Hello everyone! How are y'all doing? In my post, "Tips For Making a Regional Team" I talked about planning your success, and today we're going to be diving into that a little bit more. As you can see by the title, we'll be touching specifically on the topic of your vision for this season. Whether or not you've already "launched your takeoff" for this season, this new series (that I'm super excited about!) is going to walk you through a few simple steps that have really helped me to start the season off strong the past few years. We'll be going through how to create your vision, establishing step-by-step goals that will take you to that vision, and the nitty-gritty work that completes those goals. So I hope you guys enjoy this series, and with no further ado, lets do it! The reason creating a vision helps in the takeoff, is that you have a clear and specific idea of what you want to do and achieve. Like I've mentioned before, knowing for sure where you want to go, makes the journey a lot easier, and it helps you to focus and get better results from all of your efforts. In addition, it keeps you from becoming complacent, and revisiting your vision can be a big source of motivation throughout the entire season. So here's how to create it:
For example, where do you want to place at district finals, regionals, or nationals? Do you want to make a regional team, and if so which one (A or B)? Do you want to learn all the memory verses? Or all of the material? The two goals you decide on are what you'll be centering your vision around. The hardest part of this goal-making, is finding the balance between being plain unrealistic, and pushing yourself to your limits so that you can grow to your maximum potential. But to be honest, there isn't much that's really unrealistic if you're willing to do what it will take, but just remember that quizzing isn't the most important thing in your life ;). 2. Write a statement that describes your ideal end-season with those goals. This is the fun part - the actual writing of what you'll be (partially) focused on this year. Your vision statement should be between 50-100 words - not too long, but just long enough to include where you're going, with a small hint of magic. This statement should be clear and easy to read, inspirational, and describe the quality results that will come from your work this season. 3. Revise to perfection, and revisit often. You'll want to revise your statement a few times, so that it's the best it can be. It's a good idea to read and rewrite it every day over 3-4 days so that you get a new spin on it each time it's revisited - this is a strategy that book authors often use. But after this is done, I would encourage you to type up the final draft, print it out, and put it up somewhere where you'll see it everyday - your vision statement (whether it's for quizzing or any other area of life) is something good to remind yourself of before you begin working. Why? Because it reminds you of why you're working. Guess what? I made a special workbook to help you do just what I've been talking about in this post! Click the graphic below to download it! "To be continued..." (:P) Like I said, this is the first in a series of posts, discussing a few steps to take to make this season kickoff the best we've ever had. So in the sequel to this post, we'll be going over the step-by-step goals that will take you to your vision, throughout this year.
The way I designed this series, we'll have a week for each step (each post); we have this week to create our season vision statements, next week to decide on our periodic goals, etc.. And I'm going through this process with you! So whether or not you've already "launched your takeoff" for this quiz year, I would heartily invite you to go on this little journey with me! I hope that you have a fantastic week, and that your season "takeoff" is awesome as well. See y'all next Monday! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory
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Hey guys! Today I thought I would talk to you a little about "next level quizzing". This can be both from the perspective of rising to your next level and improving yourself, or from the perspective of rising to the level of the best. Where are you in your goals right now? Where do you want to go? How hard are you willing to work? Also, you may want to check out my post about different levels of quizzing which has correlating, color coated, printable study guides! To me, there are three main areas in which we can focus on becoming better: studying, jumping, and answering questions. Studying - Time, Quality, and making a Schedule Time is essential; you may get a lot from the material from focusing well over short periods of time, but soaking in it is a good idea - especially for captains/co-captains (so that we get a deeper understanding of what's going on). We need to make sure that the time we are spending studying is actually having an effect - that we not only have quantity, but also quality. If we're not paying attention, we might not get much (if anything) out of the session. A sacrifice of time, together with our full attention, can have some awesome results! Making a schedule is also a good idea if you're having trouble getting into it. Knowing what to study and fun ways to do so is very helpful when you're struggling to find motivation. If you don't make a schedule regularly, my post "Composing a Simplistic Study Outline" would be a great place to start! Jumping - Pre-jumping, Team Strategy, and Reflex/Timed Styles Pre-jumping is a basic necessity for taking quizzing to the next level. It can seem a little daunting, since you have to finish the question and answer it, but after some practice it becomes a piece of cake! You have to get out of your comfort zone to pre-jump sometimes, and you have to assume that you know all the