The Importance Of Avoiding "Motivational Killers"!

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One aspect of life that I believe the majority of most people realize as we age is that you cannot make it through this life all alone. Of course there may be some people that feel otherwise, but those are people that likely have a bit of an ego. That's fine if they feel that way as they're entitled to their opinion. However, I also believe that most people will acknowledge that it is nearly impossible to navigate life without help from others. There are people that are going to be there throughout our lives that will help us out when we're in need. One form of help and encouragement that others bring to our lives comes in the form of motivation. Motivation is defined as "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something." Think back to when you were a child, and if you were someone that didn't always enjoy waking up to go to school like I was, you probably had some motivation from your parents to do so. It's not like we had much of a choice to begin with when you're that age, but I think you get my drift here. Motivation is a very crucial aspect of being able to make it through life, but motivation can also work against us if we're not mindful of how to use it. This equates to the importance of avoiding the motivation killers as much as we possibly can. 

Hello once again folks! This is Brad H. back once again, and I would like to welcome you all to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! This is a space where I share my personal perspective on a topic that can hopefully help towards keeping us motivated and inspired in this life. Last week was my schedule week to put this installment out, but I decided that it would be more beneficial for me to enjoy the week with my family. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We are now in the month of December, which means that we got less than 30 days left to end this year on a high note. It is absolutely mind-boggling right now just thinking of how this year is almost over with. Despite the world at large dealing with all types of issues this year, 2020 has managed to go by very quickly. Before I get into this week's topic, I just want to encourage everyone to remember that this year isn't done yet. There is a lot that can still happen both good and bad. More importantly, we still have the opportunity to work on and improves ourselves. There is no better time than now, so there is no use in waiting for 2021 to start. So now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a sec, lets go ahead and transition to the theme of the week, which is avoiding the motivational killers. 

Now before we go more into the aspect of motivational killers, I want to begin by stating that the things that may and may not motivate us are purely subjective. As with the majority of the topics that I bring up via this outlet, I'm coming from my own perspective, as well as a more generalize perspective. We are all unique in our own ways, so there will always be variance when it comes to the things that do, as well as do not motivate us. Now some of you may wonder to yourselves; "Brad H., what exactly is a "motivational killer?" Well it is elementary my dear readers! Okay, I'm kidding with the Sherlock Holmes reference there. However, from my own perspective, a motivational killer is anything that pretty much puts a cap on motivating us to do things. Now this isn't limited only to people, because we do know that some of the biggest motivational killers are going to be people. That said, motivational killers are also things that could be considered as being habits. Now some people may not necessarily look at bad habits as being motivation killers, but I would dare say that they are probably more damaging than people are when it comes to this topic. Why, you may wonder? Because anything that is created by us (which most habits are) are more difficult to break.  

Now besides the possibility of being around other individuals that could be deemed as motivational killers, what are the habits that can be classified in this way? Again, this is all subjective, but anything that potentially keeps you from having a desire to do anything is a motivational killer. This can include things like excessive eating, junk foods, television, entertainment, etc. These are just a few examples of things that can kill motivation. Now going back to habits and how they can affect us when it comes to motivation, I mentioned previously how they're the most damaging and difficult to break free from. It's one thing to deal with a negative person that may be detrimental to a degree when it comes to being motivated to do things. Of course this type of negativity isn't ideal, but you can always either tune out a negative person, or remove yourself from around them. However, when it comes to anything that may be a vice and has a hold on you literally, it's not always as easy to break those chains. Breaking these chains can be done, but it's much more of a challenge when it all falls on you to do the necessary work. The main point here is to understand that motivational killers can come in all shapes and forms, and it is always wise to be aware of the things that we're giving energy to. 

So all of this brings us to the title of the topic for this week, which is the importance of avoiding motivational killers. It's pretty obvious why we should strive to avoid things that decrease motivation. However, the main reason as to why I believe that it's of importance to avoid motivational killers is due to the fact that these killers blend into other aspects of our lives that may not have anything to do with being motivated. As an example, if there's a person that chooses to lie on the couch all day eat bad and watching television, that person probably doesn't have the motivation to do anything productive with themselves. However, the poor eating and lack of movement can also lead to bad health, which is another downside that comes with a lack of motivation. Again, it isn't enough to just rely on motivating ourselves to do the things we desire. When we allow the things that kill our motivation to control our lives, it trickles down to other aspects of our lives as well. Having one issue going on in our lives is one thing, but motivational killers can multiply the issues that we're facing. This is why it is essential that we must avoid the things that lead to diminished motivation. 

