Hey guys! I'm SO SORRY that this post is a couple days late. It's been a really weird week :P. I have been dealing with a few things, and because of that, I knew that if I wrote a post in the middle of it, it wouldn't even sound like me. BUT I'm feeling a lot better now, so I'm ready to write out a freaking fantastic post. ARE YOU READY TO RUMBLE?? Lol sorry, I know I'm weird :P. So today, I'm going to be giving you the FIVE STEPS to how you can quiz like an expert this season. Or rather, it's like 4 1/2 steps to becoming an expert in quizzing - you feel me? :P So without any further ado, lets just do that thaaaaaang! Step 1: Vision, vision, vision (It's more important than you think...) (Note from Editing Mallory: This is the step that I spent the most time on, so don't get overwhelmed by the length of it - the other steps are much shorter ;) This is my favorite point, so don't skip over it!) Proverbs 29:18 says, "Where there is no vision, the people perish...". But why? God has created us with His ability to imagine things - to see things that aren't real, or that aren't physically present. I mean think about it; the Word says that He saw me - He saw you - before the creation of the world. Even though we weren't physically present with Him at that point in time, He saw us. He imagined how amazing we would be. He could see so clearly, all the things that He loves about us. That's pretty darn cool, I gotta say(!). He has also said in His word that our imagination (our meditation, our thoughts) are REALLY important, because, as Proverbs 23:7 says, "as a person thinks, so will they be [or become]". When I was in gymnastics a few years back, I got to experience how important "envisioning" things, really was. Until I could literally, clearly see, what I would see as I was doing any kind of flip or skill, I was unable to do it. But as soon as I got it in my head - what I would see, and what I would feel as I did the skill - I could do it just like that *snap*. It was (usually, anyway) a piece of cake once I saw it. Because I envisioned it, I was able to achieve it. I would later on find, through reading some business and success books, that envisioning things and thinking in a certain way, is actually what a lot of successful people do - because they understand, recognize, and acknowledge, the difference that having a vision makes. Vision is one of the reasons people make goals in the first place. It just comes down to knowing what you're working towards. But vision also includes seeing what it will look like, and feel like, once you have achieved it. It helps you to "keep your eye on the why". You have to know why you're working, it you want to continually, and consistently, give it your all. Effort is something to be appreciated. Appreciate the effort that you put into things. God does! Also appreciate the effort that other people put into things - whether or not those things are for you. I think that's one of the most important, and one of my favorite revelations I've gotten from God. I actually got it several years ago - probably when I was about 13-14 years old. I recognized, just in a split second, that what someone was doing for me, was taking brain power on their part - they were consciously choosing, to freely give me their time, energy, thoughts, and most importantly, their effort. You can't put a price on that. So you see, in order to convince yourself - day after day - to keep working towards what you want in quizzing or anything else, all you need to do, is keep the why in front of you. Heck, make a whole list of "why's"! Then, when you feel unmotivated, go back and read over that list and SEE all of those why's becoming reality. The last thing I'm gonna say about vision, is that in order to be honest with yourself - and thereby making the why's even stronger - you need to count the cost. Figure out what it's going to take, in order to achieve it. "Nothing ever worth while ever comes easy, and nothing that comes easy, is ever worth while." You're going to have to put in a lot of effort, if you're as ambitious as most quizzers I've had the pleasure to meet, and get to know. But you know, that effort is going to pay off big time. I worked by tail off, in order to get ready for regionals (especially), and for nationals last year. Seriously, I spent probably 2-3 hours a day studying (except for the days when I missed it, of course :P). And I thought about stopping. But I kept the three things that I wanted at the forefront of my studying mind: 1) "I want to make a regional team because I want to compete against my friends at nationals", 2) "I want to be a fierce competitor, and be able to give awesome challenges, rebuttals, and appeals to help myself, my team, and other quizzers", and, 3) "I want to do my VERY BEST at nationals, and make myself proud". Since I kept these things on the forefront of my mind while I was studying, I was better able to give it my all. Because of that, I was - to some extent, anyway - able to achieve these three "why's". Believe me, it was VERY rewarding. So don't be worried about how much work/effort you're going to have to commit, in order to get to where you want to go. Just figure out the vision, what it'll take, and why you want it. And that leads me to step numero two... Step 2: Chop it up into small pieces (and find out how to progress in each one) I wish I could think of a better saying or quote to put in here, because the one I'm going to be using is funny, but kinda gross (:P #WhereIsTheCryingLaughingEmojiWhenYouNeedIt). So here it goes... "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." (Ew) But, unfortunately, it's true. When you have something big, and overwhelming that you need/want to get done, the easiest way to overcome that initial dread and doubt, is to tear off a small piece of it, and tackle that first. You may be feeling overwhelmed right now, with the very idea of "becoming an expert quizzer this season". But lets split that up into a few different pieces.
