anything great in life, you must first know what it’s like to accomplish small goals. You have to start small and work your way up.

Since martial arts presents an ever-increasing series of challenges (stripes, belts, ranks, techniques, etc.), it’s a perfect way to flex your “personal victory” muscles. Every day, week and month there is something to conquer, a new technique to learn or a new challenge. You feel what accomplishment is like.

It might be something simple, like a self-defense technique. Or it could be something more difficult, like winning at a regional tournament. Whatever the goal, when you achieve it, it leads to greater confidence and carries you through to more success.

Then, when you confront an even bigger challenge, you can say to yourself, “Sure, this seems tough right now. But so did winning at the last tournament. And so did earning my blue belt. In fact, those seemed almost impossible at the time. I know I can do this, too. I’m going to press on”. Small victories add up to big success.

This constant series of challenges is what makes Synergy so fun. But it is also why it can be frustrating at times. It’s not easy. And it’s also why it’s so rewarding personally when you hit your goals.

But The Most Important Point of All….We Will Never Give Up on You!

If you do your part by attending classes regularly, practicing, listening and staying focused – we’ll do our part. We’re going to thrust you to a whole new level – physically as well as mentally. We’ll stand by your side

Wise Advice From a Higher Rank

“You have good martial arts days and you have bad martial arts days. The more you progress, though, the more the good days you’ll have. Stick with it and you’ll see”.

This is great advice. So this month I want you to be aware of your “perseverance muscles”. Go that little bit extra this month.”

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Energy and persistence conquer all things”.

“A black belt is just a white belt who never quits.”

“There are many similarities between a karate student and a grapevine. A long time ago, growers found out that if you indulge the vine — giving it lots of water and rich soil — it will produce mediocre grapes. They discovered that in order to produce grapes that are of the highest quality, they actually have to distress the vines. By providing the vines with just enough water and nutrients to survive, the growers force the vines to work hard to produce its grapes. Amazingly, this process brings out the very best concentration and complexity in the grape.

You can take the easy path and achieve some success. But if you take the difficult path by forcing yourself to face your most daunting challenges, you will reach heights you never thought possible.

Perseverance is by far the biggest obstacle in your path to achieving your black belt.

There are also other obstacles that stand in your way. Some are easier than others to break through. Perhaps the most obvious is the obstacles you’ll face during training. Whether it’s learning the movements or techniques, having to spar when you are tired or dealing with injuries, you’ll encounter many challenges during your journey and it will not stop once you receive your blue belt.

In fact, the challenges come at you harder as you move up in rank. However, it is these challenges that help define you not only as a martial artist but also as a person. This is very empowering because with each breakthrough, not only will your technique improve but also your mindset.

It is also important to surround yourself with positive energy, both on and off the mat. It’s not enough to think or hope you can make it to black belt — you have to believe it.”

Perseverance is commitment, hard work and patience.

Quotes

Life is not easy for any of us, but what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted in something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained

Marie Curie

“The champion isn’t the guy who never gets knocked down; he’s the guy who keeps getting back up after he gets knocked down.”

Vince Lombardi

“Courage is what you need to take action when you are scared or have doubts about the consequences. So…moral courage requires deliberation or careful thought. Moral courage  means doing the right thing even at the risk of getting in trouble,  being laughed at, or losing “friends.” Doing the right thing means listening to our conscience, that quiet voice within.  If you ignore that voice can you may feel guilty and lose your personal integrity.  Moral courage requires us to make judgments about what action or behavior supports our values, and which ones are destructive to them.  It asks us to recognize our responsibilities and see the consequences of our own actions.

History is full of great examples of people who showed moral courage that we rightly celebrate: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and Abraham Lincoln.  When we see people put their safety, security or reputation on the line for a cause they believe in, or for an ideal that matters more than personal comfort, we see moral courage in action.”

Moral courage looks like:

• standing up to a bully on the playground
• picking up litter
• doing homework or chores without being reminded
• refusing to listen to or repeat gossip
• practicing what you preach, even when no-one is looking or knows
• turning in a toy or a wallet to the Lost and Found
• a teen who calls home for a ride from a party where alcohol is being served
• reporting a crime

Lack of moral courage looks like:

• walking away from someone in need
• taking more than your fair share
• laughing at someone’s misfortune or accident
• grabbing the spotlight from someone who has earned it
• remaining silent in the face of wrong-doing or injustice
• breaking a promise
• lying or cheating

Moral courage sounds like:

• “I believe strongly in _________.”
• “That joke was offensive”
• “Let’s volunteer.”
• “Dad, I’m in trouble.”
• “I broke this, Mom.  I’m sorry.”
• “No, thanks, I don’t want to hear a secret!”
• “You shouldn’t talk behind her/his back.”
• “You can depend on me.”

