Hello again! In this post we're going to be talking about how that you can (and should!) win trophies... at practice! I don't mean that you should have physical awards at all of your team get-togethers (because that would probably get old :P), but rather, I'm sharing the concept of... Winning your trophies at practice, and just picking them up at tournaments. So without further ado, here are the four ways that quizzers can apply, and end up benefitting, from having this mindset!
Now, this doesn't mean that you should go full throttle with your challenges/rebuttals/appeals, because your coach may get frustrated :P (unless you are specifically practicing those). Instead, I'm talking about jumping at your top speed, and trying to not wait around for more syllables just because you can. I don't do this all the time, as some of you will know, because there's just something about the tournament atmosphere that helps me push myself harder. If you want to apply this mindset, then while you're on the seats at practice, pretend to yourself that you're at a tournament - an important one, or better yet, the regional quiz off. This will probably cause you to jump faster, causing more errors (because that's just what happens), but if you've studied, there's a good chance you'll blow your teammates away! And that leads me to the next one, which (disclaimer), I am still working on!
Some weeks it can get hard to study, especially when you may not have a tournament coming up soon. However, the idea of quizzing as hard at practice as you would at a quiz event will push you to prepare harder, and therefore enable you to perform better at practices, AND future tournaments. In addition, the knowledge we get from more consistent studying stays with us for longer, and more accurately, than the knowledge we get from cramming. I've crammed for pretty much all of my quizzing career, so I've experienced this a good amount (unfortunately). Because of that, I can tell you that whenever I have a good streak of consistency, the stuff that I put in my head during that period of time stays with me for far beyond that season. That's when things we call "flashbacks" happen... they're kind of annoying in a quiz, but so rewarding otherwise :P.
There's two ways that you can have confidence here: in knowing how great you really are, and in knowing that you deserve to do well, because of how hard you've worked. Not to be confused with cockiness, which is thinking you're someone you're not and/or pushing your accomplishments onto other people, just growing this confidence can literally improve your performance. Why? Because any kind of sport is at least partially affected by your mental attitude (usually a lot). The same thing with tests, interviews, speeches, productivity, etc.. A lot of quizzers, newer ones mainly, don't do as well at quiz events and even practices, for the simple reason that they don't have any confidence. Like I mentioned in my post about "What to Know About Nationals", taking chances is one of the top necessities in quizzing, because without it, you can glue yourself to the seat. When this happens, you have to watch other people take your rightful place on the scoreboard. So to avoid this, simply work on growing your confidence, so that you can take these kinds of chances in your stride, and without thinking twice.
I feel like this quote kinda wraps up the last three points. People will see your accomplishments, being your placings, trophy shelves, or teams that you've made, but that's only the top tip of the iceberg! It's a little cliché, I suppose, but that analogy really fits here, so I'm gonna use it :P. The whole concept of "earning your trophies at practice", is all about putting your focus on the bottom 90% of the iceberg, so that you can grow it - and therefore grow your successes (the 10% that other people see). And that 10% that they do see, ROCK IT! Totally blow people away, because you've earned it. Don't be afraid of showing your hard work, and reaping some of it's benefits! We've spent a fair amount of this post talking about trophies, and at the end of the day, they're just tangible, dust-collecting things, right?