Well that's the topic for the week everyone! I hope that you all enjoyed reading this, and if you happened to make it this far, I sincerely appreciate you for coming through. This has once again been another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective', brought to you by Brad H. Please feel free to leave any comments and feedback if you would like to do so. You can also find me on Twitter @BradrickH if you would like to connect on there. We are 20 days away from the Christmas holiday as of right now. Lets try to enjoy the rest of these days leading to the end of this year. You all take care, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks with another topic. Peace out everyone!

©2020 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why It Is Of Importance To Always Be At Your Strongest.

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I believe that we all can admit that it is a little known fact that we as human-beings often partake in self deprecating actions on occasion. We would be lying to ourselves if we said otherwise. Now when we think of actions that could be seem as being self deprecating, what actions and activities does this include? There are a variety of actions that could be seen in this manner from my own perspective. A good portion of what could be seen as self deprecation all comes down to the individual and their own personal vices. Now another thing that we can also admit is that there are various reasons as to why we find ourselves engaging in habits that are self deprecating. We will get into that later on in the topic. Furthermore, not only does self deprecation come down to the individual and what we're partaking in, but each activity that could be viewed as self deprecating has a different effect on different people. Basically engaging in self deprecating behaviors is bad period, but there are behaviors that are worse than others. This is something else that we will be touching on throughout this topic. Though there are many variances that can have an effect when it comes to self deprecating behaviors, the one thing that nearly all of them have is common is that they weaken us. During these trying times that we're facing right now, it is crucial for us to be operating on a higher frequency than normal. This is one of the reasons why it is of importance for us to always attempt to be at our strongest.

Hello once again my good people! This is your boy Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am here for another week to hopefully provide some inspiration that can hopefully be beneficial towards our lives. I hope that all has been well and good for you all lately, and I want to thank those of you that are reading this. So for my soapbox this week, I'm going to give my opinion on the whole mask vs. no mask debate that is going on amidst the Covid-19 pandemic that we're still in. As most of you have likely seen on the news the last week or two, the cases are beginning to ramp up in certain states. The state of Texas, which is where I'm from is seeing a major uptick along with California, Arizona and Florida. Now there has been a lot of talk about whether wearing masks when people go out works or not. I'm not here to tell anyone what to do, but with these cases rising and clearly getting out of hand, I am an advocate of mask wearing. I see so many people online and on the news that complain about the masks. I just think to myself that it's just a mask. I know it is an inconvenience, but unless you work somewhere where you have to wear it all day long, it's really not that big portion of your life. If it can help slow down this spread and not overload the healthcare system, I'm all for it. Again, I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. I just hope everyone takes this serious and look out for one another. If that means wearing a mask when you go to places, then that's what it is. Now that I've given my spill on that, lets get into this week's theme of the importance of always being at your strongest.

Now when I personally think of what it means for an individual to be at their strongest, I think of someone that is operating at their peak performance. This means different things for different people, which ultimately means that it is up to us an individuals to define what it means for us to be at our strongest. Now I mentioned in the opening how we often engage in habits that could be seen as being self deprecating. Before I get to the point that I am trying to make with this topic, I think it is important for us to first define what it means to be self deprecating towards oneself. The definition of self deprecating is to belittle or undervalue oneself. This basically mean partaking in things that are beneath you. Now as with the theme of operating at your strongest, determining whether something is beneath you as an individual is something that it up to the individual. There may be certain things that I personally feel are beneath me, but that doesn't mean that another person can feel that way about those things when it comes to their own life. Again, it is totally up to you as individual to determine this. Now I cannot speak for anyone else, but I think that it's pretty standard to think that doing things that are beneath you will not equal to a person being at their strongest. I believe it is nearly impossible to be strong when you're doing thinks that weaken you in any way, shape or form.

