When in doubt, JUMP!

I'm telling you, when you're cold- JUMP! 

When you're tired- JUMP! 

When you're sore- JUMP! 

When you're crabby- JUMP JUMP JUMP! 

When you're sad- JUMP!

Top 10 Reasons to Smile

From Mark Stibich, Ph.D., former About.com Guide February 04, 2010 About.com Health's Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board

1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away -- but a smile draws them in.

2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There's a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.

3. Smiling Is Contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.

4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you'll be better able to take action.

5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.

6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?

7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.

8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don't go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day -- you'll look younger and feel better.

9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful
Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.

10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

Attitude; Carrots, Eggs & Coffee

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied..

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

12 steps to a Happy New Year

As someone who's melancholy (depressive) by nature, but constantly struggles to be more sanguine (positive and easy-going), I'm always looking for things that will help keep me from slipping into the blues. This was an interesting idea for some things to try making your 2009 a genuinely happier New Year.

Read the whole thing at http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2008/12/creativity-12-m.html

Dorothea Brande was an American writer and editor, well known for her books Wake Up and Live and Becoming a Writer (a useful resource for writers, by the way).

In Wake Up and Live, she suggests twelve mental exercises to make your mind keener and more flexible. These exercises are meant to pull you out of your usual habits and to put you in situations that will demand resourcefulness and creative problem-solving. Brande argues that only by testing and stretching yourself can you develop mental strength.

Here are Dorothea Brande’s twelve mental exercises. Note: she wrote these in 1936, so you need to adapt of few of them.

1. Spend an hour each day without saying anything except in answer to direct questions, in the midst of the usual group, without creating the impression that you’re sulking or ill. Be as ordinary as possible. But do not volunteer remarks or try to draw out information.

2. Think for 30 minutes a day about one subject exclusively. Start with five minutes.

3. Write a letter without using the words I, me, mine, my.

4. Talk for 15 minutes a day without using I, me, my, mine.

5. Write a letter in a “successful” or placid tone. No misstatements, no lying. Look for aspects or activities that can be honestly reported that way.

6. Pause on the threshold of any crowded room and size it up.

7. Keep a new acquaintance talking about himself or herself without allowing him to become conscious of it. Turn back any courteous reciprocal questions in a way that your auditor doesn’t feel rebuffed.

8. Talk exclusively about yourself and your interests without complaining, boasting, or boring your companions.

9. Cut “I mean” or “As a matter of fact” or any other verbal mannerism out of your conversation.

10. Plan two hours of a day and stick to the plan.

11. Set yourself twelve tasks at random: e.g., go twenty miles from home using ordinary conveyance; go 12 hours without food; go eat a meal in the unlikelist place you can find; say nothing all day except in answer to questions; stay up all night and work.

12. From time to time, give yourself a day when you answer “yes” to any reasonable request.

In Madrid

"Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give."

~Eleanor Roosevelt

You girls have been a joy to coach and a joy to be with. It would make me very happy if you'd all come back out for basketball cheer. Each of you and all three of you are always in my heart and often in my prayers.

Thank you for a wonderful season.
Love,
Coach

13 tips for dealing with a really lousy day.

By Gretchen Rubin, Huffingtonpost.com

We all have really lousy days from time to time. A bad work or school evaluation, a potential crush who turns out not to be interested, a fight with your mother-in-law, a worrisome call from a doctor...lousy days take many forms.

Here are some tips for getting through it:

1. Resist the urge to "treat" yourself. Often, the things we choose as "treats" aren't good for us. The pleasure lasts a minute, but then feelings of guilt, loss of control, and other negative consequences just deepen the lousiness of the day. So when you find yourself thinking, "I'll feel better after I have a few beers...a pint of ice cream...a cigarette...a new pair of jeans," ask yourself - will it REALLY make you feel better? It might make you feel worse.

2. Do something nice for someone else. "Do good, feel good" - this really works. A friend going through a horrible period told me that she was practically addicted to doing good deeds; that was the only thing that made her feel better. However, don't put too much pressure on yourself now. Don't start planning an elaborate surprise party; email some digital photos to the grandparents.