But there's another, more important, side to quizzing awards... Every quiz award that you get, represents not only the fun time you got to spend with your friends (and maybe family), or the hard work that you put in. It represents all of the knowledge that you gained of God's Word! I don't know about you, but that's pretty cool to me! But anyways, it's time to wrap this post up for today. I sincerely hope that you all have PHENOMENAL weeks, and that you know that you are blessed, that you are specifically anointed, and that the Father has an incredible love just for you. Love you guys - keep quizzing and living victoriously! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory
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Hello there, Quiz-Journeyers! How are ya doing today? How has your week been? I missed you guys! :P In this post, we're going to be doing something a little different, but super cool... A "roundup" of my favorite four things (studying styles, planning techniques, tools, etc.) from my fourth year in Bible quizzing. So lets jump into it! Number One: The "reference" tool on Quiz Master (you can purchase this software here: QuizMaster). Since I focused more on According To's last year than I had in previous seasons, I was kind of at a loss on how to study for them effectively. I tried writing out my own flashcards for the verses in Luke, because I know some people who do that and it works really well for them (shoutout to you guys)! But it just wasn't for me. I didn't like having to actually handle them, and having to shuffle them, and not being able to study specific chapters without spending a lot of time re-organizing the cards. Maybe I'm just impatient, I don't know :P. But in the reference tool, you can easily choose which verses, sections or chapters you'd like to study, and you can even use it to study in different ways (I'll probably write a post just on what I learned about According To's later on ;)). I really benefitted from this tool! Number Two: Printed daily schedules/to-do lists VS. Written out. I found that on the days when I went to all of the trouble to type and print out my quizzing tasks (especially when I did it the night before), instead of just scribbling it down in the morning with everything else, I'm more compelled to do it. It like, since I put in all the effort, and I don't want to waste any paper or ink, I might as well just do what I had planned, and make it worth while. Does that make sense? Number Three: On busy days, make it a kind of one-person-party, late-night study session. I had a lot of busy days this past school year, and I wasn't always able to get to my quizzing preparation during the day (because near the end of the season I had a bunch to catch up on), so I had to do it pretty late at night after I had finished everything else. I would get my PJs on (after everyone else had gone to bed), with slippers, pour myself a glass of chocolate milk or hot cocoa, and figure out what I needed to accomplish before I went to bed. Then I would write it down, to keep track of it, get out my portion, and pace back and forth across the kitchen and dining room... for a long time :P. BUT I ended up getting a LOT done in those late-night study sessions! I was behind in memorizing basically all of Luke, so a little while after I had started the crazy memorizing schedule (25 verses/day, 6 days/week), I had to start this nightly routine to make sure I got it done, at least fairly consistently. And it worked! Number Four: Month-before-tournament quizzing review/evaluation & planning. I've found that about a month before an important tournament (or just a regular quiz) is a good time to take a step back from your work, and evaluate what you've done, what you want, and what you still need to do in order to achieve it - they're typically called "reviews". A lot of people do weekly/monthly/annual reviews over life in general. It's a specific time you set aside to revisit your goals and resolutions, gauge how you've done, and make necessary adjustments to your life system - whether that be physically, financially, relationally, or even spiritually. When I started to do these reviews, I was better able to outline what I needed and wanted to do in the following month, so that I could perform how I wanted (or close to how I wanted) at the tournament. That being said, I obviously did not always meet all of the points on that outline that I drew out, but it did set me up for better success than I would otherwise - I definitely recommend this system to any quizzer! So there are my top four favorites from my fourth quiz season - I can't wait to see what new things this season brings!
I would really encourage you today, to be on the watch for what your favorites are throughout this season! Find out what you like, what works best for you, and what might have even saved you from crashing and burning ;). I want to mention too, that my "favorites" have not been alike through my different years in quizzing, and yours don't have to look exactly like mine. Growth is a good thing, and sometimes that comes with difficult change and maybe even letting go of some old stuff. But as long as you're moving towards a better place, no change or "loss" is necessarily a bad thing. You might feel like you're taking a step backwards, but you're taking ten steps forwards! I hope you guys have an awesome week, and always remember that our Father loves you and so do I! Quiz-Journeyers, keep on quizzing and living VICTORIOUSLY! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey guys! Today we are following up last week's post, which was about how you can create your vision for this season - so if you haven't read that, you definitely should :P. But the focus today will be on planning your success, or planning how you are going to achieve that vision. Like I said in that post, this system is a great thing to design and put into action at the beginning of the season, because it gives you motivation to work your hardest, and also the ability to be focused in that work. So lets get into it! First off - What is planning your success, and why should you? "Planning your success" is making specific, tangible, and periodic goals (you can think of these like checkpoints) that support, and take you to your overall dream. This technique, just like creating a vision statement, is something that a lot of successful business people put into action. Why is that? Because it works! The benefits of creating and following this kind of goal/checkpoint progression are extensive, but here's the three main ones...
And that leads me to the next point, which is... How can you incorporate "checkpoints" into your vision, and make them compatible? For one, you need to have written (and revised) your vision first :P, but once you have done that, there are a few things to consider.
Like I said in my post about How To Make a Regional Team, it's best to simply OVERESTIMATE the work/effort, so that you can set yourself up for the best results possible! Aim for the moon, and if you fail, you'll still be hitting the stars ;P. Here's a (very drastic) example of how to do this: "My vision is to make FIRST at Q2018, after making the Regional A team in my region. I will memorize and perfect my knowledge of First and Second Corinthians, and improve my jumping/answering with the following elements - 1) learning how to lip read, 2) knowing the memory verses in alphabetical order, and 3) be able to finish general questions from the third syllable." An example of what some overall goals (stepping stones, checkpoints, etc..) would be for this veru drastic vision statement, would be...