Lack of moral courage sounds like:

• “It’s none of my business.”
• “She got what she deserved.”
• “That’s got nothing to do with me.”
• “I only did it once.”
• “Just let it slide.”
• “Nobody else is doing anything about it, why should I?”

Quotes

“He who does not punish evil commands it to be done.” —Leonardo da Vinci

“Perfect courage means doing unwitnessed what we would be capable of with the world looking on.”— La Rochefoucauld

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their mind to be good or evil.” — Hannah Arendt

http://www.lionswhiskers.com/p/six-types-of-courage.html

“Physical courage is the type most people think of first, the one that allows us to risk discomfort, injury, pain or even death—running into burning buildings as a firefighter, facing an enemy on the battlefield, undergoing chemotherapy, climbing a mountain.  We are right to be wary of pain: pain tells us where our boundaries and limits are.  However, sometimes there are things more important than pain, and our physical fear becomes a border to be crossed.  Physical fear is often blown entirely out of proportion: pain is often greater in anticipation than in fact, and that dread can become an insurmountable barrier.  Physical courage also involves recognizing that your body is how you participate in the world; keeping it healthy, strong, and resilient prepares you for all kinds of challenges,  not just physical ones.”

Physical courage looks like:

• sparring in class
• getting up after falling and trying again
• training for a marathon
• resisting the temptation to eat junk food and reaching for healthy food instead
• breaking a board in martial arts
• getting regular medical and dental exams
• enjoying the outdoors, no matter the weather, and exploring the world

Lack of physical courage looks like:

• giving up after one failed attempt
• holding back or hiding
• clinging to unhealthy habits
• being a couch potato
• avoiding physical challenges
• allowing a prior injury or frightening experience to scare you out of trying a new sport or activity
• shrinking back from a doctor or dentist
• shying away from new foods, activities, games

Physical courage sounds like:

• “I’ll try it!”
• “I’m okay!”
• “I can do it!”
• “Look at me!”
• “Let’s go outside.”
• “Watch what I can do!”
• “No thanks, I’m full.”
• “No thanks, I don’t smoke/drink.”

Lack of physical courage sounds like:

• “I might get hurt!”
• “I can’t do that.”
• “It’s too hot/cold/wet/dry/squishy/slimy/dirty.”
• “Boys don’t dance.”
• “Girls don’t play rough.”
• “It’s too far/high/deep/big/steep.”
• “I’m fat/ugly/slow.”

Quotes

“If you worried about falling off the bike you’d never get on.”  Lance Armstrong

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway.”  John Wayne

“You are in a dodgeball game on the playground.  Aiden is throwing the ball really hard trying to hurt Noah and some other boys.  A couple of kids have already quit the game, but most don’t want to because they think quitting would make them seem weak. Matthew decides to be an upstander for Noah. He stands tall, breathes deep and thinks of words to say. Then he walks over to Aiden and talks to him about what he is doing. Then Matthew asks Noah to hang out with him on another part of the playground. How would you have handled this bully? If you say something, what do you say and to whom do you say it? What were some other choices?

In a national survey of more than 2,100 students in grades 3–6, wrote about finding the courage to be an upstander for someone who is being bullied. Here are some things they wrote:

• “It’s hard when you see someone being bullied for something they can’t help. If you’re scared to help them, do it anyway. You have the right to stand up.”
• “I tell the person who is bullying to quit it. Then I take the person who was being bullied to another place, away from the bully.”
• “I tell the person who is bullying that what they’re doing isn’t right and they should stop.”
• “I tell the person bullying to stop, and try to comfort the person who was being bullied.”
• “I help kids who are bullied by staying with them. I’ve learned that kids who bully don’t go after people if they have at least one friend.”

Remember that each time you practice being an upstander for those who are bullied you will strengthen their courage muscle. The more upstanders we have, the closer we get to making ourselves and our school bully-proof.

The sign of a courageous person is someone who feels fear, recognizes fear and still goes on to do what he or she believes is right.

Mark Twain has said, Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.”

Quotes

Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow. ~Dan Rather
Courage is doing what you’re afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you’re scared. ~Edward Vernon Rickenbacker

Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid. ~Franklin P. Jones

“What are convictions? A term that is thrown around a lot, but rarely discussed. Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “A strong persuasion or belief; the state of being convinced; Certainty.”

Of course, we could look at it another way. A person’s convictions are the values they will not flinch on. Those convictions are the line they will not cross, no matter what. Those convictions will affect everything we do, whether we are aware of them or not.

There are many famous structures in the world. The Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty are all built on strong foundations. Any architect or engineer will tell you the most important part of any building is the part you can’t see–the foundation. Your convictions are YOUR foundation.

Some would say that trials (or times when you have to stand your ground) make one’s convictions. In reality, trials reveal one’s convictions. It is in that moment, that storm, that the Empire State building must stand. At that time, the foundation must hold. When the storm comes, the foundation must not be decided on, not be in the works: it must be a completed, solid, foundation.

