Team Development

As a leader, it is very important to have a strong team surrounding you. You can't possibly do everything by yourself all the time and need a support system with different strengths than your own to keep you balanced all the time.
A good team is a hard working, cooperative group of people that work well together. This team should have a variety of people with a variety of different strengths and weaknesses. If everyone has the same strengths and weaknesses, then the group is clearly going to struggle through some part of their designated task. With a variety of people, you get some creative thinkers and some logical thinkers; some organizational and some cluttered; some outgoing and some intraverted; but you get it all. There isn't a weakness because every possible weakness is someone's strength.

With that being said, a team improves when each person makes the effort to improve themselves. If each member takes the time to improve one weakness of their own, then the results and success will multiply. If there is a 20 person team, and each one of them takes time to improve one of their weaknesses, then that is 20 more strengths added to the list as opposed to just the leader improving one of their weaknesses.

A team is successful when everyone has the same mission and goal in mind. If each individual has a slightly different idea of what the outcome will be, then there is a lot of confusion and controversy. With a team, the less controversy, the better. There are clearly going to be some problems, but having a common goal or purpose will keep everyone level headed and pointed in the right direction. A team is also successful when every member does his or her job correctly and to their maximum potential. In football, most people watch the quarterback and the receivers and rarely pay attention to the lines. In OU's case this year, a slip up on the line cost us our Heismann Trophy winning quarterback and arguably a return to the National Championship. Granted, most mistakes aren't quite that dramatic, but they all have potential to be. Sam Bradford got hurt because someone was being lazy and wasn't doing their job, which didn't allow the team to be successful.

An unsuccessful team is turned into a successful one by changing all of the above. If the team has all of the same strengths, hire people with various ones. If the team needs to be better, push the members to change one of their weaknesses. If the team is lazy, try to change their attitude. If the team isn't in agreement, remind them of the goal they want to achieve.

This is all easier said than done, but it is possible and is necessary to be a leader and accomplish a group task.

Discipline

Clearly I am not perfect and I have a lot of improving to do in my life. The following are the top of my list to change right now.

Five places I need the most discipline in my life:
1. eating healthy
2. working out and being good to my body
3. procrastination
4. prioritizing
5. love

How can I fix them?
1. Because I was so physically active in high school, I could eat whatever I wanted and still be okay. But now that I am in college, life is a little different and I can't make it to the gym everyday. That means I need to make better decisions with what I put into my mouth. I can easily say no to the Couch Express cookie or choose healthy snacks as opposed to a big bag of chips for example.
2. As stated above, I am clearly not working out as much as I used to. I need to start setting aside even as little as 30 minutes for me to go work out, burn some calories and some stress. I can even take simple reading with me to the gym to kill 2 birds with one stone!
3. Procrastination is a major problem I think everyone deals with. Yes, I would love to have so much self-discipline that I never procrastinate, but then again, procrastination forces me to get stuff done. I DON'T like missing deadlines and I rarely do, so procrastinating helps me get the task done. And I usually work better under pressure anyway!
4.Being in college with a new group of friends, I sometimes choose friends over homework and studying. With this, I really just need to realize that they will still be my friends even if I don't go to dinner with them one night. It won't kill me or them to do a little extra studying.
5. Like a lot of teenage girls, I tend to get a little boy crazy. I start to analyze every word a boy says to me to see if he has even the slightest interest, which is a terrible habit. Love surprises you when you least expect it and I am just getting too impatient. If I go looking for it, I will never find it, and that isn't something I want. I just need to relax and think about the more important things in my life, like school for example.

Out of everyone I know, my dad definitely has the most self-discipline. He does what he needs to do exactly when he needs to do it. I never see him procrastinating, I never see him slacking, and he always accomplishes everything on his to do list.
I am accountable for everything that I say I will do and I am accountable to who I told I would do that something. I am also accountable to my parents and to God, along with many others.

I know I need more discipline in my life, and it is something I am trying to change.

My Mission

I am at my best when I can make people happy and I am happy myself.
I will try to prevent times when I get to stressed to be productive in any way.
I will enjoy my work by finding employment where I can inspire others.
I will find enjoyment in my personal life through organizizing and accomplishing tasks.
I will find opportunities to use my natural talents and gifts such as music, volleyball, and being a friend.
I can do anything I set my mind to. I will help children find their passions in life and learn how to pursue them.
My life's journey is one big adventure. I imagine myself organizing my way through life, trying to help and make as many people smile as I can, even if it is only for a few minutes. I want to inspire people to stand up for what they believe in and take a step to achieve their dreams as well. If we live in a world full of people who don't believe in themselves, then how are any of us going to get better and make the world a better place? At the end of my journey, I want to feel accomplished and happy of course, and also know that people around me succeeded as well..
I will be a person who will be rock her 80th birthday party in style! Obviously my family will be there, and I am hoping that some of my gamma phi sisters can make it, along with friends I have made along the journey. I want to tell all of them that I lived with no regrets and worked toward and hopefully reached my goals. It wasn't always easy and it wasn't always pretty, but at the end of the day, when it was all said and done, I accomplished something and it felt good!.
My most important future contribution to others will be a friend. People need someone there to support them through thick and thin, good times and bad. I know I want friends around me and people to talk to, so I want to be that person for them..

