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Hello
everyone!Here is
this month’s ResidentAssistant.com newsletter!
IN
THIS ISSUE:
-O- Discussion
Boards!
-O- Book Update
-O- Stay Motivated! (goal setting, poem and
quotes)
-O- April Calendar
-O- Issues and programming ideas for April
-O- Call for Programs!
-O- DISCUSSION
BOARDS ARE ONLINE! –O-
Be
sure to stop by the ResidentAssistant.com discussion boards to
share questions, answers and ideas with other residence life staff
members!They were
offline yesterday for a server upgrade, but are back up!!!Come share your questions and answers.Please tell your fellow staff members and colleagues about
this service, so it really starts to grow!
/archive/ultraboard
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-O-
BOOK UPDATE –O-
“InspiRAtion
for RAs,” has been sent to the publisher, so the time is getting
close!We have
received your pre-orders.I
will keep you updated on the progress!
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-O- MOTIVATION
–O-
With
the semester winding down, motivation has a tendency to decrease.In this issue of the ResidentAssistant.com newsletter, I am
focusing on motivation, with some goal setting tips, a poem and
some quotes.This is
a time of year when as students, we are getting busier and busier,
so as RAs, the challenge is added to.I would encourage you to take a few minutes this week to
plan out the rest of your semester.Write down what you want to accomplish, the programs you
want to do, and set some goals for yourself.
According
to Brian Tracy, only a small percentage of people actually set
goals, and only the top 3% write down their goals, and they are
the ones who are the most successful.I had the opportunity to hear Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins,
General Norman Schwartzkopf, and several others yesterday, and one
of the consistent themes they spoke about was setting goals for
succeeding and staying motivated.
As you
look at the rest of this year, here is a proven formula from Brian
Tracy for setting your goals:
1.
Decide what you want.
2. Write it down
3. Set deadlines
4. Figure out the things you need to do to accomplish that goal
5. Organize the things you need to do into a plan
6. Take action!
7. Do something that will take you closer to your goal every
single day
If you
use this formula in all areas of your life, it will have a great
impact on whatever you do!
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The
following poem is written by Professor J. Martin, one of the
nation’s best motivational speakers for college students.As leaders, we have chosen to take an extra step forward,
and we can be encouraged, because by choice, we are “Not Like
Most.”
~ NOT
LIKE MOST ~
While
most have decided to become part of the problem,
we have chosen to be part of the solution;
While
most have questioned "Why"?,
we have dared to ask "Why Not"?;
While
most have accepted defeat,
we have accepted the challenge to compete;
While
most have focused on the obstacles,
we have focused on the openings;
While
most have been overwhelmed by difficulties,
we have transformed them into opportunities;
While
most have given up,
we have certainly not given in;
While
most have resolved to talk,
we have resolved to take action;
While
most have lost all hope,
we have remained hopeful;
While
most are discouraged by the output,
we are encouraged by the possible outcome;
While
most have forgotten from whence they came,
we haven't forgotten who brought us this far;
And
while most wish they were like us,
we're thankful for not being like most.
Joe A. Martin Jr.
© © 1993
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Here
are some great motivational quotes, also compiled by Professor
Martin:
~~
Good things may come to those who wait, but it’s only the
leftovers from those who hustled. -- Abraham Lincoln
~~
If there is no cure, you must endure. -- Brian Tracy
~~
Persistence is the measurement of your belief in yourself. --
Brian Tracy
~~
Sometimes the greatest inspiration is born out of desperation. --
Comer Comtrell
~~
The secret of success is to start from scratch and to keep on
scratching. -- Dennis Green
~~
A setback is nothing but a setup for a comeback. -- Dennis Kimbro
~~
Make your breaking point your turning point. -- Dennis Kimbro
~~
Unless you see yourself as you could be, you'll never be what you
should be. -- Joe Martin
~~
No matter how many shots you miss, always believe you’re going
to make the next one. Isaiah Thomas
~~
Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you
going. -- Jim Ryun
~~
Your choices in life are simple: either get up, give up, or shut
up! -- Joe Martin
~~
If life knocks you down, try to fall on your back; because if you
can look up, you can get up. -- Les Brown
~~Be
like a postage stamp, stick to it until you get there. -- Margaret
Carty
~~
You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it. --
Margaret Thatcher
~~
Everyone who got to where they are started where they were. --
Unknown
~~
Persistence is saying "I will until." -- Unknown
~~I
can’t but He can, I won’t but he will, and I didn’t but He
did. -- Unknown
~~
People don’t drown in the sea of life because they fall in
water; they drown because they don’t get up. -- Unknown
~~
What you can’t do you must. -- Unknown
~~
Courage is the ability to go from failure to failure with
enthusiasm. -- Winston Churchill
~~
Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others
have let go. -- William Feather
If
you would like to see more of Joe Martin’s work, visit his
college success website at http://www.rwuniversity.com.He also has information on his speaking services on the
site.