answers, so that you don't have to analyze it before you jump - as my old coach used to say, "Think on your feet, and not on your seat". In tournaments, its a good idea to have a team strategy. For example, someone to jump on memory verses, someone to jump on according to's, generals, etc. so that everyone knows what to focus on in the quiz round. Also, team strategy through splitting up the questions helps the individual quizzers know what to practice/study, and helps the team to support each other and share the load against a good opponent. The way I see it, there's two pre-jumping styles: reflex and timed. The timed-style is usually what the memory and according to quizzers use. They practice jumping on their question specialty, so that they jump right as the necessary information is revealed (i.e. just as the first syllable of the verse, or verse reference, is said) which is pretty consistent for these types. The reflex-style, on the other hand, requires the quizzers who specialize in pretty much all other types of questions, to hear what the quiz master is saying, and then anticipate when the unique information will be given. For general questions, it can be anywhere from two to five syllables, for situation it can be as little as the first sound, and contexts are kind of unpredictable. Question specialty - Why, How, and Studying Accordingly Pretty much all of the top quizzers choose and focus on a specific question type, and we call that their question specialty. When you have one type of question to focus on, it makes practices more intense, study time more beneficial, and tournaments simpler. Also, you're better able to help your team, by giving them some near-guaranteed points per round, as the fruit of your work. Most people find their question specialty either their first or second season, and that just by figuring out what they enjoy the most and what they're best at - and then they usually sick with and build on that for the remainder of their quizzing career. You can switch your question specialty later on (I'm focusing on according to's right now for my team, even though my original specialty was generals), but it can be difficult. Of course, each question type requires slightly different skills, and many different ways to study and practice them. In my post about Behind the Scenes of Top Ten Quizzers, I asked five different people what their number one tip would be for their question type - two according to quizzers, two general question quizzers, and one memory quizzer. And since I specialized in generals, I wrote a Part 1 and Part 2 about how to rock those! Taking yourself to that next level is definitely a challenge, but it's nothing you can't handle! I would encourage you, that while you're improving yourself, to not lose focus of why we're doing this.
In the end, the person who places thirtieth at a tournament could be getting more from the material, and growing more in their walk with the Lord through quizzing, than the person who gets first. Ask Him why He said what He did, and what those weird parables mean, why the drops of His blood and sweat had your name written on them. When we do well in quizzing, as we're learning to do, we have to make sure that it's actually accomplishing some eternal good - or else it means nothing. But the awesome news is, that once Jesus is the foundation and center of our motivation, quizzing becomes so much easier! It destroys any performance-related stress, gives the sport real purpose, and enables you to grow closer to God while participating in an awesome and fun ministry! I hope that these things help you along on your quizzing journey, and motivate you to keep chugging along in your walk with the Lord! Thanks for reading! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hello wonderful people! Today I'm going to share with you a list of four ways you can skyrocket your quizzing experience! These are things that I've noticed in successful quizzers, things that I've had to learn (and am obviously still learning), and things I am thoroughly convinced will help improve your quizzing journey. I wanted to share these with you guys because I realized that I've mentioned them before, but always apart from each other, and almost never in a short-winded format. I would almost call these pillars, regarding quizzing with the right mindset. So anyway, I pray that these benefit you, and that I'm able to get across what I'm meaning to say :P 1. Setting priorities This can be difficult, especially if you're into other sports, hobbies, or have a part-time job. There's only 24 hours in a day, right? Sometimes squeezing quizzing in can be a challenge. Admittedly, there is a fine line between making studying a priority, and making it something your rely on for your worth and value (of whatever amount) because you care about it maybe a little too much. Staying on the right side of this line can be checked every once in a while by an easy rule of thumb: "Will I be okay if I don't perform well? And am I committing what is my best effort, right now, to quizzing?" If you can find the balance between the two extremes of excess and laziness, you'll be golden! I have a problem with this sometimes, especially when it comes to giving my best effort (because it always feels like I could be doing better, or be doing more), but I'm learning that the secret to living in the happy medium, the sweet spot if you will, is just focusing on being rooted in your relationship with our Father. Everything you do flows from the condition of your heart (Proverbs 4:23). And of course, the Maker of our hearts is the only One who can keep and fulfill it, in order that we can live life more abundantly (John 10:10). So our first priority must be guarding our hearts, and giving them to the God who nurtures them - everything else in our lives will follow along in peace and in joy. 