S.U.M.M.I.T. Leadership

"The impossible is possible if you're awesome!" - From the Disney movie 'Bolt' Don't forget to be awesome! If you look at the definition of the word 'awesome', it is a word that is used to describe something or someone that is worthy of respect, extremely impressive or daunting, inspiring great admiration.  Something, or someone that is awesome makes you stop and take notice. They inspire you and raise your spirits giving you a sense of all that is possible! Today is a new day and it brings with it a new set of opportunities for you to act on.  Be attentive to the opportunities and seize them as they arise.  Have full confidence in yourself and your abilities.  Believe you can do all things that you commit yourself to.  No obstacle is too big or too difficult for you to handle because what lies inside of you is greater than what lies ahead of you.  Be committed to improving yourself every day.  Don't get held back living in your past, move forward ...

"Do something nice for yourself today. Find some quiet, sit in stillness, breathe. Put your problems on pause. You deserve a break." - Akiroq Brost Research shows that we need to take a break and decompress so we can be our best at work, at home and in our lives. Maybe we should ask ourselves if the life we are working so hard to create is fun to live? With everything that is going on in the world today, it's easy to say that there is a lot of uncertainty, anxiety and stress that everyone is experiencing. This might mean different things to different people, as we are all different, have different circumstances and/or just deal with things differently. Everyone has to deal with varying levels of stress. This can be particularly difficult to manage if you also have symptoms of depression or anxiety.  When you feel like your stress levels have reached their peak, it might be time to take a quick break to reset. Sometimes taking a mental health day—a day off that's speci...

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying: I will try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher As we approach the end of the first month of a brand new year, we find that although we have turned the page on 2020, 2021 continues to be full of its own challenges. It's not enough that we are still in a global pandemic, which is causing changes in how we are dealing with life daily, but it is also causing changes in how a lot of us work and the future of how we work. Layer on top of this added political tension and chaos, creating even more profound levels of anxiety, tension, and fear. We need to find ways to be courageous on a day-to-day basis. To lift ourselves up and to lift others up. To find ways to strengthen our courage to carry us through it all. We all have the power to do this. We all have the power to help others do this. Whether we think so or not, we all have an untapped inner strength that can help us through t...

"The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up" - Mark Twain   We all want more joy and happiness in our lives. The key is learning how to obtain it, as well as maintain it. Think about it: What brings you joy? What makes you happy? What makes you feel good? Others are likely to be craving the same or similar things. Pay attention and find out what those things are. Figure out ways that you can help others.   One surefire way for us to experience more joy is to spread it to others. When we help others cope with their problems, it somehow makes our own seem less pressing. We redirect the attention off of us to help support the needs of our own. The advice we give: count your blessings, this too will pass; what doesn't kill you makes us stronger, can't help but affect our own thinking. If we help distract others from whatever is weighing on them, we can also be distracted from our own burdens in the process. Helping others is not only good for th...

"Each of us has a spark of life inside us, and our highest endeavor ought to be to set off that spark in one another. - Kenny Ausubel With social distancing, self-quarantines, work, and school from home, it's easy to feel isolated and alone sometimes. Although it is important to spend some quality time alone and to self-reflect often, we have to be careful not to stay in our own heads for too long. It's a sure-fire way to get yourself stuck in a rut. We begin to ruminate over things from the past and make assumptions about other things in the future. We create scenarios in our minds that may never pan out. Soon we become distant, uninspired, riddled with uncertainty or fear, and end up feeling sorry for ourselves.  Most of us get like this and we all need a pick-me-up from time to time. As humans, we need to feel loved, wanted, inspired, cared about, and needed. We all do. We need to realize this not only about ourselves but be aware of it in others. One quick and easy way...

"By acting in a positive, pleasant and optimistic way, you become a positive, optimistic and enjoyable person." - Brian Tracy  The world around us can be a challenging place. Filled with chaos, uncertainty and doubt. Although we may not have control over everything that happens around us, we have total control over what happens inside of us, in our minds. The quickest way to overcome your fear and doubt, is to boost your self-confidence.  You can start to build your self-confidence by focusing in on the things you can control; working to improve your thoughts, your behaviors, your feelings, your actions and your habits. These are choices that we make, and we must decide to do so. Instill positivity, optimism, gratitude, belief and enthusiasm into everything you do. Focus on the positive and focus on being positive. Have a positive and optimistic attitude and outlook.  Look for the good in everything and everyone. Carry an attitude of gratitude, always.  The more posi...