3. Distract yourself. When the Big Girl was born, she had to be in Neonatal Intensive Care for a week. I spent every hour at the hospital, until the Big Man dragged me away to go to an afternoon movie. I didn't want to go, but afterwards, I realized that I was much better able to cope with the situation after having had a bit of relief. Watching a funny movie or TV show is a great way to take a break. It might even be a good idea to have an emergency stash ready by the TV, for bad times.

4. Seek inner peace through outer order. Soothe yourself by tackling a messy closet, an untidy desk, or crowded countertops. The sense of tangible progress, control, and orderliness will lighten your mood. This always works for me - and fortunately, my family is messy enough that I always have plenty of therapeutic clutter at hand.

5. Tell yourself, "Well, at least I..." Get some things accomplished. Yes, you had a horrible day, but at least you went to the gym, or played with your kids, or walked the dog, or read a magazine.

6. Exercise is an extremely effective mood booster - but be careful of exercise that allows you to ruminate. For example, if I go for a walk when I'm upset about something, I often end up feeling worse, because the walk provides me with uninterrupted time in which to dwell obsessively on my troubles.

7. Stay in contact. When you're having a lousy day, it's tempting to retreat into isolation. Studies show, though, that contact with other people boosts mood. So try to see or talk to people, especially people you're close to.

8. It's a cliché, but things really will look brighter in the morning. Go to bed early and start the next day anew. Also, sleep deprivation puts a drag on mood in the best of circumstances, so a little extra sleep will do you good.

9. Remind yourself of your other identities. If you feel like a loser at work, send out a blast email to engage with college friends. If you think members of the PTA are mad at you, don't miss the spinning class where everyone knows and likes you.

10. Keep perspective. Ask yourself: "Will this matter in a month? In a year?" I recently came across a note I'd written to myself years ago, that said "TAXES!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I dimly remember the panic I felt about dealing with taxes that year; but it's all lost and forgotten now.

11. Write it down. When something horrible is consuming my mind, I find that if I write up a paragraph or two about the situation, I get immense relief.

12. Use the emergency mood tool-kit. For an emergency happiness intervention, try these tips for getting a boost in the next HOUR.

13. Be grateful. Remind yourself that a LOUSY day isn't a CATASTROPHIC day. Be grateful that you're still on the "lousy" spectrum.

If you'd like to read more about happiness, check out Gretchen's daily blog, The Happiness Project, and join the Happiness Project group on Facebook to swap ideas.

Try smiling!

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

~Herm Albright (1876-1944)

Painter and lithographer

Think Positive, it's better for you

The disparity between positive and pessimistic minds is especially prominent in areas of the brain that have been linked to depression. "The same areas that malfunction in depression are very active when people think about positive events," says Tali Sharot, a post-doctorate fellow at University College London, who conducted the research at New York University.

In the study, Sharot had subjects think about emotional events, both positive and negative, like winning an award or ending a romantic relationship. They did this for past events and those that could plausibly occur in the future, while their brains were being scanned in an MRI. Afterwards, subjects filled out a questionnaire that measured their level of optimism. What Sharot found was that when participants thought about positive future events, two regions of the brain became much more active than when they thought about negative events.

Read the whole article at Newsweek.com

Keep Watch

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become your character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Think POSITIVE

"If you don't like something,
Change it.
If you can't change it,
Change the way you THINK about it!"

Feeling low? Sing this song

Hey Mr Grump Gills
You know what you gotta do when life gets you down?
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming
Just keep swimming swimming swimming
What do we do we swim, swim, swim
OH HO HO How I love to swim
When you WAAAAAANNTTT to swim you want to swim

How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls

How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls
Author: Donna Dale Carnegie

Buy it at Amazon
ISBN-13: 9780743272773
ISBN-10: 0743272773
Publisher: Fireside
Publication Date: 2005-05-03
Pages: 208
Book Type: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult

Book Description:

It's all about making friends and being a good friend!

The teen years can be tricky -- especially if you are a girl. Let's face it, teen girls deal with pressures and dilemmas that teen boys couldn't even dream of, let alone handle! In How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls, Donna Dale Carnegie, daughter of the late motivational author and teacher Dale Carnegie, brings her father's time-tested, invaluable lessons to the newest generation of young women on their way to becoming savvy, self-assured friends and leaders.