I will stop procrastinating and start working on:

• Practicing what I preach. There are times when I am in a bad mood and I mope around all day with weights on my shoulders. But doing this gets people no where really quickly. I gain nothing and at the end of the day, it has set me back further from my goals because I have been wallowing in self-pity all day.
• 
  
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I will strive to incorporate the following attributes into my life:

• make others want to be a better person
  
• inspire
• believe in what I do and what others do as well
  

I will constantly renew myself by focusing on the four dimensions of my life:

• find ways to relax and not get stressed out
• believe. Believe in God and know that he is with me no matter what step I take.
• don't get down on myself or beat myself up for a mistake or a wrong step.
• don't let my heart take too much control over my life and get too infatuated with making other people happy that I stop thinking about what makes me happy.

Who's Who

This lovely Monday evening, I had the pleasure of meeting my team for Homecoming Exec! I am on the campus involvement team, which means our team consists of many different types of people including sorority girls, frat boys, and multicultural group members. Everyone brought new and different ideas and had something valuable to say. There were some ideas brought up that I never would've thought to do, which is exactly why we are on a team! I definitely made 5 new friends today and I can't wait to see how our effort turns out.
From this, I learned that working with people really is a valuable tool. One person can't possibly brainstorm enough and come up with all the ideas themselves. Having a team of people can open up many new paths and thoughts that one person would never have come up with. This makes evolving and moving forward easier and broader. Especially for large tasks, it is important to divide up the work so it all gets done efficiently and quickly. I know with the tasks I was given that I would go insane trying to do all of this work. But with a team, we can divide up the work and I can be much less stressed.
As for my advice, I want all freshmen and incoming freshmen for that matter to GET INVOLVED EARLY. This job I got has opened so many doors for me and introduced me to people that I never would've known otherwise. Getting involved is a great way to meet new friends, as well as faculty members, and knowing employees can do A LOT more than you would think! Because I put myself out there, I had the opportunity to speak at the press conference for the new engineering building, which gave me about 10 other contacts, as well as public speaking practice! Knowing people can get you places much faster than trying to do it all on your own.

My Future at OU

I have a passion for OU and I know I want to be really involved. This is such a great campus and community and I know I would be honored to assume a leadership role in some activity on campus. With that being said, my short time involved with CAC events has proven to be rewarding and quite fun. I love all the events they put together and the traditions that have been held throughout the years and I know that CAC will continuously do great things for this University.

I see myself being incredibly busy and involved on campus, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love this university and everything it does for the campus, which is exactly why I want to stay involved with CAC. The events that CAC plan always involve a lot of school spirit and people, two of my favorite things. I love showing my spirit and passion for OU, and I love making new friends! So what an easier way to do both!

Besides getting involved, I also know that I want to maintain my good grades. I am here for SCHOOL first and foremost, and all other activities come after that, no matter how much I enjoy them. After all, I am here to earn a degree that I can take into the real world, and being involved in CAC won't exactly get me a job!

I know I want to be seen as a leader on this campus, which won't be an easy task. Leading requires a lot of time and patience, but I am willing and able to do both of those things.


I can't wait to see what I end up doing!!

Attitude

Your attitude and your outlook on life play a huge role in everyday activities. Whether you know it or not, you are giving off a certain "vibe" that can either turn people away or attract them. For example, smiling is an obvious attitude. When you smile, other people know you're happy or pleased about something as opposed to clearly being upset with something. Smiling allows you to be much more approachable because it is easier to talk to someone who is happy instead of someone who isn't having a good day and might not want to talk to you or hear what you have to say. That's what I think about when I approach someone. I am afraid of rejection and will automatically be timid if the person I need to talk to appears to be in a bad mood.

This is the same for groups and group members. Groups are created to work together and incorporate everyone's ideas, which means all members must be approachable and flexible. Being in a group automatically means you aren't going to get your way 100% of the time, but pouting and being unhappy isn't the way to get your ideas included. Your ideas are more likely to be included if you are positive and participate actively in planning and executing.