So when it comes to the idea of a person being at their strongest, what exactly does this entail? There are a variety of ways that this could be defined, and I want to point out again that it is totally subjective. However, for me personally when I think of being at my strongest, I think of the word preparation. Now I do realize that it isn't feasible to believe that a person can always be prepared for everything, but we also know and understand that there are ways to prepare yourself to the best of your ability. We do this by engaging in good habits that help us to improve. On the other side of the spectrum, we can also do things that can weaken us. These are the bad habits that can often lead to a lack of preparation. For example, imagine a student that has a big test coming up at the end of the semester. If this student makes a commitment of studying an hour a day for the two weeks leading up to the test, you'd think they would be more likely to do well right? Now if the same student chooses to play video games or hang out with their friends instead of studying, and they wait till a couple of days before to cram for the test, the odds of them not doing as well will likely increase. Now I know in this example that the preparation was for something that was upcoming, but the fact remains that whether something happens on the spur of the moment or upcoming, good habits will increase your chances of being prepared for what is to come.

So all of this ultimately brings us to the importance of always being at your strongest. From my own personal perspective, a person that is at their strongest are much more prepared for the unpredictability of life. As I have brought up already on this topic, there is never a way to truly be prepared for something that you're not expecting. I think most of us that live in the states can relate to this because most of us was not expecting this pandemic to hit us in the way that it has. Just think of the people that already prepare on a daily basis for any sort of crisis. These are the people that are more likely to be able to handle something that happens unexpectedly. On the other hand if you're stuck in a weaker state of mind, the chances of you not being able to endure unexpected circumstances is more likely. I personally believe that the best way to be at your strongest is to practice good habits that bring value to your life. Of course none of us can always be at our strongest, but we can always do our best to be there more often than not. We should all be doing doing our due diligence to make ourselves both physically and mentally strong as we can be. We cannot do this if we're stuck in a cycle of self deprecation by having bad habits that constantly weaken us. From my perspective, this is why I feel that it is of importance for us to be at our strongest as much as possible.

That pretty much sums up this week's topic folks, so it is time for me to go ahead and sign off. Thank you once again to those of you that stopped by for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope that I was able to bring this topic in a way that everyone can relate to. I also hope that you all found some type of value in this topic. If you have any comments or feedback to give, please feel free to do so. You can also connect with me on Twitter at the handle, @BradrickH. Well I hope you all enjoy this holiday weekend. I'll see you all on the next topic. Till next time, please stay safe and be smart when it comes to this pandemic. Take care everyone, and peace out!

©2020 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

How Staying On Your Purpose Can Be A Remedy For Bad Habits.

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Habits, habits, habits! You have them, I have them, we all have them. I feel like habits are a topic of interest that I have talked about on here plenty of times in the past. That is definitely the case due the fact that I'm a person that feels that habits can be a deterrence towards productivity. In saying that, I'm not saying that habits are all bad. There are a lot of good habits that a person can have, and that's a terrific thing. However, I think that most of us can agree that our bad habits are more of a problem in our lives than our good habits. It is for that reason why I feel that more credence has to be given to our bad habits. The idea is that ridding our lives of bad habits can help in creating more good habits. If you ask me, this is a win/win situation. Ridding ourselves of bad habits isn't always an easy thing to do. If we're being honest here, there are some bad habits that many of us have that we'll never truly be free of. Even if you have a habit that is deemed bad that you're having a hard time getting out of your life, you can always try and cut back on and limit it. From my perspective, progression should always come before perfection. Now depending on what kind of habits a person has, there are all kinds of reasons for these habits. I'm of the belief that the majority of bad habits stem from too much idle time in our lives. We've all heard the saying that goes; "An idle mind is the devil's playground." Whether you believe that to be true or not is on you, but one of the best ways I feel a person can begin the journey towards eliminating bad habits is getting on your purpose. From my perspective, finding and staying on your purpose is one of the best treatment options that we have for remedying bad habits.