How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls offers concrete advice on teen topics such as peer pressure, gossip, and popularity. Teen girls will learn the most powerful ways to influence others, defuse arguments, admit mistakes, and make self-defining choices. The Carnegie techniques promote clear and constructive communication, praise rather than criticism, emotional sensitivity, tolerance, and a positive attitude -- important skills for every girl to develop at an early age. Of course, no book for teen girls would be complete without taking a look at how to maintain friendships with boys and deal with commitment issues and break-ups with boyfriends. Carnegie also provides solid advice for older teens beginning to explore their influence in the adult world, such as driving and handling college interviews.

Full of fun quizzes, "reality check" sections, and true-life examples, How to Win Friends and Influence People for Teen Girls offers every teenage girl candid, insightful, and timely advice on how to influence friends in a positive manner.

CheerLEADERSHIP

How to Win Friends and Influence People
By Dale Carnegie

I have been looking for a cheap copy of this book in used bookstores this summer but haven't managed to find it yet. You can find it at your local library. Business leaders and politicians have sworn by it for over 70 years now. If you want to be successful in life, not just cheerleading- you might just want to give it a look. (I added cheerleading comments in parentheses and italics.)

How to Win Friends and Influence People
This is Dale Carnegie's summary of his book, from 1936

Part One
Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
1. Don't criticize, condemn or complain. (Be positive, duh)
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. (In other words, sell them on you, or in our case- sell them on school spirit- sell them on having fun- it does not mean "arouse" in a sexual way, duh)

Part Two
Six ways to make people like you
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile. (How often do I try to beat that into you?)
3. Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. (Learn their name, remember their name, use their name- I'm terrible at this)
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
6. Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Part Three
Win people to your way of thinking
(I always used to try to make sure my Newspaper students knew the difference between just going off on a rant and actually trying to persuade people. A lot of it is the difference between talking to them and talking at them.)
1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. (The best way to lose a chess match is to be too aggressive. The only person who ever wins an argument is the one who refuses to engage in one.)
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong." (Most people who are wrong, still hold their opinion very sincerely and for what they think are good reasons)
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. (You'd be amazed at how much credibility you gain by admitting your mistakes- you'd think it would be revealing your weaknesses, but it truly makes you stronger in other people's eyes.)
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view. (It's called empathy, and the world needs a whole lot more of it.)
9. Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas. (We should be doing this at pep-rallies.)
12. Throw down a challenge. (First we do a chant, then we get a group of kids in the crowd to chant, eventually most of the crowd will be chanting.)

Part Four
Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

A leader's job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior.
Some suggestions to accomplish this:
1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation. (That's what cheerleading is all about, Charlie Brown)
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. (Now THAT'S what cheerleading is all about, Charlie Brown)
9. Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest. (Cheerleading at it's CORE!)

Dale Carnegie Page

Loud and Proud!

ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE-

Three people were crushing rocks side by side on a construction job.

When they were asked, “What is your job?” the first person answered,
“my job is to do what I am told for eight hours a day so I can get a check.”

The second person replied,
“My job is to crush rocks.”


The third person said,
“My job is to build a cathedral.”


“A man is as unhappy as he has convinced himself he is.”
~ Seneca

prayer for strength and confidence

Disclaimers: 1) This Blog is not to an official Boyer Valley site. The views expressed here and the links provided here are not necessarily those of the Boyer Valley Community Schools, it's administrators or board. It is the sole responsibility of Coach Mallory

2) My policy is of absolute transparency. I apologize to anyone who is ever offended by anything that I write here or reveal about discussions with me and issues we deal with as a squad here. I do so so that you know what I'm thinking and how I come to the decisions that I so. That's called "metacognition," you may disagree with my decisions and my motivations may be in error, but I prefer to be absolutely open, even at the risk of being wrong or unappreciated. When error is brought to my attention, I try to correct or admit the error.

