Since the school session has recently started again, it made me think about  how I have always marveled at students that are involved in extra-curricular activities. It takes dedication, focus, persistent, passion, along with many other attributes to successfully balance the demands of studies and dedication to your sport or activity. (Along with having a social life ). I was always grateful that my children participated in multiple activities in High School and college. Being involved in extracurricular activities  offers the opportunities for some of life’s greatest lessons.

1^st – Time Management   These student athletes learn how to balance the demands on their schedule between practice, game time, studies, work, family, faith,  and friends.

2^nd – Hard work    Extra-curricular activities teaches them that achievements are not always easy and quick. It takes hard work and much time to achieve our goals. We earn them piece by piece and step by step. In the sport of football you can gain 8 yards and then loose 2. But as long as you don’t give up, the effort and patience can indeed pay off!

3^rd – Choices   They learned that with every choice there are consequences. This skill will help prepare them to make choices that will have a positive consequence on their lives.

4^th – Winning and losing with grace   How you win is as important as the win itself. Players represent their school, community, and family. The integrity they show in their actions and how they play the game – win or lose – shapes their character.  We always had a saying in our house; don’t get too high and don’t get too low.

5^th – Have fun  You have to be able to enjoy and have fun with what you do. Hard work can be fun! In fact, often times the things that we have to work the hardest at are the things that bring us a great deal of joy.

6^th – The power of teams   Many extra-curricular activities  are team sports, so is life. It takes all players each with different talents and skills willing to work hard and work as a team. Even the player who scores the touchdown didn’t get there by himself. Each person has different gifts and talents. Even when we achieve our greatest goals, it’s not alone. There are people supporting us in various ways all along the way. Life is a team effort.

7^th – The power of support The game is not played in isolation. The crowd cheering on the sidelines is a significant part of the game. It’s family and friends encouraging you to do your best, consoling you when you fail and celebrating when you succeed. We all need those voices of encouragement on the sidelines. We need someone to cheer us up when things don’t go well and friends to celebrate with when things go great.

8^{th –} Friendship While they share a mutual interest in the same activity they also develop a sense of loyalty, respect, and caring for each other. In many cases these friendships will last a lifetime. As a parent of kids involved in extra-curricular activities we were fortunate to have developed lifelong friendships with other parents, how fortunate we were to have that opportunity! 

Yes, these lessons are valuable indeed, in fact, they could be applied to many of life’s situations!

Dr Jill Bolte Taylor is a brain scientist that experienced a massive stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain at the age of 37. She provides a us a rare glimpse of her observations as she is experiencing the stroke along with her insights during her eight year recovery period.  When she had her stroke and her left brain was rendered non-functioning and quiet, the brain chattered stopped and the normally silenced right brain found its voice. It was life-changing because what she found was that this happens to be where nirvana resides. She thought if she had found nirvana and was still alive, then everyone can find nirvana. She thought, what a stroke of insight this could be in how we lead our lives.

Dr. Talyor starts with a bit of science. I found this very valuable and was able to more deeply appreciate her observations related to her stroke along with the details provided on her recovery.  She helps us to better understand how the right and left hemisphere of the brain function. Let me share one of the factoids presented:

• The limbic system functions by placing an effect or emotion on information streaming in through our senses. Our limbic system functions throughout our lifetime, it does not mature.  As a result, when our emotional buttons are pushed, we retain the ability to react to incoming stimulation as though we were a two-year-old. It is so easy to get caught up in the wiring of our pre-programmed reactivity (limbic system) that we live our lives cruising along on auto pilot. Here is the catch, although there are certain limbic system (emotional) programs that can be triggered automatically, it takes less than ninety seconds for one of these programs to be triggered, surge through our body and then be completely flushed out of our bloodstream.  If you choose to remain with the automatic trigger after 90 seconds, it is truly your choice – you have chosen to let that circuit continue as Dr. Taylor would say.

How interesting is this! I am an advocate of “Choose your attitude”, while you cannot control what happens to you, you can control how you choose to respond. Her explanation of the limbic system resonated with me and our power of choice.

She also states that our minds are highly sophisticated “seek and ye shall find” instruments. We are designed to focus in on whatever we are looking for. I now better understand why visualization and imagery can be so powerful.

In closing, she viewed her stroke as a wonderful  gift as it permitted her to pick and choose who and how she wanted to be in this world. She states that by recognizing who is who inside our cranium, we can take a more balanced-brain approach to how we lead our lives. Creating a healthy balance between our two characters enables us the ability to remain cognitively flexible enough to welcome change (right hemisphere) and yet remain concrete enough to stay a path (left hemisphere). We have the power to chose moment by moment who we are.

If this topic is of interest to you, I would recommend watching this 18 minute video, not only is she an excellent writer, she is an engaging presenter. Jill Bolte Taylor video

When I started the blog posts, I had indicated that the posts in my blog will span topics of business, leadership, technology, and tidbits of general interest. The following is one of general interest. I love trying new recipes (especially when we are spending time with family and friends at the lake). This is a new one that I discovered and adapted this summer. I think the combination of family, friends, laughter, and food feed the soul. I hope you enjoy this creation – it is simple to make, healthy to eat and delicious to taste.

Shrimp Salad Canapes Recipe

Makes about 36 hors d’oeuvres

• 8-12 Large shrimp cut into small pieces (Add more or less depending on your taste and how it looks)
• 1- 2 thick seedless cucumbers (usually plastic-wrapped; at least 1 3/4 inches in diameter), cut into 36 (1/4-inch-thick) slices
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño chile (including seeds)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup finely diced peeled mango
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• Garnish: thinly sliced fresh cilantro

Whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, jalapeño, salt, and a pinch of pepper.

Add shrimp, mango, celery, onion, and cilantro to dressing and toss well.   

Slice cucumber (if you have a scallop cutter you can use that to make it more festive)

Top each cucumber round with 1 rounded teaspoon shrimp salad.