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| THE COLONY NEWS | SEPTEMBER 2025 | 3 From the Desk of Kathy C. Stevens What motivates behavior? In simple terms, a person's temperament, their experiences, attitude, and overall perspective on life. Other factors may come into play, but sometimes they are just eeting and temporary. I have days when I wake up with tons of energy and other days, not so much. But generally, people are motivated by what is going on in their head. e other day, I found out my accountant of 45 years had inadvertently made a mistake on my 2023 tax return. at meant I needed to le an amended return and wait 16 weeks for the refund. At 18 weeks, I found out the IRS had not received my amended return. It had to be reled and I now have to wait several more months for the refund. I once again had a choice – throw a t and yell at my accountant or just accept the reality of his being human and move on. I decided the good over the years outweighed the bad. He was just doing the best he could at the time. Why do I share this story? Because every day here in e Colony, and in life, we have choices. Sometimes the choices are hard. Sometimes we don't get what we want. And sometimes people disappoint us. But throughout it all, I have to believe we all want the same thing. We want to love and be loved, be happy and have peace. If your motivation includes these things, choices become "less hard". As a member of the Board, I am involved in a multitude of decisions aecting the community. e Board relies on experts to provide advice, the issues are rigorously debated, and decisions are made. And then things change. e connes of being a Board member are restricted by law, so sometimes a decision is dicult for residents not on the Board to understand. Board members are constantly engulfed by external forces, many of which are out of our control. However, at all times we are dedicated to do the right thing for the community. So, what motivates your behavior? ink about what you are thinking about! Be well, Kathy "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7

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