3) I genuinely believe in a separation of Church and State- I try not to force my faith/beliefs on any of my students at school as a captive audience. This blog, however, as noted above, is not an official function of Boyer Valley schools. It is a site that people are free to view or avoid. To the best of my knowledge, all of the current squad members are believers, so I'd like to encourage them with the following prayer-

"Please help me," I prayed. "Please change me. I know You can do it because I've seen You make drunkards sober and turn thieves into honest men. Please take away these inferiority feelings that are holding me back. Take away this awful shyness and self-consciousness. Let me see myself, not as a scared rabbit, but as someone who can do great things in my life because You are with me, giving me the strength and confidence I need."
~Rev.Norman Vincent Peale,
'Positive Imaging' ©1982

I share this one with everyone because it's really a prayer that any cheerleader needs to pray. It seems like every year there's someone who's quiet, shy, or insecure. I know one JrHi cheerleader who seems so meek and diminutive that you'd hardly know she was there. These may have been sweet and charming traits in young women a hundred years ago, but they're necessarily qualities you need if you're supposed to be leading a crowd in getting loud. Besides hoping to build your confidence and increase your volume, I also want to arm you all, because being a cheerleader can be a bit like living in a fishbowl. You're up front and on display, therefore you become a target of greater scrutiny and sharper criticism than less prominent students at your school. It's unfair, but it's real. See your selves as confident and able to let snide comments roll off like water off a duck's back. Picture yourself as poised, comfortable, outgoing and having fun. Let that mental image sink in until your subconscious accepts it. Ask God to help you, even pray (or at least recite) Peale's prayer and you will become what you saw yourself being.

Choose your Attitude!

"Take charge of your thoughts. You can do what you will with them."

~Plato

Thanks, I needed that

It's not always easy to remain positive, the way cheerleaders are supposed to, but that's why we have cheerleaders- to help us (& each other) to think positive.

Last night I stayed at school to work on finishing the yearbook and to save money on gas, since we had the Spring awards banquet. I was feeling sorry for myself 1) that the yearbook staff had left so much for me to do and 2) that I wouldn't get to see my own kids that night. I thought I'd wait till just before the banquet to go because I'm not very comfortable in social situations, so it's awkward to try to make small-talk any longer than I have to.

Naturally my truck wouldn't start. I looked under the hood aimlessly, as if by looking at something I know nothing about would miraculously solve the problem. We used to have an old car that you sometimes needed to tap on the distributor cap to get it to start. That worked magically every single time you did it. My truck didn't seem to have a distributor cap.

I followed the cables from the battery to the spark plugs. I knew it wasn't the battery because it turned over fine, it just didn't start. I fiddled with the spark plugs, as if maybe that would help just like tapping on the distributor of that old Buick used to. Nothing. The guys at the garage had assured me that the plugs were fine.

There had been two or three mornings when it wouldn't start so I asked them to look when I had had it in for an oil change. They said that the plugs were too new, they had given it a tune up just last year. They said that it started up every time for them, but from my explanation it sounded like a fuel filter or fuel injector.

Trying to get it to start once more so I could make it to the awards banquet, I hoped it was just the fuel filter, not the fuel pump or the injector. I had bought a bottle of fuel injector cleaner the last time I got gas, I put it in the tank and followed it up with some unleaded that I had in the gas can that I keep in the back for the lawn mower. Nothing. The next day my farmer-in-law reminded me that if it were a fuel filter it would start to cut out whenever I'd try to accelerate. Never had, just didn't want to start.

I tried again. Nothing. I looked under the hood again, still not knowing what to look for. I wanted to find the choke. That always works, I told myself. Of course I had no idea where the choke was- somewhere below the steering column down by this side of where the throttle is inside I reasoned. No, nope. Hmmm, is it on top of the engine block somewhere? Oh, who was I kidding? Even if I knew where it was, there's always two guys whenever guys pull that trick. One inside to gun the gas and another under the hood to pull on the choke.

Dang, why didn't I take Engines or Auto Shop in high school? Noooo, I had to take stupid Drafting. Like I ever use that? When was the last time I ever drew a 3-D schematic for some machine-tooled part? Dumb guidance counselor.

Finally I called my wife to ask for a ride after the banquet. The next day, if he'd gotten his crop in, I'm sure my beloved farmer-in-law and/or his mechanic neighbor could come look at it and at least help me get it to the guys at the garage. I started walking to the banquet.

I was relieved that I hadn't missed the meal. I was the very last person in line behind all the parents. I took the very last seat at the coachs and teacher's table. I don't know if I'm losing my hearing or if it was just the din of the crowd, but I had a tough time hearing any of the conversations at the table, which made polite small talk even harder.