I had a teacher one time who acted like she hated the world on a daily basis. It was incredibly intimidating to try and talk to her and ask questions about the material because even though, she said she wanted to help us learn, she didn't act like it. Her attitude came off as apathetic and angry, which made her unapproachable. No one wants to work with a grumpy gills. It is seriously so much easier to work with someone who has a positive outlook on life and the respective project.

As for the quote "Our attitudes are our most important assets," I believe this is completely true for the reasons I have stated above. Attitudes define whether you are approachable or not. Leaders are only effective leaders if they can be approached and are flexible. If no one trusts or wants to talk to the leader, then they chearly arent influencing anyone and they won't ever be trusted.

It's as simple as that.

Problem vs. Challenge

Problems and challenges seem very familiar, but there is a huge difference. The question is: is this a real problem or is this a problem blown way out of proportion? Many people, including myself, run into this dilemma multiple times a day. I would be that a majority of the time, someone is blowing the problem way out of proportion and it really isn't that big of a deal.
Today, I was torn up about someone saying something rude about me behind my back. Being a perfectionist, I like everyone to like me and think highly of me. But in this world, you can't please everybody. Just like Eli Young Band sings in their song "When it Rains," I didn't mind being lonely or crying along with the sky. I felt gloomy all day long until about 30 minutes ago when I realized that it really didn't matter what 1 person thought. Once people have their opinions, it is pretty difficult to change them and me fretting over one person's thoughts, that I don't really know that well I might add, is a waste of my time and energy that needed to be spent doing other things.
With leadership, I think this is extremely relevant because leaders are put on pedestals, but just because you are on a pedestal doesn't mean everyone likes you. There will always be people out there who dislike and say bad things about you. It isn't and can't possibly in your control. I know I need to get over it and focus on more important things in my life instead of trying to please everyone because if I continue trying to please everyone and solve all the problems of the world, I won't be on the earth much longer due to exhaustion.
It is all about deciding whether the problem is worth it, and then acting on the problems that really do need attention. I like to call these challenges because a problem really needing attention will most likely not be an easy fix and it is therefore a challenge. Leaders accomplish feats in life by focusing on the challenges and saving the easy work for other people. It is just a part of life.

To all high school seniors...

I know exactly how you feel right now. You are ready for spring break. You are SO ready to be done with high school forever. Most of you are DYING to get to college in the fall.

SLOW DOWN!! High School is just as much of a special time as college is, especially your senior year. Cherish every moment because lets be honest, college isn't a cake walk by any means. But because I have a semester and a half under my belt, I can give you some advice.

First of all, invest in a couple of warm jackets, gloves, and especially ear muffs. If you are going anywhere relatively cold, you WILL BE COLD walking to class. It's a fact. It's also not a bad idea to bring one of these jackets with you when you move in. I think you will be surprised at how cold it can get.

Secondly, don't be afraid to make friends. College is a fresh start for everyone and they all want to make new friends too. Being shy and inverted will get you nowhere and there is a possibility it could lead you to depression. That is never a good thing. On that note, I would also recommend going through Rush. Joining a sorority or a fraternity opens you up to 200 people that will be there for you if you need it. Also, there will be older people in your house who have taken your classes already or are in your degree program, which is extremely beneficial.

College is a great way to make life long friends, but you can't get too caught up in that aspect. I mean, college is first and foremost about going to class and graduating so you can have a future. Therefore, I highly recommend reading your text book even if it isn't required. It's much easier to understand your foreign professor if you have read what he is writing on the board. (And yes, you will have a professor that you can't understand.)

I also encourage everyone to get involved on their campus, whether it is the Student government, a bible study, or some other club. It is a way to meet new people and also something to look forward to if you have a rough week.

But if you get involved, you MUST MUST MUST stay organized. Actually, you need to stay organized anyway. Organization is key because you can plan ahead if you have 3 tests in one week, which does happen quite often. It allows you to plan ahead and manage your time. I was an organized person in high school, but even I have had to step up my game in college. Find a planner that works for you and use it. Everyone has their preferences and it will help you if you get a planner that is pleasing to your eyes. Sadly, I did this by buying my high school planner because I really liked the layout!

But finally, have fun! As I have been told, college is some of the best 4 years of your life. Enjoy it and take it all in. I know that the short time I have been here, I have had the time of my life, but I also made good grades too. It is all about balance and scheduling, but I guess in the long run, no fun will cause you stress which isn't a good thing!


So... have fun and take it all in, but don't do this in place of making good grades. Your parents will not be very happy with you if you fail out.

Good Luck with the rest of your senior year and with college next year!