Keep
these things in mind as the semester comes closer to an end:
-
Don’t
forget why you are in this position, and keep on pushing to
the end!
-
You
have the power to make a real difference in the lives of your
residents.
-
Stay
motivated and encouraged, and you will be able to help your
residents to do the same.Also, strive to stay balanced!You will not be successful if you don’t balance your
life, socially, academically and personally.
For
more great motivation, go to Professor Martin’s Motivational
Links page: http://rwuniversity.com/links.cfm?cid=48
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-O- APRIL
CALENDAR! –O-
I’ll
bet you didn’t know April is Grass Month, Pets Are Wonderful
Month, Uh-huh Month, Cancer Control Month, Child Abuse Prevention
Month, Keep America Beautiful Month, Listening Awareness Month,
Multicultural Communication Month, National Humor Month, National
Food Month, Stress Awareness Month, Alcohol Awareness Month,
International Twit Award Month and National Sexually Transmitted
Diseases Education and Awareness Month
Apr 1
– April Fool’s Day
Apr 2
– National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day
Apr 2
– Daylight savings
Apr 3
– Ram Navami (Hindu)
Apr 6
– Muharram (Islamic)
Apr 7
– World Health Day
Apr 7
– No housework Day – No trash, no dishes, no making of beds or
doing laundry.And NO
GUILT!
Apr8 – Celebration of Buddah’s birthday in the Zen
tradition
Apr 12
– Ramanavami – (Hindu)
Apr 13
– Vaisakhi (Hindu)
Apr 13
– Blame somebody else day
Apr 13
– Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday
Apr 14
– National Dolphin Day
Apr 15
– Income Tax Day
Apr 15
– Holocaust Remembrance Day
Apr 15
– Rubber eraser day
Apr 16
– National Stress Awareness Day
Apr 16
– Palm Sunday
Apr 21
– Good Friday
Apr 22
– International Earth Day
Apr 23
– Easter Sunday
Apr 26
– Hug an Australian Day – to show appreciation for all the
love and support the aussies have given us over the years.
Apr 26
– Secretaries Day
Apr 28
– Orthodox Holy Friday
Apr 28
– National Blueberry Pie Day
Apr 30
- National Arbor Day
Apr 30
– Orthodox Easter
Apr 30
– Beltane (Celtic)
Apr 30
– National Honesty Day
Check
out /archive/calendar/
for a ton of information on April holidays.
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-O-
ISSUES AND IDEAS –O-
Issues:
o
Increasing job worries
o
Increased sicknesses
o High
academic pressures (finals, papers, etc)
o
Warmer weather may increase the fear and realistic threat of
sexual assault (though it can strike at any time...not just in the
spring)
o Burn
out, lack of motivation, spring fever
o
Health problems and physical appearance problems arise with warmer
weather
o
Social pressures increase (formals, parties)
o
Spring brings out love....everyone wants to be in it. This
brings issues for those who are, AND those who aren’t.(dating/relationship programming, or alternative
activities)
o
Class scheduling anxiety
o
Easter/Passover break--pressures to go home, depression if
you can't go home
o
Homesickness
o
First-year readjustment to home
o
Senior-itis
o
Financial strain from spring break effects social life
o Registration for summer/fall classes
Programming
Ideas:
o
Safety and Security
o
Counseling/Vocational
o
Health and Wellness
o
Motivational Techniques
o
Recrational Activities
o
Class information session
o
Spring Social
o
Coping with Curfews
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-O- CALL
FOR PROGRAMS! –O-
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