Plenty of chummy humor between the Athletic Director who Emceed and the other ball-sport coached, who were sitting on the opposite end of our two or three tables. I never really fit in with all the jocks when I was in school either. At least the sports editors on the school paper were pretty nice to me. Maybe that's why I work so hard to actually coach and not just be one of those lazy sponsors who never even attends any games with their cheer squads. Maybe I'm overcompensating or trying to prove something to somebody. Whatever.

Yadda yadda yadda, scholarships, music, band, science, blah blah blah, etc. etc. Not that that's bad, all the presenters were great, all the kids deserve recognition, it's just that no one ever enjoys these things do they? I don't even like the Oscars that much. At least at the Country music awards you get to hear bands play. Dang it, Coach, why do you make me second to last? I just want to get it over with. I'll never be able to say anything as clever and insider as you football, basketball, baseball and golf guys... okay here we go.

Geez, how come I have no trouble at all talking in front of people all day long, but this freaks me out? Maybe because that's 10-20 kids at a time in a classroom and this is more than half the kids in school, plus most of my colleagues and administrators, plus all those kids parents all at once.

So I get it done. I feel bad because I fell like I made it sound like I didn't appreciate or don't like the football cheerleaders, but at the same time I don't feel like I did a good enough job of letting the basketball cheerleaders know how much I appreciated them or what an outstanding job they did. But, I didn't stutter or get any name wrong and I was brief- which is what most people want anyway. And when I got back to my table the History and Science teachers said they liked my joke, although they were the only two who got it.

Needless to say, it had been a rough night. I walked back to school Bethany wasn't there to pick me up yet, but there were post-it notes all over my windshield. I don't know if it was all three or just two of the eighth-graders who will be freshman cheerleaders next year- but they'd been to Adventureland with the junior high music kids. And they did what cheerleaders are supposed to do, even on the last day of school. They gave me a lift and reminded me to be positive.

Spend 17 minutes a day on kindness.

Spend 17 minutes a day on kindness.

Medical authority Allan Luks recently published some surprising discoveries about the “healing power of doing good.”

Luks shows that there’s substantial medical evidence that acting kindly produces health benefits remarkably similar to those we enjoy from exercise programs. People who regularly help others develop stronger immune systems, improved cardiovascular circulation, a heightened sense of well-being, and even live longer.

Two hours a week, 17 minutes a day — of kind behavior seem to produce the most significant results.

~ Sourse: ‘Guerrilla Kindness” ©1993 Gavin Whitsett

Food for Thought.

●We've all had bad things happen to us, we all have skeletons in our closets, we all have dysfunctional families. But we don't have to let where we're coming from dictate where we're going:

"Its not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life;
it is how you handle what happens to you."

~Zig Ziglar

●If people don't like us... could it be because we don't like ourselves? If we come off as costic, aggrivated or anti-social, is it because we're angry, negative, or feeling dorry for ourselves?:

"How we think shows through in how we act. attitudes are mirrors of the mind. They reflect thinking."

~David J. Schwartz American Trainer,

Author of ''The Magic of Thinking Big''

●Cheerleading is about becoming positive. That doesn't mean being Pollyanna or saccharine- it doesn't mean going through life in denial, thinking that everything is a happy Care Bear's movie. It doesn't mean being fake. But it does mean that we can't wallow in the past or obsess about our problems. Being positive means looking forward, and moving ahead, looking up. The following passages are often talked about in Christian circles as "cheerleader" verses. The ealy Church in Philippi was facing religious persecution, St.Paul was in prison, facing martyrdom. Yet Paul told them to work on their relationship with God and to focus on the positive. That's awesome advice:

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

¹²I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

~Philippians 4:6-8, 12-13

Loud and proud

Loud and proud
By Coach Ted Mallory Charter Oak-Ute NEWSpaper Thurs. March 10, 2005

March 7-13, 2005 is National Cheerleading Week. According to USA Today. There are about 3 million cheerleaders in the US today. Varsity Spirit, largest of about 50 cheerleading companies, made almost $150 million last year. American Cheerleader magazine debuted in 1994 and now has a circulation over 200,000.

