Tracie's World

I happened to catch a BYU devotional last week, that was given by a professor and coach named Craig Manning. He's an expert in "mental toughness", and is routinely hired by big-time athletes to help them get to the next level. One of his quotes that really grabbed me and got me to thinking was that "faith begins with how you talk to yourself". I've been pondering about that, and I think it is true.  In the Book of Mormon, in Alma chapter 32, we are taught about faith, and how to obtain it. In this chapter, the Prophet Alma compares faith to planting a seed. We have to plant the seed, and nurture it, and if it sprouts up, we know the seed was good. This ties right back in to the quote from Coach Manning. We have to tell ourselves that the seed is good, and that is where faith begins. If we were to plant the seed and nurture it and see it sprout, then tell ourselves the seed is bad, we're not expressing faith. Coach Manning has written a book, which I...

Life has gotten pretty busy recently. I was sort of expecting it, knowing that managing both work and school would get to be a handful. But nevertheless, that has definitely come to fruition, and in the midst of trying to do it all, the most recent round of seasonal virus hit me (and I have bitter thoughts about the co-workers who decided to share it). But thankfully I am mostly recovered from that. Anyhoo, as the song says, "welcome to my crazy life!" This isn't to say that I haven't been enjoying the craziness. In a weird way I have. I absolutely love school, and so far my Penn State experience has been wonderful. I've got some great professors, and wonderful people to worth with on my project teams. But MAN! It's a lot of work, and I'm exhausted. In an effort to bring my stress and anxiety down, which is definitely trying to get the better of me, I was fortunate to be able to change my work schedule. I now work Mondays and Fridays from home, and I...