What's going on once again people? Y'all know who it is! It's your boy Brad H. back once again, and welcome to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am back to bring another topic that can hopefully serve as some inspiration for us all. I hope that all has been good and well for you all as of late. I know I'm one happy guy due to the fact that the NBA is back. If I'm correct about this, this is the only time of the year where the four major sports in America are happening. So we got the MLB World Series happening now between the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals. For those of you that may not know, I am definitely an Astros fan, which means that I am pulling for them to win. I actually got to attend a game this season at Minute Maid park, which was a lot of fun also. The Astros are kinda in a hole as of the moment because they are down 2-1 in the series. However, if they are able to win tonight, we will have a series once again. I will admit that I was somewhat worried when they went down 0-2. I will also admit that I was a bit surprised at how great Washington has been in this series. I know they're a good team, but I figured all that time between their last series and this one would have them rusty. I still believe the Astros are the more dominant team, and I do believe that if they even this series up that they will go on to win it all. Two titles in a three year span would be a great accomplishment. Regardless of the outcome, I think most people that follow baseball can say this has been quite a good season. Baseball will be missed when it's over, but we are in the thick of NFL, and like I pointed out earlier NBA is here. I'm especially excited about NBA because there were so many moves made in the off season that has so many teams looking completely different. Should be an exciting season. Well that's my soapbox for the week, so lets go ahead and talk about how staying on your purpose can be a remedy for bad habits.

In order for us to correlate purpose with being a potential remedy for bad habits, we first have to establish exactly what is our purpose. As with pretty much anything that can be viewed in a variety of ways, purpose can mean different things for different people. From my own personal perspective, along with what I've heard others define in regards to their definition of what purpose is, I view purpose as something or someone that a person is intensely passionate about. I view it as one of the first things that you think of when you wake up, and the last thing you think about when you go to sleep. I see it as the primary reason why you want to wake up in the morning. The beautiful thing about purpose from my perspective is that it can be pretty much anything as long as it's something positive in your life. In essence, it is one of your life's meanings. Now another thing that I want to touch on is that your purpose doesn't have to be just limited to one thing. There are a multitude of things that can interest us, and while some may not agree with what I'm about to say, I say the more the better when it comes to having interests. Now why is finding, being, and staying on our purpose something that I wanted to address before getting into how it can be a cure for bad habits? Well from my perspective, many of us do not really put the energy that we could towards our purpose. It's one of those deals where you're either not doing it at all, or if you are doing it, you're probably just doing it in a recreational capacity. I'm not knocking doing something in a recreational manner, but just think about how well you can do something if you take it more seriously. This is where the shift in thought has to come into play when it comes to purpose.

Now that I've touched on how many of us do not properly utilize our purpose to our advantage, I want to talk about purpose and how it relates to time. If you're someone that is serious about staying on your purpose, you have to understand that it is going to take up a lot of your time. Think of it this way; lets say that a person have a passion for trading stock in the stock market. This person is going to have to probably go through some kind of formal training to learn how it works to make money in the stock market. Not only that, they will likely have to read books and watch videos on the subject. They will probably seek out people in that field that are experts as mentors, and their passion for stock will probably stay consistent. Anything that you are passionate about that has fluidity to it is something that will always require your time. Why is that? Because in order for you to stay atop the trends and changes that happen, you have to be knowledgeable about what is going on. Now we often hear about how important time is and how we shouldn't waste it right? Well for a person that is truly on their purpose, their time is going towards something that their passionate about. When you're passionate about something, you enjoy doing it don't you? It doesn't feel like a hassle or a chore does it? You find that you're so occupied and consumed by it that you often lose track of time. This is how people that are on their purpose feel.

Now we all know that the general definition of a remedy is a cure or solution to a problem right? I'm pretty certain by now, if not earlier, that all of you have caught on to why I believe that being on your purpose is a remedy for bad habits. I believe that an individual that is on their purpose utilizes their time and energy towards their purpose in a certain type of way. If done in a manner which serves them properly, this likely leaves little time for that person to engage in a ton of bad habits. This is why I believe that people that are truly on their purpose probably don't partake in a lot of bad habits. They probably don't have a lot of extra time for things that people who aren't on their purpose do. Now that isn't to say that people on their purpose can't or don't have bad habits. As I brought up earlier in the topic, we all have bad habits regardless of how we use our time. However, if you are a person that finds yourself being unmotivated in life, it would probably be helpful towards you to evaluate what you're giving your time to. If you have any habits that dominate your life to the point where you're potentially self-destructing, you probably should try and find something else better to do with your time. Also, you have to remember that this is a win/win scenario if you drop the bad habits for something more meaningful. Like I wrote about several weeks ago about good habits being a battle that you can only win, staying on your purpose is just the same. Lets work on finding our purpose in this life, and curing ourselves of our bad habit. Again, this is only a battle that you can win.

