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Be Focused!

School Calendar

Getting Your Vitamin D

Nutrition In-Season

Pak’s Karate of Northwest Louisiana

BE FOCUSED!

This is the time of year when it is very easy to take your eye off the ball or lose focus on the things that really matter. As the holidays ap-proach and the New Year rolls in, it is easy to forget where our priorities should lie. Take some time to refo-cus yourself and reevaluate the things you are spending time on.

First, deciding what is important and determining what matters is an internal decision process. We all have people in our lives who influ-ence that decision, but ultimately you are the determining factor. You set the stage. You decide what is important and what is not.

If you asked others “What’s im-portant and what should I focus on?” you’ll hear a spectrum of answers as diverse as the people you question: family, work, education, friends, the list goes on. The intention of this ar-ticle is not to help you determine

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what should be important (as the arti-cle mentioned before, this is an inter-nal decision that can only be made by you), but we can offer some sim-ple steps that should help you stay focused once you decide where your priorities lie during this busy holiday season.

Below are four steps to staying focused:

1. Keep organized. It seems obvious, but as the days pass by and events, special per-formances, and the holidays themselves happen, remaining organized will help you stick to your goals.

2. Make a list. To-do lists are key to staying fo-cused. They act as a road map to getting important things done.

3. Manage your time. This goes hand in hand with mak-ing lists. Keep on track and don’t let others manage your time for you.

4. Make time for breaks. At first this may sound counterintu-itive, but breaks allow you to re-charge and catch up internally. And remember, staying focused is the key to accomplishment.

WHAT’S

INS

IDE

Upcom

ing

Events &

Birthdays

Kelsie Culbert-4 Alyssa Giddings-4 Priya Koyyalamudi-5 Alexander Minagar-6

Andrew Minagar-6 Quinton Smith-8 Samyra Jackson-10 Christopher Bennett-13

Seth Hendrix-13 Astin Hebert-13 Adrian Marquez-14 Seth Briggs-15

Alaina Cryer-15 Aiden Bicket-19 Solan Peters-20 Joshua McReynolds-20

Addison McReynolds-20 Arlene Heng-21 Kyle Bartley-21 Keilah Darner-22

Connor Henderson-23 Colin Slayton-25 Sarah Lollar-26 Keegan Walters-27

Tristan Killeen-27 Jacob Penrod-28 Violet Chuculate-29

HAVE THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART AND INTUITION. THEY SOMEHOW

KNOW WHAT YOU TRULY

WANT TO BECOME.

- STEVE JOBS -

PEACE. IT DOES NOT MEAN TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE

THERE IS NO NOISE, TROUBLE OR HARD WORK. IT MEANS TO

BE IN THE MIDST OF THOSE THINGS AND STILL BE CALM

IN YOUR HEART.

- UNKNOWN -

January 11 & 12 Apparel, uniforms, weapons, gifts,

and more!!

CLOSED January 18

Classes resume January 19 Black Belt Ceremony

January 7

Advanced & Black Belt Run

January 26 & 28

Buddy Day January 29

Black Belt Club Trial Class

January 5 & 7

© 2015 Powerful Words Character Development

INITIATIVE

For more Powerful parenting information, go to www.DrRobynSilverman.com.

JANUARY 2016

Young students: “I’m a self starter!”Older students/teens/adults: Taking purposeful action that propels life forward without outside reminders.

DEAR DR. ROBYN

Dear Dr. Robyn,

My question is very simple. How do I get my kid to start doing things on his own instead of waiting for me to do it or for me to start nagging him to do it? I’m so frustrated and believe me, I don’t have time for it!

-- Jaida M, Jacksonville, FL<< Paraphrased from a message; with

permission

Dear Jaida,

I can hear the frustration in your question-- and I get it! Your plate is full and you want your child to learn some self-reliance and initiative. It would help you out AND it would help your child as well. After all, getting into the habit of being a self-starter is important to becoming an independent, productive adult.

Aside from taking some important and purposeful steps back, here are some ways to help our children to become more independent:

(1) Sit down for a discussion: Hold a family meeting about expectations, jobs and responsibilities. Map out what is expected. Use check lists so that your child can simply refer to his or her list to see what needs to get done and when these tasks need to be completed. How would s/he like to contribute? What are your ideas? Once your children get into

the habit of using these lists, they can begin to write their own lists as new tasks arise.

(2) Link action to consequence: We don’t want to keep reminding our children to complete tasks! Therefore, be clear and concise. “When you do X, then you can do Y” as in; “When you take out the trash/make your bed, then you can play a game or go to a friend’s home.” On the other side, connect shirking responsibility to negative consequences (i.e; loss of privilege).

(3) Point out positive results of initiative: When your children show initiative without prodding, notice it! Praise it! Ask how it made them feel to get the job done on their own. Children like to feel responsible and respond when you notice! Connect their initiative to their feelings of pride as well as the positive results they got by completing the task. Encourage them to continue!

(4) Model initiative: Children can’t copy what they don’t see in detail. Talk it out while you are showing initiative and discuss how you showed initiative (and the consequences) once you complete your tasks. Praise it when you see it in others as well!

Continue to relay this value to your family and it will be adopted!

Here’s to your success!

© 2015 Powerful Words Character Development

INITIATIVE

For more Powerful parenting information, go to www.DrRobynSilverman.com.

JANUARY 2016

Young students: “I’m a self starter!”Older students/teens/adults: Taking purposeful action that propels life forward without outside reminders.