And so on, and so on, going throughout the end of the season and ending with you accomplishing the things that you mentioned in your vision statement. But in general, if you hit the major points that you will need, in order to reach your vision THIS season, you'll be golden. That being said, there are several different ways that you can compose this list of checkpoints, and that's what we'll be discussing next... Different types of plans to choose from, that outline your goals: The main difference between these following options are the time windows within they will be completed - basically, they define how specific you want/need your plan for success to be. I am going to quickly list these different options, and then we will dig a little into each of them and talk about their biggest pros and cons.
For me, either the weekly or biweekly formats usually work the best with how I operate, and how I plan out the rest of the activities/responsibilities in my life - and you can easily change the format later on, if the one you choose doesn't end up working very well. The seasonal/monthly goals: These can easily be vague, so you have to be careful with them (because the point of planning out your success is to be specific and show you the exact next steps to take). However, the upside to having these kind of goals, is that you can break them down into smaller steps, that you can accomplish within the larger timeline. If you're looking for a planning system that is pretty laid-back, then this is the one for you! The biweekly/weekly goals: These are a good balance (in my experience) between the possible vagueness of the seasonal/monthly format, and the very specific (and sometimes stressful) format of the every-other day/daily one. They are specific enough that you can easily track your progress and performance, but vague enough that you still have some wiggle room in the event that "life happens" :P and it inevitably does, so it's no reason to get discouraged! I like this format because it gives me the closely-dictated direction that I require in busy, everyday life, but it also gives me a good amount of breathing room, so that I can remember to focus on the things that are higher than quizzing on my priority list. The every-other day/daily goals: This format can (unfortunately) end up being a source of completely unnecessary stress - all stress is unnecessary :P. That is because if you get behind just a few days, it can become a race against discouragement, especially if you haven't already settled within yourself the issue of Christ-confidence and who you are/who God says you are. However, the benefits of this format can be incredibly explosive! Why? Because you're more focused on getting specific things done, and taking steps forward and towards your end-of-season vision EVERY SINGLE DAY. "Success is the simple accumulation of good habits, repeated day after day." -Unknown I would (more-so) promote this format to quizzers who have already been in the sport for a few years, because they already have a good understanding of everything it entails, but as long as the quizzer knows how to use it in a healthy manner, it would be very beneficial. In conclusion: Pick and start out with whichever format you think will work best for you, but don't hesitate at any point this season to...
In the end, it's not the plan that's going to take you to your dream; its you! So take care of, and pay more attention to yourself, than you do to the plan. Guess what? I made a special workbook that will help you do what I've been talking about! Click the button below to snag it! What happens after you have your checkpoints in order? We will be finishing up this series in an awesome finale next Monday - you won't want to miss this one!
We will be focusing on what to do with you vision, and with this new plan for success. It's all well and good if you work for, and buy a car, but it won't do anything for you and you won't reap any of it's benefits until you actually learn how to drive it! I hope that this post has been very helpful and insightful for you guys, and that this week proves to be exciting, fulfilling, full of joy and revealing of the amazing love that our Father has for you! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory P.s. Don't forget: we have just come out with a BRAND NEW feature, TBQJ Biweekly Newsletter! If you'd like to receive tons of valuable and entirely exclusive content, or simply learn more about it, hop on over to our new page, "Newsletter"! Hey guys! I'm super excited to share this with y'all today! I think it'll help you, if you're thinking about trying to make a regional team this season - which you totally should :P. So to follow up the last post I did, about What To Know About Nationals, I decided to compile a list of what I took away from making the SNU and NNU regional teams, and from failing to make a team the year in between :P. So lets get right into it! But first, if you're not yet convinced about why to aim to make a regional team this year, let me tell you how having it as an annual quizzing (and life, in a way) goal has benefited me so much... My second year of quizzing, I really wanted to make a team in order to quiz with one of my quizzing role-models, who was graduating that year. That caused me to work super hard (especially the last half of the season) in order to achieve my goal. This work made me involuntarily discover some important facts about myself and about quizzing; for example, how I study quizzing the best, how to do generals in the best way I know, etc., and it really gave me a boost in quizzing, especially in the area of realizing what I'm capable of, and that I can do anything that I set my mind to. All of us can! But until you get that lens of "I don't know if I can do that" removed, it forces mental limitations on your abilities, and you will be held back solely by yourself. Removing this lens in entirety is, in my mind, one of the most important steppingstones in continually becoming a better quizzer - even after you make a regional team. Also, getting to be on a team with my biggest quizzing role-model (a lot of you will probably know who I'm talking about :P) was a huge motivator, not only to keep quizzing well after that season, but to try and be that kind of role-model for other quizzers - so, if you're reading this (and you know who you are) thank you so much for that! And with no further ado, here are my regional-qualifying takeaways...