Well that is all that I have for you all this go around. I hope that those of you that read this found it enjoyable and helpful to your life. It is now time for me to sign off for another week, so thank you once again to those of you that tuned into another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As always, if you have any comments or concerns, please leave them below in the comments. You can also link up with me on Twitter at the handle @BradrickH. Man this is the time of the year that I love. Cooler weather and sports all around equals a weekend of probably staying in. I hope that you all are having a great weekend thus far, and I wish you an even better week ahead. I'll see you all on the next go round. Take care everyone, and peace!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why Losing Your Way Doesn't Mean You Are Totally Lost.

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I think that we can all admit that staying on the right path in this world that we're living in can be quite a daunting challenge. The majority of us are taking in so much information via social media and television that our minds are often all over the place. It is difficult for a person nowadays to just sit down and concentrate on a single thing without being distracted by a slew of other things. Why do I bring all of this up you may wonder? Well I believe that when we're consuming so many different kinds of things and information that it becomes that much easier to be thrown off of our balance. I feel this is important because having a healthy and stable balance in life is the key to overcoming, as well as avoiding bad habits. I believe the key thing that makes having bad habits such a crutch in our lives is that once we engage in them, often develops into a downward spiral for a period of time. When it comes to the topic of losing your way, I believe that most of it stems from bad habits and things that may trigger us into bad habits. Now in saying that, I'm not implying that social media and television are the sole reasons why these type of things happen. I do however they can play a huge role in leading us down the wrong path. In all honesty, it really isn't that hard to believe since the majority of the things that we're being shown via television and social media aren't good. The bottom line with all of this is that too much consumption of bad habits, social media, and television can be hindrance in keeping us on the straight and narrow. Now regardless of how much balance an individual may have in their life, it is eventual that we're going to be taken away from our center and lose our way. Though losing our way isn't a good thing in this life, losing our way doesn't mean that we're totally lost.

Mic check, one, two; one two! Can y'all hear me loud and clear? Of course I'm just kidding with the mic thing, but I'm Brad H. back on the blog mic once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I am here once more to hopefully bring some information that will serve as inspiration to us all. Thank you to everyone that is joining me once again. So for those of you that read the last post, I pointed out that I would be celebrating another birthday on March 11. In the last post I talked about how much I appreciate birthdays now. This time I'm going to briefly touch on what happened on my birthday this year. I had the opportunity to attend the Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets game in Houston. This was my second time going to an NBA game, but besides this one being on my birthday, what made it even more interesting was the seats me and my family had this time around. We were a lot closer to the action, and they actually cost a lot less than the ones we had last year. Many of you probably know that I'm a die hard San Antonio Spurs fan first, but I do like the Rockets as well. I favor the "Clutch City" Rockets from the 90's more, you know the teams that had Hakeem Olajuwon, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith, etc. I could go on naming them, but I think you all get what I mean. The game itself wasn't that competitive, as the Rockets controlled the game for the most part. The big treat for me was seeing Kemba Walker from the Hornets play. Since I follow the NBA so closely, I can probably point out a player or players from nearly every team that I like. For the Hornets that would be Kemba. Though the Hornets lost the game (I'm glad they did), it was nice seeing Kemba play one of this better games of this year. He had 40 points, but I can't remember the exactly total number of assists and rebounds he had. Anyway, the guy was cooking, and it seems like he didn't miss. As I mentioned the game wasn't that competitive, but still a fun time. There were several other things I done for my birthday, but due to time constraints I will leave those details out. I want to thank everyone on Twitter that wished me a Happy Birthday. As I said in the last post, I appreciate these things so much more now that I'm older, and I can say without a doubt that the last two birthdays I have had were extremely special. I have my family to thank for that. Hopefully I will get to see another one next year. Alright, I've rambled enough, so lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of why losing your way doesn't mean you're entirely lost.