Tommy Lee Jones recently stared in “Man of the House,” a movie where he plays a Texas Ranger charged with protecting members of the University of Texas cheer squad who had witnessed a murder. Its cheesy, contrived and predictable, but still cute. Of course, I may appreciate it more than most. I’ve been coaching Cheer since 1993. I know what its like to be trapped in a van with six giggling teenage girls for hours at a time.

The first organized cheers were chanted at Princeton football games in the 1880’s. The first official Yell squad was at the University of Minnesota in the 1990’s. In the roaring 20’s squads started adding pyramids and tumbling. Cheerleading was a predominantly male sport until all the men went off to war in the 1940’s.

Cheerleading is purely American. Think about it. Baseball evolved from Cricket, Football evolved from Rugby. Only Basketball and Cheerleading are purely American originals.

In High School, cheerleading is about school spirit. College cheerleading is all about stunts and athletics. Unfortunately, the cheerleaders for professional football and basketball seem to be more about glamor and swimsuit calendars. Kind of like how respectable high school and college wrestling are as sports, but Pro-Wrestling is pretty much a corny, violent soap opera.
Club squads, which are not affiliated with schools have become very popular recently.

Performing and competing against other cheer squads has become more important to these “all-star” squads as a sport in their own right then raising the spirit at football or basketball games.

The National Federation of State High School Spirit Associations’ official rules book states the first duty of Cheerleading is to “boost school spirit, promote good sportsmanship, and develop good positive crowd involvement Cheerleaders are in a position of great influence, therefore” …"high standards of conduct are essential. Cheerleaders can become the schools most effective student leaders.”

As a coach, I tend to agree with this philosophy. I take it even further. Cheerleading can be a tremendous opportunity to develop important qualities in yourself, your squad-mates and your classmates that will help you throughout your life and in every aspect of your life. The most obvious one might be fitness and fitness habits. I personally think that the most important ones are service, confidence, and positivity.

Service is vital to Cheer and to leadership. You would be amazed as a football or basketball player at the difference that a good cheer squad and crowd noise can make. We are there for them. Cheerleaders shouldn’t be self-focused, we should be focused on others. The ball-team athletes will tell you, there’s something powerful about playing with a lot of noise.

Cheerleaders can make a lot of noise, but their job is to get the crowd to make noise, to lead them in cheers. When the stands are packed and chanting in unison, its electric. It really can help the players, it literally can help determine the outcome of the game. If you’ve been to any of the Lady Bobcat basketball tournaments, you know its true.

Cheerleaders would also be amazed at how much young children watch them, imitate them, and want to be like them. Service could be small thing like picking up trash in the stands after a game, being quiet in the team bus, letting players get on and off the bus before you, or big things, like donating lots of time or money to some charity, church or community activities.

Either way, you can have a lot more influence by helping others than by ordering people around. If you take the focus off yourself and focus on helping others. You’ll be surprised and how good you feel, and how important you become. Perhaps, most importantly, you’ll have a lot less conflict with others if you’re not always trying to get your own way.

Standing in front of hundreds of people, jumping, shouting, and chanting aren’t things that come easy. Leading a pep-rally, speaking your opinion, standing up for what’s right, making new friends, engaging a stranger in conversation, holding up under peer-pressure, saying no, knowing that you have strengths and abilities to handle any situation- these are all things that you can develop by being a cheerleader. Trust in others and trust in yourself. What could Cheering offer that is more valuable than confidence?

Positivity is the next thing that Cheer offers. Think about that old saying “If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.” People who look for the good in any situation and any individual can usually find it. Once found, it can be used to make things better for everybody. Too often, too many of us tend to be critical of one another and ourselves. That kind of negativity is unproductive.

Optimism is more effective, progressive and productive. Certainly life isn’t always easy, cheerleaders don’t have to be in denial about real life, but if you’re going to encourage others, you can’t focus on what’s discouraging. Like the old saying says; “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” Knowing that no matter how bad it gets, you can still get through it, move on, and learn, even gain from the pain- how awesome is that?

Some people think that they could never be cheerleaders, they’re not “perky” enough. Don’t think of it as being saccharine or Pollyanna, think of it as being positive. That’s part of the American character, that’s looking forward instead of feeling sorry for your self or criticizing and blaming the people around you. That’s leadership.