This is one of the reasons that I made a team that first time. I had virtually no idea what it took to be on a team, and I didn't know how (or that I even should) measure myself up against the available competition to see how I was doing, and to get an idea for how hard I needed to continue working to prepare. Even days before the qualifying tournament, I was still studying like a crazy person because I was stressed out, and that's because I was severely under-estimating myself. I honestly didn't think that I would make a team, and I ended up getting second in the preliminary rounds, and first in the quiz off (surpassing the number of points I needed to get on the team with that role-model I mentioned previously). But long story short, do above and beyond what you think you need to do, in order to achieve your goals. This gives you some wiggle room in the event that some of your competition has really stepped up their game, and it also gives you more confidence in an intense round (therefore also causing you to perform better). So in conclusion of this point, don't set your goal for the B team this year - make your goal to get FIRST PLACE in the preliminary rounds, and in the quiz off! And work towards those goals, not towards what you believe the minimum to be, to get on a team.
Just to clarify real quick, this comparing (for lack of a better word) does not in any sense imply that we should be looking at other people in order to know whether we should feel good or bad about our own performances. It does mean, however, that we should observe where the rest of the quizzing community is (competition-wise, and in knowledge of the material), in order to know how hard we will have to work to be the best and/or achieve our goals for this season and quizzing in general. If, after making these observations, you realize that you're lagging behind where you would like to be, then adjust your schedule/goals as you are able, and put in the work that your dreams require. If you're doing well, almost at or already achieving what you set out to do, then you have two options: 1) keep up the pace you're at, or 2) create new, higher goals that will keep you straining for that next level, and working your darn hardest. Here's a quick differentiating tool, to make sure that this "comparing" stays on the right side of the line we just discussed: Performance comparing must be conducted within an intellectual and professional state of mind, rather than in an emotional or personal one.
To be fair, this may slightly differ from person to person, but I've found that whenever I really PLAN on reaching my goal, it happens a lot faster than it would if I wasn't completely sure of what I wanted, and committed to getting it. Especially at this level, of getting on a regional team, it's important to know exactly what you need to do in order to get to where you'd like to be - overall and throughout the entire season, each month, each week, and each day. There are three steps to all kinds of success: 1) creating your vision, 2) planning how you are going to tangibly make your way towards that vision, and 3) putting in the hard work that you planned. Creating and writing out your vision for this season, and then planning how you're going to get there (setting tangible goals that you can check off along the way), inspire an incredible amount of motivation and commitment for your end goal (if your vision is something that you actually want). And that newly-created motivation and commitment are what propel you to put in the hard work (step #3 of success) that your vision will require. But if you never sit down and figure out what your vision is, what you really want from this season, and if you don't plan out how you are going to go about achieving that goal, you'll just be running blind - and that never ends well ;P.
But of course, we will all inevitably have those days when we literally don't want to do anything but lay in bed and watch Netflix or read a novel. And those days are hard. Those are the times when even thinking about your vision, and remembering the next steps that you've outlined, don't seem to stir up any energy to get done what needs to get done. What happens then? In order to become (more so) consistent, I've learned that I need to have several places that I can go to, to become motivated to give quizzing (or anything else) my very best efforts - fill up your motivational tool belt and get it done! (For more on motivation, check out my post on "3 Keys to Unlocking Motivation") Now, I honestly can't say very much about the discipline part of this point, because I (admittedly) have not been the most consistent person regarding studying for quizzing (obviously... *cough* GEPCP season *cough*... :P). But I'm working on it, and that's the best any of us can do, right? Nevertheless, here's my one nugget regarding discipline: Recognize the incredible potential, and power that comes with being a disciplined person - being someone who works towards their goals not only on the days that they jump out of bed with excitement for it, but on the bad days, when they literally have sit down (or stand up) with clenched teeth to get to the work, until they remember why they love doing it so much. And there we are!