The topic of dealing with a person losing their way can be a tough one to tackle. For one, there are so many different ways that a person can lose themselves. It is for that reason that I am going to deal with generalities while discussing this topic. Secondly, a topic like this one often requires us to look at ourselves in a light that we may prefer not to. Often times when we lose our way in this journey life, it involves us falling back into a habit that isn't good for us. The even scarier thing in saying that is the idea that it often times isn't just a single habit that is affects us. I'm a firm believer that poor habits breed even poorer habits. As I pointed our earlier, habits can quickly turn into a downward spiral. Now one of the things that I've frequently brought up on this platform is the fact that we're imperfect individuals. This coincides with us losing our way due the fact that because we are imperfect people, there are going to be times when we will lose our way. Everyone's situations are going to be different, but there is no way to truly escape something that inescapable. Beating something that hinders us in life is often only the beginning; it is the war that rages on afterwards that matters the most. Now the reason why I have established all of this is show that it isn't all that difficult for us to lose our way. Also, if you do happen to lose your way at some point in life, though not a good thing, it isn't something that you should beat yourself up over. Again we're not perfect individuals, so none of us are immune to these things happening. Furthermore, and the main theme of this discussion is that if you do indeed happen to lose your way at some point in this life, all isn't totally lost.

I pointed out previously that beating something is often only the beginning. From my perspective, the struggles that we face in our lives are similar to a war. As much as many of us may hate to admit it, and that includes myself, wars in general are often never ending. The smaller battles that take place throughout a war can often lead us to think that the war is over. However, this is often far from the case, and the greater war will continue rage on. For example, lets say that an individual has an addiction to food right? This person loves food to the point where it has become a detriment to their life and health. Lets say that this person eventually beats and escapes this addiction to the point where they feel that have a grip on being able to control their addiction to food. Now similar to an an wound that someone has, if you pick at that wound enough, it can open up once again. Now the thing like something like food addiction, and most addictions in general, though you may have conquered them at a certain point in your life, they are still ever present. In the example that I'm giving with someone dealing with food addiction, escaping food is impossible because it is something that we need to survive. It is something that is always going to be around right? Therefore, it is something that you can necessary win a war against. The same person that has beat their food addiction can easy be triggered into falling back into their addiction to food if they're not able to consistently win the daily and individual battles that go along with being at war with yourself. I used food addiction as an example, but remember that this logic can apply to anything that hinders us from reaching our full potential. However, as I have stated several times already, all is not lost.

If you are someone that is maybe feeling like you've lost your way in this path in life as of late, be mindful that you can always get back on the right path again. This is the reasoning for why I say that losing your way doesn't mean that you are totally lost. This society that we live in that seems to harp more on the bad and negative can have you thinking that losing your way means that you are lost forever. We have to be able to see ourselves as if we're driving down an unknown highway. There are going to be times during your drive where the ride will be smooth and pain free. There are going to be times when there will be bumps and potholes that send a jolt of shock to us. Then there are going to be in the worse case scenarios where something causes us to veer of the road completely. Going off of the road completely is definitely a bad thing, but the thing about going off of the highway is that as long as you're able to survive the bumps and veering, you can always get back on the road. Remember that for as long as you're able to be on the road moving forward, then you are never truly lost. I use this analogy because I can distinctly remember using it years ago when I was talking to a friend of mine from high school. Also, I want you all that are reading this to keep in mind what I brought up earlier when I said that everyone has different things that may cause us to lose our way. I brought up the whole social media and television thing in the first paragraph because I know that much of what goes and it being shown through these outlets are much of the catalyst that causes people to lose their way. It often doesn't take much to plant a seed of negativity in our minds, and we know that seeds can always grow into something more. So this is just some inspiration for anyone that is feeling like they've lost their way recently. You are never lost, you may just have to battle whatever it is in your life that you're at war with. Time to stand up and fight back!

Well I believe that I have pretty much covered everything that I wanted for this topic, so it is time for me to depart for this go round. This is one that could be elaborated on more, and I'll leave the door open for that in the future. But for now, I'll leave it at this. This has once again been another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I am Brad H., and I'd like to once again thank those of you that stopped by. If anyone has any comments or feedback to give, feel free to do so in the comment section. If you're on Twitter, you can also hit me up at the handle @BradrickH. I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far, and I hope that you all have an even greater week ahead. Till the next time that we meet, I wish you all the best. See you all in the next installment! Peace!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

How Bad Habits During Troubling Times Can Make Our Lives Even Harder.