2. Focus on yourself I talked about this in a previous post, but I'm going to hit it up as a summary in this format - think of it as a recap :P First, peer pressure and caring about what other people think doesn't do anyone any good, and you can find the same amount of motivation that would come from that, from other (less destructive) sources. Secondly, If you're just caring about what others think of you, then you won't get the opportunity (or as many opportunities) to encourage and build up other quizzers. Plus, when you put in the effort to give someone else a boost, that usually refreshes and motivates you as well! And lastly, peer pressure isn't something God intended - spurring each other on to do better is. Focus on yourself, and only be concerned with being better than yesterday, and an abundance of peace will settle on you. And as a cool bonus, when we're not stressed out about it, it'll be easier to give it our best. 3. Find and choose rivals, friends, and role models Focus on yourself, but don't be afraid to wade into the competition! Healthy competition and spurring each other on to do better go hand in hand, so don't hesitate to get in there and make a splash :P Having rivals in quizzing is a good idea, and usually comes easily (most of the time without even trying). These rivals can be from your team, district, region, or from somewhere totally different - or you can have multiple rivals from all of these. Having friends is equally important. If you keep yourself secluded from the social aspect of quizzing then you'll miss out on a lot of awesome friendships you could have been forming. But also keep in mind that it's never too late to start! Next, it's also a good idea to find role models for yourself. These are usually quizzers themselves, but sometimes they can be other people who also project the values related to quizzing, that you want for yourself. Through having role models, we can observe and learn to do better. I've benefitted a lot from this! 4. Have goals Its good to have short and long term goals - and you can apply this to quizzing as well! Here's why;
Having a goal-oriented mind, I have to remind myself occasionally that not everyone thinks this way. And I understand why you may think this doesn't apply to you, but let me ask you this - if you were trying to travel to a place you'd never been, how much easier would it be to get there if you stopped and planned out directions for yourself, before you started out? You have to know where you're going, and what to do at each turn and intersection, if you want to get to the destination safely, efficiently, and without losing your mind :P So there you go! I hope that these help you on your Bible quizzing journey, and that it encourages you to give quizzing to God, to only care about what He thinks of you, to make and nourish Godly friendships, and to know where you want to go!
This is pretty much it - the big tournaments are upon us, my friends. But don't fret! If you're worried, upset, or stressed out about it, I just want you to know that those feelings are not from God. They are either from the Devil, or from yourself under the influence of his temptations and deceit. It is not fun to feel this way! It causes you to get angry, tired, and frustrated, and sometimes even tempts you to give up. Paul says that we should not be oblivious of the Devil's tactics/devices (2 Corinthians 2:11 - shout out: who's getting pumped for next season?!). And, to remind us all to be on our guard against his voice, here are a couple of the lies he tries to sell to us - in order to steal our joy. And, to be perfectly honest, he's as dumb as a stump (seriously) so any lies he tries to use, will nine times out of ten, be one of these - only packaged differently. Test your thoughts.
And as a side note, the Bible says that whatever he steals from you and you catch him (as we are equipped to do right now), he has to return to us seven times as much (Proverbs 6:31). Guys, if you've had any kind of joy stolen from you by his lies, and you're ready to put the stinking slug in his place, you're going to have an over abundance of joy coming your way. Get ready, my friend, get ready! Keep on keeping on, anointed children of God! Have an awesome, awesome weekend and a wonderful time of peaceful preparation before our tournaments! Thanks for reading! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey guys! How are you guys? I hope you all had a great Christmas break! Sorry it's a little late, but here are the printable schedules for the Learn Luke Challenge in January!
Today I'd like to touch on a subject that I think is fairly important to have a right perspective on, in order to have a fulfilling quizzing experience.
There are a lot of different ways that quizzers motivate themselves to do well, but one I think is prominent, is considering (whether consciously or subconsciously) what other quizzers will think, whether they're from their team or from another. I.e. if the quizzer has done well, and therefore feels pressure to perform as well, or even better, in the future. Or, alternatively, if a quizzer feels as though people expect them to perform well for any other reason (like if they have an older sibling who quizzes well, or if they're on a team of experienced quizzers, or if they're from a competitive district), there are obviously lots of possibilities. Everyone knows this isn't unique to quizzing - it's a driving source for many people in lots of different areas of their lives. Go ahead and take a moment to think of a time in which you felt peer pressure - either in quizzing or in something else - and recount how that affected you. It's argued that it's not always negative; that it's a good way to spur each other on to do better. But I think these are two different things, and here's why: Peer pressure...
Spurring each other on to do better...