UPCOMING POWERFUL WORDS

February FriendshipMarch HonestyApril Attitude

Week 1 Initiative: What does it mean and what does it look like?Week 2 Goals: How can you use initiative to achieve a new goal for 2016? Week 3 Barriers: What gets in the way of initiative?Week 4 Outcome: What are the rewards/consequences of our actions?

Dear Family,

This month we will focus on the powerful word; “initiative.”

Initiative is the energetic, forward-moving purposeful action someone takes without the need of prompting or reminding. A person with initiative is a self-starter and goes after goals and get jobs done with admirable self-reliance.

In 1916, Dorothy Fisher wrote “Self Reliance,” a manuscript that focuses on children and the importance of developing initiative. She warns; “From the earliest years, modern children need to be set in conditions in which they may learn for themselves that lasting satisfaction comes from a

wise employment of their own energies and capacities, and not from a passive ownership of things.” Her words still hold true today-- one hundred years later. Our children must establish habits and see the true benefits of “energetic purposeful action,” as Miss Fisher calls it, instead of waiting for others to complete tasks for them.

In a recent publication by researchers out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, initiative is part of what is called “self-determination.” In a wide-scale study of over 700 parents with children who have some level of developmental disability, the researchers wanted to aggregate ideas for how to encourage self-determination. The skills,

it turns out, are helpful to all children! Among them were: fostering choice-making, promoting goal-setting and independence, reinforcing self-directed actions, encouraging responsibility and modeling risk-taking. Providing all children with these skills can help enrich their lives and provide personal satisfaction.

Thank you for your support. You are pivotal in helping to make our school one of the best personal development centers in the world.

Best Regards,

—Your Motivated and Dedicated Instructors

PARENTS PERCH

Many people today take a multi vitamin to stay “balanced” or to make sure they are getting the proper dosage of vitamins and other crucial nutrients. However, have you ever really researched the recommended daily intake of each essential vitamin? When is the last time you checked to see if you are experiencing any vitamin deficiencies? If you take a multivitamin, you may be getting the recommended daily allowance (RDA), but it still may not be enough. In a typical multivitamin, you may get 1000 IU of vitamin D which is 250 percent of the current RDA. The problem is the latest studies are showing that more and more people are deficient in vitamin D, and some doctors are prescribing 5000–10,000 IU daily.

Although bone pain and muscle weakness can both be symptoms of a Vitamin D deficiency, many of the more common symptoms are also more subtle. Low blood levels of Vitamin D have been associated with

cognitive impairment in older adults, severe asthma in children, and an increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Research also suggest taking in more vitamin D can aid in the prevention and treatment of a number of other conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, glucose intolerance and multiple sclerosis.

Vitamin D does not only support strong bones, but recent studies have shown Vitamin D may have many more benefits than originally thought. Below are some of the benefits that come with having the proper amount of vitamin D in your system. And remember, don’t self-diagnose; the only real way to know if you are deficient in this particular vitamin is by getting a blood test from your doctor.

1. Vitamin D can affect as many as 2000 genes in the body.

2. Vitamin D is vital in regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorous and facilitating

normal immune system function. Vitamin D helps with improved resistance to certain diseases.

3. Research suggests that vitamin D also plays a role in reducing MS (according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association). It also decreases your chance of developing heart disease (according to findings published in Circulation) and helps reduce your likelihood of developing the flu (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).

4. Some studies also suggest that vitamin D may help prevent or reduce the risk of some cancers such as colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic.

If you haven’t asked your doctor about vitamin D, you should. This vitamin may be more than we all thought and can possibly lead to a longer, healthier life.

I FAILED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN MY LIFE AND THAT IS

WHY I SUCCEED.

- MICHAEL JORDAN -

TOUGH TIMES DON’T LAST;

TOUGH TEAMS DO.

- UNKNOWN -

THE WORLD IS FULL OF WILLING PEOPLE. SOME WILLING TO WORK AND

SOME WILLING TO LET THEM.

- ROBERT FROST -

GETTING YOUR VITAMIN D

It’s wintertime, and while you can enjoy frozen, canned, dried and juiced produce year-round, here are some of the fruits and vegetables that are in-season this time of year!

Brussels Sprouts Squash Pears Grapefruit

Kale Collard Greens Dates Leeks Kiwi Oranges Pomegranates Sweet Potatoes Tangerines Turnips

And, don’t forget to take a look at the list of produce that is readily available year-round, including crowd favorites like apples, avocados, bananas, carrots, celery, mushrooms and snow peas.

NUTRITION

IN-SEASON

THE MIRACLE IS THIS: THE MORE WE SHARE

THE MORE WE HAVE.

- LEONARD NEMOY -

THERE ARE BASICALLY TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE. PEOPLE THAT ACCOMPLISH THINGS AND PEOPLE THAT CLAIM TO HAVE ACCOMPLISHED

THINGS. THE FIRST GROUP

IS LESS CROWDED.

- MARK TWAIN -

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

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3 4

Winter Camp 7AM-6PM

5

BBC Trial Haughton

6 7

BBC Trial Bossier Black Belt

Ceremony

8

ITC #1

9

New Student Orientation

10

Kick & Fitness Stripe

11 12 13 14 15

ITC #2

16

Jacksonville Instructor

Seminar

17

Jacksonville Instructor

Seminar

18

CLOSED MLK Day

19 20 21 22

ITC #3

23

Willis, TX testing

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Adv/BB run Bossier

27 28

Adv/BB run Haughton

29

ITC #4 Buddy Day

30

Texas testing BBC Event TBD

31

New Year’s Eve Lock-In

Inventory Clearance Sale