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If you've been alive long enough, I think we can all agree that life can be hard to deal with at times. This is something that we are all aware of, and we also know by now that there isn't much that can be done to stop those hard times that life can bring. There are many different events that can happen in life that could be classified as troubling. The death of a family member or close friend is an example of one of those events. Finding out that you or someone that you care for has been diagnosed with a health condition can be troubling as well. Again, there are so many different things that could be troubling, and what could be troubling for one person may not apply to someone else. Like I always mention on here, much of this all comes down to perspective. However, I think it is safe to say that we all look for ways to ease those troubling life moments when they occur. Because we naturally want to feel comfortable and at peace within our lives, we all want to make troubling moments disappear as soon as possible. In the last topic that I covered via this blog, I talked at length about how positive daily habits are the key to handling negativity. While I am a firm believer in this being the most constructive way to deal with negative forces, I also know that not everyone practice daily positive habits. Furthermore, even for those of us that do make positive habits a daily ritual in our lives, bad habits are also a critical aspect of our lives as well. As I touched on in the last topic, we would all be lying to ourselves and others if any of us said that we don't have any bad habits. Having habits that could be considered bad are just a part of life that we have to constantly work towards changing for the better. Now with all of that being said, how often do many of us on occasion turn to bad habits whenever troubles come into our lives? Those bad habits are often the habits that make us feel good in the moment, but do they really make our lives better after the storms pass? I personally don't believe they do, and I'll go so far as to say that practicing bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even more harder.

Hello once again to all you good people out here in the land of the internet! This is Brad H. back at it once again, and I'd like to welcome everyone that showed up to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As with the usual standard that I've been using on here, we're back once again to address topics that will hopefully serve as some inspiration for all of us. My hope is that the topic that I've chosen for this installment will give us some added motivation to keep on moving forward in our daily lives. Before getting on my soapbox for a bit, I'd like to thank everyone that is joining me on here. Whether this is your first time visiting here, or you've been reading me for sometime, I sincerely appreciate everyone that spends a few minutes of their day reading these topics. I know I give thanks quite a bit on here, but I feel that it is something that cannot be said enough. In the last installment I talked about the importance of heeding warnings from your local officials if you stay in areas where hurricanes could potentially make landfall. I made those moments in response to Hurricane Florence that hit the Carolinas a few weeks ago. Well earlier this week the gulf coast was hit by Hurricane Michael. Michael made land around the Florida panhandle as a category 4 storm. The latest death toll from this storm is 17. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that have been affected by this terrible storm. Instead of spending my soapbox talking in depth about the storm, I want to talk about something I've been thinking about and that is control. I think that we as people always want to feel like we're in control of everything. People that are bosses and ceos want to feel in control of their employees. Parents want to feel in control of their kids. There are so many things that we want to feel in control over. However, how much control do we really have in this world? Can any of us stop a hurricane or volcano? Can we prevent tornadoes from touching down? We as humans want to feel in control, but when you think of the grand scheme of things, we don't have as much control as we think we do. This is why I think it is importance for us to always stay humble in this life. Not a single one of us are immune to anything in this life, so we have to temper our expectations when it comes to having control. Just something to think about ya know? Alright, we're going to go ahead and transition into this week's topic of how bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even harder.

Now that I've brought up a topic besides the topic that we're going to be talking about in this edition, it's time to go ahead and give the usual disclaimer that is given before going in depth on the main topic. We all come from different backgrounds, which also means that we all have different outlooks on life and the way we see the world. The primary objective with this topic, as well as the rest is to hopefully give some inspiration that will help us to keep on pressing forward in this life. Through the words that I'm aiming to express here, I'm also hoping that this will inspire others to see things in a way that they may not have before. I'm not trying to force my beliefs on anyone else, but if this helps become a spark that will gets the critical thinking juices going for others, then I consider that to be a good thing. I believe the opportunities to learn from one another is an endless endeavor, and I think it is something that we would exploit as often as we can. So how did I come to discussing how bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even harder? Well I briefly touched earlier on how last week's topic dealt with positive habits being an aid during difficult times. We all know that when there is good happening life, there is also bad going on as well. Life is a balance of the two, so if I'm going to to talk about the good that comes with positive habits, I also have to be willing to get the bad out there as well. Now in making an attempt to convey all of this, I'm not saying that the bad should be our primary focus. That absolutely is not the case. However, I also recognize that life doesn't always bring only good moments. Yes there are many good moments that will come our way in this life, but there will always be sprinklings of bad moments to go along as well. For this week's topic, I'm going to attempt to show why it is important to be able to rely on your good habits whenever those bad times come along. I don't want this to be seen as a fear tactic, but rather something that we can hopefully be able to take something positive away from.