What are your convictions? Everyone has them. But what will you choose to build your life on? Your convictions will determine how people remember you.

Having convictions is not enough. You have to also have the courage to follow (live) your convictions and in uncompromising fashion.

If you are in class, and your friend tries to look at your test answers during a test, do you have the courage to cover your paper because of your conviction that cheating is wrong?

Who had a situation this past week where it was a challenge to stand up for your convictions?”

Parents

“As a family, identify role models with integrity whom you admire. These may include Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, or someone else. Learn about these individuals and how they learned to live a life of integrity.”

“Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct.”

Thomas Carlyle

“There is a group of 10 friends and their teacher had planned a service project to help an elderly widow, Miss Morgan, clean up her yard. The young friends had promised to be at Miss Rogers’ home at 9:00 Saturday morning with rakes, hoes, a lawnmower, and trimmers for garden work. On Saturday the teacher and one young friend were the only ones who met at Miss Rogers’ home. Although they worked very hard until 1:00 in the afternoon, they were able to accomplish far less than their goal because two people were trying to do the work of ten.”

How did the two who kept their commitment might have felt?

What responsibility did the other friends have?

How do you feel when other people make commitments and then fail to keep them?

What are some areas in your lives in which you need to be dependable?

Make a list of your responsibilities for the coming week—such things as school obligations, household chores, family responsibilities, and so on. Make a commitment to be dependable in doing these things.

Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won’t cheat, then you know he never will.
John D. MacDonald

Integrity: A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character. You ask, What’s in a name? I answer, Just about everything you do.
Morris Mandel

Prefer a loss to a dishonest gain; the one brings pain at the moment, the other for all time.
Chilton

“It means more than just being honest. Integrity refers to a person’s innermost characteristics and staying true to their beliefs. People who have integrity say what they mean and mean what they say. True integrity comes from honesty, taking personal responsibility and adhering to a code of moral values.”

Integrity means acting upon your values and beliefs even when no one is watching.

Honesty is the first part of showing integrity. Honesty means being truthful and sincere in all circumstances. Your reputation will be built on keeping your word.

If you buy something at Target, and the sales clerk accidentally gives you too much change, what is the honest thing to do?

If you are alone in a parking lot, no trash can in sight, and you need to get rid of a wrapper, should you drop it on the ground while no is looking?

If your teacher asks you if you studied for a test, and you didn’t, what should you say?

If you see an unpopular kid at school being teased, should you join in to be accepted by the cooler kids?

You’ve been really struggling in a class you need to pass. You studied hard for the final test, but still aren’t feeling confident about it. Your friend took the test earlier in the day and offers to tell you exactly what was on it. Should you let her?

If you promise your parents that you will finish your homework before you watch TV, is it okay to watch a quick show before you start your work?

You are alone with your sibling, no parents around, is okay to cuss?

“How many people practice what they preach? The gap between knowing that something is right and the willingness to do it is much bigger than we care to acknowledge. Many of us know that there are times in our lives when we might cross the boundaries that separate right from wrong. Many a times it is but for the sake of convenience. Don’t let laziness get in the way of your integrity. “

Think about the choices you make every day. The decisions you make, especially when no one is around to see them is, are what define you. Integrity is something you practice all of the time, not some of the time.

Quotes

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.
Oprah Winfrey

Integrity is not a 90 percent thing, not a 95 percent thing; either you have it or you don’t.
Peter Scotese

Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do.
Don Galer

Effort is the time and work you commit to your goal. Make sure your have the time and tools to do the tasks outlined in your action plan. Designate a quiet place with minimal distractions to work on your goal. Our lives can sometimes be filled with so many time wasters that there is little room to focus on goals. Re-evaluate those time wasters. Reduce time spent on unproductive activities such as TV and video games. Have a set time to practice your forms or study your multiplication table, or whatever is on your list of action items.

Most of the time simply trying will result in little or no progress.  Even if some initial progress is experienced, the results will likely be very short lived. This creates a negative cycle that can actually hinder our willingness to set personal goals. After all, if you never succeed in reaching your goals, then, what’s the point of trying again?

Think about that for a moment. A halfhearted effort will lead to disappointing results and will stifle your enthusiasm toward future goals. If this pattern continues, it will result in you believing you can’t achieve your goals.  Even if you start with the best of intentions.

Intentions are not enough!

Effort is by definition earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something or exertion of physical or mental power.  Effort is the actual work you have to put in to make a goal happen. It is the hours of practice, or research, or the actual process of reaching goals.

People who are successful at setting and reaching their goals understand that effort is essential.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day. Goals tend to tap the deeper resources and draw the best out of life. 

Harvey Mackay

If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will overcome your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges.

Pat Riley

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal, nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong attitude.

Thomas Jefferson

 The four natural principles for success are: A clear goal, a definite plan, confidence, no fear of failure.

Robin Sieger