See, now that we've split it up into a few categories in which we can work on improving ourselves, it's easier to see HOW we can go about improving ourselves. "But how can we figure out how we can practically make progress? Everyone is in a different spot, so there can't be just one answer." That's right - it'll be different for everybody. But here's how you can figure out what's right for you...
As you go through this process, you'll find yourself making some pretty cool progress ;). Step 3: Commit your vision and desires to God & Remember your priorities You may be thinking that me saying to "remember your priorities" is a huge let down from all of this motivating talk I've been giving you. Think again! I'm going to share with you how MOTIVATING, and FREEING remembering your priorities can be. I actually just had another sit down with God yesterday, to rewrite all of my priorities in order of importance. I wrote them out just as I thought of them, so that I could put them in order in the next column. When I had put them in the order that I knew they should be (I.e. relationship with God first, mental/physical health second, family third, school fourth, etc..), that list was totally different from what the first list had been. What I thought of first - what were most prominent in my mind - were the things that should have been anywhere from number 7-10 on my list, instead of 1-4. I realized that I have been (wrongly) putting other things above even my own well-being and relationships with the people around me. Operating (subconsciously) under these mixed up priorities was SUPER unhealthy for me. I get more frustrated, time-conscious, stressed out, and overall unhappy when I'm not spending my energy on my top priorities, instead of the less important things in my life. Spending the "firstfruits", if you will, of your time and energy on your top three priorities, will better enable you to spend your "secondary" time and energy on the less-important. I gotta be real honest with y'all for a second. I think, for someone my age, I do a lot of ministry-oriented things. I have this blog, that I try to post on every week, I have the Vlog extension every-other week, the email Newsletter every-other week, I just started leading a weekly Bible Study for 10-14 year-old girls (it's called "Ignited", btw - pretty cool name, right? :P), and I'm involved in serving in my church. Given all of this, I know how important it is that I'm hearing from God about what to say, how to say it, and that I'm continually growing and maturing to be more like my Savior and Father. I want to bless people, but it's SO EASY for me to forget that "blessing people" is much farther down my priority list than #1. I believe that God has put the unique desire and ability inside of me to be a good minister of His amazing love, but I have to remember that I am not created to minister His love - I'm created to be loved by Him, and to love Him back. That's so important. So simple. And yet so hard to keep at the front of my mind when the day starts. But when I am operating hand-in-hand with correctly ordered priorities, the things farther down the list get done with more excellence, more competence, and more passion and energy. Matthew 6:33 - "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." Everything in life - and true, abundant life itself - comes effortlessly, by pursuing a relationship with God first and foremost. Step 4: Take action with unmovable determination Once you've got a vision, you've chopped it up into doable pieces, you've committed it to God, and you have gotten your priorities straight with God and yourself (and you are able to act accordingly, to the best of your ability), GO FOR IT! Charge forward and don't let any barrier stand in your way! Crush through them, as if you barely notice them! Dude, you have so got this. Remember to remember (lol) the why, as you're charging forward, though. Step 5: BE AWESOME I think the title speaks for itself pretty well on it's own ;). And that's all I got for you today! Again, I'm sorry about this post being two days late, but I hope that you got something out of it anyway, and that through it, you may just be able to kick through some of the things that are holding you back from making some real progress in your quizzing journey. If you start to implement these things, I believe that you'll really start to see some awesome results, and that you'll be quizzing like the expert you really are, in no time. With that, Quiz-Journeyers, I hope that you have an absolutely fantastic week - I pray and speak blessings over you days, you coming and going, your rest, you work, and I pray that you would see and experience the amazing, wonderful love of our Father God. Keep on chugging along, quizzing and living victoriously, because you were BORN a victor in Christ, my friend. Love you guys, and God loves you so much too! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory
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Trending Posts:Author:Mallory is a graduated Teen Bible Quizzer originally from the Southern region, moved to the Northwest, coaching quizzing over the book of Matthew. Check out our
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