I hope that these tips help you guys if you're going to try and make a regional team this year - and even if you're not, or if you've already achieved this goal in a previous season, I hope that you were able to take away something that inspires you this week! Whether or not you've already started studying for this season, I hope that the rest of your summer is an absolute BLAST! I love you guys, have an awesome week, and I'll see you next Monday! Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory Hey guys! How are y'all? I hope you're having a FANTASTIC week! This week marks the date last year, when we officially moved out of our house back in Texas! I can't believe it's already been a year! And, to tell you the truth, it's been one of the best years of my life. Yes, there was some of hard stuff I had to work through, what with leaving old friends, having to make new ones, and everything else that comes with being a Christian Sophomore. But it's just been an awesome time of discovery in the Lord, growing into who I think I'm supposed to be - and all I can say is thank you Jesus! But enough of that now :P Lets get into this awesome topic today! Throughout my three years of quizzing with SNU and one year with NNU, I've found that there's some misconceptions about making a Regional team, and what it's like to compete on one. And I know that a lot of you guys have already made a regional team (because y'all are just that awesome), and I know a good amount of people who are aiming for the very top in this next season - but I am also aware of the newer quizzers among us. So I'm going to take the time today to go through and tell you a little bit about what I've learned from being on two regional teams, and from competing at two national tournaments. First things first...
Kind of like your first year quizzing, your first time at nationals is most likely going to be a time of figuring out how it actually works, rather than focusing on making first place. Nationals, competing only against the top eighty quizzers in the country, is an entirely new level of the sport - and I'll talk a little more about that later on, in another post. But in general, pushing yourself even harder, when you're already at that high level of competition, becomes much easier once you have a vague idea of what's going on, and what it's like :P 2. Taking chances is the only way to succeed. At nationals, almost every question you jump on will be a toss-up because the pre-jumps are so crazy (given, that the harder you study, the luckier you get on these because your instincts are being honed to perfection ;)), and that means that you have to take a lot of chances. Think of it like this... If you never let the basketball leave your hands, and shoot for the hoop, taking the chance that you may totally miss, you have absolutely zero chance of scoring any points. The people who place the highest at nationals, are those who have almost as many, or even more errors than they do correct jumps! Erroring out with one right jump still leaves you with positive points - and that's a heck of a lot better than leaving with an even zero. If you don't take these necessary risks, people who are less skilled and talented, less prepared, and less experienced will pass you up and place higher for the simple reason that they're taking more chances than you - in addition, the more chances you take, the better your odds will be. But when you do have that unfortunate error out, every once in a while, it's important to know how to shake it off and just go into the next room with a fresh, positive mindset - that persistence, paired with hard work, is what is going to help you place. 3. Be overly compassionate, considerate, sportsmanlike, and Christlike. As you might expect, there are inevitably going to be people who are really stressed out, and who get torn up at larger, more important tournaments. And when that happens, when people have hard days, it's important for us to try and make it a little better. That means watching out for nice things we can do, being respectful and considerate in our sportsmanship during quizzes, and being an encouraging and compassionate face and voice - it will always come back to you. Even if they snap at you during the tournament, just do your best to smile and be kind and understanding, and they'll get over it eventually. I've had to do this a few times, when people didn't like how quizzes turned out, and I can tell you that after they cooled down, they really appreciated that I didn't argue back and make it a big deal - quizzers are generally really cool people :P And last but not least... 4. Those who deal with the stress the best, will place the best. Nationals is usually full of people who are stressing too much about it - and I'm guilty of that, but I'm working through it and this past year was a lot better than my first time :P I did a Part 1 and Part 2 about dealing with "High-Stress Competition" so I won't repeat all of that here, but this is the bottom line: if you have nerves, get rid of them! Enter a state of laser-like focus, where all you're thinking about are the words coming out of the quiz master's mouth, the condition of competition, and getting that one phenomenal jump - get to the place where you can literally anticipate a good pre-jump. If you're overly stressed out about quizzing, to the point where you feel physically sick, you've got the wrong motivations and/or values. If you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong :P Quizzing is an awesome thing! We've only got so many years to do it, so let's do it the best we can and not waste any time stressing over it! So there you are! Four basics of what to know about nationals for when you make a regional team this season! :P (Confidence is vital!)
I have some FIRE posts planned to drop later this month and in August, that will really get you pumped up for this year, so you can be looking forward to that, too! 1-2 Corinthians is going to be super amazing as well, even above what I believe the advances will be in the competition in 2017-2018 - the Lord is going to do some incredible things is our lives this year through the material, so lets throw the door wide open for Him and enter in with EXPECTATION! I'll be coming back will some exciting new developments in this blog soon, in time for the season kick-off, and I know they are just going to rock the quizzing world ;P Anyways, I love you guys SO much, and I hope that this week is the absolute best! I'll see y'all next Monday! But until then, as always... Keep calm and quiz on (and out)! Your fellow quizzer, Mallory |
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