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible." - St. Francis of Assisi  Take your mind off the problems for a moment, and take some time to focus on all the positive possibilities. Consider how very much you are in fact able to do. Think of all that you can be. Focus on the positive changes you can make. Think about the ways you can make a difference. Seek out ways to add value to others.  The vast possibilities of our future will only become realities if we make ourselves responsible for that future. It takes someone with a vision of the possibilities to attain new levels of learning and experience. Someone with the courage to live their dreams, to believe in them and to go after them.  Start by focusing on clarifying your dreams and goals. Then, take action steps every day toward achieving them. Soon the impossible will be possible and the invisible will be visible. Things always seem impossible until you get o...

"Much of your self-esteem doesn’t come from what happens to you on a given day or what somebody says, but what you know about yourself on the inside." - Dr. Judy Ho Self-defeating thoughts are any negative views you hold about yourself and the world around you. Mistaken or faulty beliefs. These views impact your self-esteem, and are the feelings you carry about your personal abilities, and your relationships with others. We sabotage ourselves by allowing self-criticism and low self-worth to hold us back. When we feel bad about ourselves, we unconsciously do things that support those feelings.  We think we cannot do something so therefore we don't try, or give it our best effort. The result is a poor performance our outcome and lack of progress towards something better. Some of these thoughts and feelings are deeply rooted inside of us. They come from past hurts or failures. In our minds they are sometimes caused by others or may be caused by our own low self-esteem. They ...

"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives." -Tony Robbins Having belief in oneself is having the knowledge that we can do something. It's that inner feeling that whatever we take on, we can accomplish. For the most part, all of us have the ability to look at something and to know, think and believe whether or not we can do it. So within positive reinforcement of our beliefs, there is power; our eyes become opened; our opportunities become plain; and our visions can become realities. They say, the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Dare to dream, and dream big. And believe you can make it happen. It is important to believe in yourself.  Don't write yourself off.  When we don't believe in ourselves, it becomes hard to function and we give in to fear, uncerta...

  "The loudest and most influential voice you hear is your own inner voice, your self-critic. It can work for you or against you, depending on the messages you allow." - Keith Harrell We all talk to ourselves. Through our thoughts and in our subconscious mind.  We compare ourselves to others and often diminish our own self-worth.  We end up putting ourselves down.  You must remember that the most important words you utter are the ones you say to yourself, about yourself, when you are by yourself. It's important to choose your thoughts carefully. Don't hold yourself back.  Always believe in yourself and always stretch yourself beyond your limits. Your life is worth a lot more than you think and you are capable of accomplishing more than you know. You have more potential than you think, but you will never know your full potential unless you keep challenging yourself and pushing beyond your own self-imposed limits. Don't limit yourself.  A person's worth in th...

"The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it." - Thinch Nhat Hahn   We all have the power to be mindful and to live in the moment. And, we've all heard that this is the key to living a more fulfilled life. It is available to us at every moment if we make an effort to recognize it and appreciate it. Yet, how many of us practice it regularly?   Simply put, being mindful means being in tune with yourself. Being aware of your thoughts, your emotions, and how you are feeling both physically and mentally.   Some things to keep in mind before you practice mindfulness: The ultimate goal is for you to be able to focus on the present moment without judgment. To attempt to bring your mind back to the present moment. Understand and expect that your mind will wander. There is no natural way to completely quiet your mind. That's ok. That isn't necessarily the goal. It is natural for our mind to want to wander anywhere else than whe...

"The strength of your mind determines the quality of your life." - Edmond Mbiaka We all reach critical points in our lives where our mental toughness is tested. Whatever the challenge is, you must be strong, look at things differently and act, if you want to maneuver through it successfully.  It sounds easy but is isn't. It's hard to be mentally tough, especially when you feel stuck. Mental toughness is a choice and a discipline, not an innate quality bestowed upon the lucky. It can be achieved and enjoyed. Your mind is a muscle.  Just like all your other muscles, you need to work it out for it to stay strong and to grow.  Weightlifters know the discipline of continuous untiring effort.  They don’t expect to be able to lift as many pounds as someone who has been lifting weights longer.  Through continuous work, they become stronger and can lift more and more.  The same comes with mental strength.  You must work on it with continuous effort.  Soon ...

"Having a positive mental attitude is asking how something can be done, rather than saying it can't be done." - Bo Bennett   A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.   We don't understand entirely why positive thoughts impact our bodies in positive ways. We know that they do. People who are sick improve quicker when they have a positive attitude rather than a negative one.  Think of the power of the placebo effect. We can better face whatever comes our way with a positive attitude. A positive attitude by itself may not cure an illness. Still, it helps us cope better during hard times, which reduces the harmful effects of stress on your body.     Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this positivity question reflects your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself and others. Positive thinking doesn't mean ignoring life's less pleasant situations. It just means you approach things more positively a...