Love always,
Carrie

Bystander Behavior

In life, it is almost always easiest just to walk on by and pretend like you never saw anything. Sadly, I find myself doing this a lot. Because I like keeping myself busy, I often make my excuse "I just don't have any time to spare to take care of this one little problem," and that is never the right attitude. In 18 years of life, I have learned, slowly but surely, what goes around comes around. If you don't take the initiative to help someone, they won't take the initiative for you when you need it.
There have been plenty of opportunities in life where I have been a bystander. I bystand friends being rude to other friends all the time. I walk right past the booths in the Union because I have somewhere I need to be. Even the small things can make you a bystander in everyday life. It is usually so much easier to take the low road and walk on by, but I know now that I need to start being that bigger person and helping out where I can.
There was a time in my high school volleyball practice where our coach was raising her voice enough to make a girl on our team cry. She was raising her voice about how this girl never took anything seriously in practice or in life when in reality, she just has the happy-go-lucky personality and was naturally goofy. It is especially difficult to stand up to people who are older than you. I really wish I said something to my coach about it, but instead we just went on with our practice and when we had a break, we comforted our teammate. Looking back, I still wish I would've said something because in my opinion, no one has the right to be yelled at, and our coach really couldn't see all sides of the conflict.
Making the transition to college, you would think that all the high school drama would stay back home and the cliques and peer pressure would do the same. However, there is still just as much in college as there is in high school. I think college kids choose to take the easy route because there is still potential for them to get judged and made fun of for doing the right thing. College is still about making new friends and meeting new people, but all of those friends can vanish in the blink of an eye if a person takes one wrong step. It is still a nasty, nasty world out there. Most college kids see this as a major problem, and therefore, don't want to take the initiative to do the right thing. They would rather pretend like nothing happened, keep their friends, and move on with life.
It can really be a hard decision to do the right thing, but speaking from experience, you do get some reward from it. I mean, we aren't trying to save the world by doing one good deed now are we?


Until next time,
Carrie

Priorities

It's different how your priorities change over time. I remember when my priority used to be volleyball. Nothing came before volleyball and it always trumped everything.
Coming to college, my two main, main priorities were to make new friends and have fun. I have been told time and time again that college is some of the best four years of your life, and since I kinda missed out on high school social stuff, I knew that's what I wanted to do. Of course school is a huge priority and still is to me, but let's be honest. I had it SOOOOO easy last semester. This semester is completely different, more busy, and stressful. My priorities have definitely changed between December and January. I am constantly doing school work and projects and barely have time for friends right now, but I am getting the hang of how my schedule needs to be and I'm positive my life will settle down soon. But speaking of more homework, that's what I need to go do!


~Carrie

Influences

Hello there
It's been a while since my last post, but only because I've been incredibly busy and sort of stressed. But tonight, I want to talk about the influences in my life. Even though it is the most obvious, I would definitely have to say my mom has influenced me in the past 4 years. She has turned into a very successful businesswoman, creating an incredibly large web of contacts and friends, which is something I strive to do in my life. I mean, the woman knows EVERYONE. I remember one time we were at the airport in Rome about to come home from vacation, and she saw someone she knew. There have been very few instances where she walks into a room and knows no one. I would definitely love to have those connections and that much success in my career.

The other very important thing that has shaped my life is volleyball. Not only did it provide me with keen problem solving, promote teamwork skills, and develop some of my leadership abilites, but it also taught me time management. All of these qualities are very important in life, but I think time management can make you fall faster than any of the others can. Because of the intense training schedule of club volleyball (practice 4 nights a week and tournaments pretty much every weekend in the spring) plus school workouts, not to mention mounds of homework, and only 24 hours in a day to accomplish it all, I was forced to organize and prioritize. It was no easy task, but I got everything finished.

My life has changed so much since high school graduation, but my influences have stuck with me. I honestly wouldn't have it any other way though. I am so glad I was influenced the way I was and I definitely feel as though it has made my college transition much easier!

Until next time,
Carrie

Welcome to my blog!

Hello!
My name is Carrie Quirk and I am a freshman Industrial Engineering major at the University of Oklahoma. When I'm not at OU, I reside in Dallas, Texas, but I absolutely love both cities! In high school, I played volleyball and was in choir, along with an endless amount of clubs such as National Honor Society, Students Against Destructive Decisions, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and various Student Council organizations. I also spent most of my spring and summer playing club volleyball, so I of course miss playing A LOT! Most people don't know that I love singing and performing on stage. But that is strictly ON STAGE. When people ask me to sing in front of them, I can't do it. I love organizing things and making everything more efficient which fits my life, being so busy and all. Another random fact is that I love to bake and cook and will do either any time I possibly can.

I guess that's all for now.
Carrie