And I think most of us would like to see the latter of these at work, rather than the first. So how do we take action on this? It's a good idea to start with ourselves, so that leads us to ask the question, how can we eliminate the effect peer pressure has on us? And how can we stop participating in it? Well we can go about this in a few different ways, but the best one would probably be to purposely begin doing three things: encouraging and complimenting others, encouraging yourself, and caring only about who God says you are, and what He thinks of you. Once we can start our journey towards seeing ourselves how our Father sees us (and seeing how deeply He's in love with each of us), the two previous things on the list become natural, and can come almost effortlessly. Why? Because whatever visual, heart-level picture we have of God, is what we will mirror - whether it's an accurate or inaccurate picture. If we see Him as love - that He is love and love is Him - then we will begin to become and project love as well, if we're seeking Him. This is a very positive perspective on God and life, compared to what a lot of christians project, and I think this perspective on peer pressure is a positive one as well. But why should we care what God thinks, when people are all around us, and who tangibly (visually and audibly) express it? People always say, "don't worry about what everybody else says" but they rarely add a reason to that. Sometimes, if they're christians, they'll say something like, "because God's eternal and people aren't" but everyone's spirits are eternal, because they either go to Heaven or Hell, so this answer doesn't make much sense - unless they're talking about just life here on earth, in which case it still doesn't really help because earth is the only place we'll be dealing with the problem. So here's my reason; once we get a revelation from God about how much He loves us, and how He sees us as perfect and pure, forgiven, beautiful, and His children, we'll be overcome by the extent of how much more this means to us. That "feeling" might not last a long time, depending on how deeply rooted we are in our relationship with the Lord (maybe I'll give my whole testimony on this at some point, but I won't go into that right here), so the next step is just getting to know Him, and continuing to deepen that relationship. People and God - there really is no comparison :P at the end of the day, even if these people mean a lot to us and it can hurt, very badly at times, to feel like you're rejected because of something, you have to ask yourself whose opinion you're valuing (caring about) more. Our Father's? or our friends? I've been hurt some as a result of not doing or agreeing with everything my peers did or thought, and I've given into the pressure a lot (LOT) more times. Heck, I'm not even a two-year-old christian yet! (Yes, that means that I didn't start caring about or seeking the Lord until the end of my second year in Bible quizzing - so hear me when I say that I don't have this all figured out :P) And it's because of how that effected me, that it's one of the main reasons I feel a bit strongly on this subject, when it comes to my fellow teens (whom peer pressure usually hits the hardest) and my fellow quizzers. I'm going to close with a question for you - whose voice are you going to listen to today? Which relationship are you going to invest in, with your choices this week? Thanks for reading guys, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the Bethany invitational later this month! Happy quizzing! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey there all you wonderful people! I hope you're all having an awesome break from school, and are enjoying the company of your family and friends! It's close to New Years, and a lot of people are making resolutions. Although it's turning into kind of a joke that no one ever reaches these goals, I think it's a great thing to sit down and think about how you'd specifically like to improve yourself. I did a post on quizzing resolutions last year (or maybe the year before...) I think, and I made printable templates for them too. But that's not what I'm doing in this post :P Today I wanted to help you guys get excited about your study lives (for quizzing) in January, so you can start the year out strong! Whatever way that you usually go about motivating yourself, doing something new or in a different way is a good place to start, and also a great way to explore the unknown. But how can we study in a "new or different way"? I've come up with some pretty strange, but fun, ideas the past three and a half years, and I've put them in categories so it's easier to read. So here we go!
We've got a few more months before the really important tournaments begin for the end-game of this season. District finals, Regional qualifiers, and then finally the national tournament in Indianapolis await! A lot of people can't help but get nervous when they think about this, but there's no reason to be, at the end of the day. How are you doing this season? Is it everything you wanted it to be? If so, woo-hoo! Good for you! Keep it up, and don't worry about your performance, because you're gonna do great! If you haven't done as you hoped this season so far, you shouldn't worry about it either, because, it's just quizzing. But, if you're still willing to work, do your absolute best and leave no effort unused, go for it!! There's no limit to what you can do, especially since we have a good amount of time before the important tournaments. You can still achieve what you wanted to at the beginning of this season, and if you dare to work towards that and forget what's behind you, I'm convinced you won't be disappointed. So go for it - be the quizzer you want to be! Use these study ideas, and the refreshed inspiration from the New Year to propel you forward towards your goals! You're gonna do great. That's all for now, my friends. I wish you all the happiest New Year, and an awesome January! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the Bethany Invitational later next month (it's supposed to be over Luke 1-20, heads up)! Thanks for reading! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory |
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