Ever heard the saying "that when it rains it pours?" I'm sure that most, if not all of you have heard this being mentioned before. This is one of those popular phrases that many people use to describe when things in life maybe aren't going so well, it can often last for sometime without there being much good on the horizon. Think of it like receiving some bad news one day, and then also receiving some more bad news only a day or a few days later. I think that most of us have had times in our lives that describe this, but we also know that while we will face times of adversity in our lives, those times won't always last. Brighter days are always on the horizon if we keep a positive outlook and an open mind. That said, many of us often self sabotage ourselves when it comes to facing troubling moments in our lives. Now in saying that, I hope that I'm not giving the impression that this is something we intentionally do to ourselves. In some aspects and circumstances that may be the case, however, I don't believe that this is something that we as people do just to intentionally make things even harder. Now going back to sabotaging ourselves that I mentioned, how exactly do we do this you may wonder? Well from my perspective, and believe me I feel that this applies to myself at times, we often resort to bad habits when we're facing challenging in our lives. This is something that I have mentioned so many times on here, but I think we'd be lying to ourselves if we said that this is something none of us ever do. Now the reason why I say we resort to bad habits comes from the fact that we often turn to things that make us feel good in the moment. We as people don't like feeling uncomfortable and uneasy, so it is in our nature to gravitate towards the things that make us forget about our issues. I don't feel this is something that we should be judged for doing. As I stated before, I believe this is something that is just a part of our human nature. But just because something is part of our nature as humans doesn't mean that it is always the right option. The last topic that I covered goes more into that.

Now that I've talked about how we often self sabotage ourselves during difficult moments in our lives, I want to give some examples of how we do this. I want you to think of some of the things that you all engage in when you are feeling stressed out in your life. Now if you're someone that always faces your problems head on without the aid of anything negative, none of this will apply to you, and I personally commend you for being able to do that. However, for those of us that maybe don't always take the forthright approach towards tackling our problems, some of the ways we choose to aid in our stressful moments may be good for us initially (so we think), but they often can exacerbate our problems. Lets just say that whenever you're feeling stressed out that you choose to binge eat a certain type of food that tastes good, but has a lot of sugar in it. Of course eating it is going to taste good and help you forget about those troubling times you're dealing with, but also eating too much of it can have ill effects on your health also. This is an example of how a bad habit can potentially make our lives even more harder. You are already dealing with something hard, but you are also potentially putting yourself at risk for having even more issues down the road. Now I know that food is just one example, but this can apply to nearly anything. There is another statement that goes "too much of anything is bad for you." Something as simple as watching television or playing video games can turn into something toxic if you're not able to limit how much of it that you intake into your life. This is the exact reason why we're always told to try and find more constructive ways to handle our problems. Allowing the potential for problems to stack on top of problems can create a spiral effect of issues that you may never find a solution to. Again, I don't believe this is something most of us do intentionally, but it is something that we can only change if we're aware of it.

So how do we keep bad habits from making our lives even worse? Well I could say what I've been saying about replacing bad habits with better ones. At this point that kinda goes without saying. However, I want to touch again on what I said earlier about not always be aware of how the things we do affect us during stress moments in our lives. We all know by now that in order to remedy a problem, we must first able to identify the problem. For this week's topic, instead of identifying what the problems are, we want to be more aware of the things we're engaging in and how they affect us. From my perspective, often times the bad habits that we engage in have become so normalized to us that we don't even see them as bad habits. When we pick up those cakes, pies, etc to eat when we're feeling stressed, we're often not aware of how they can affect us in the long term due to the fact that doing this has become normal to us. This is exactly why it is a habit. Sure the goal that we should focus on is replacing those bad habits with better ones like I talked at length about in the last installment. However, making ourselves aware of the effects of what we do when we're stressed can help greatly in keeping bad habits from making our lives even more harder. This all comes down to rewiring ourselves to create better habits, and the only way to do this is to break those negative patterns we engage in. So my challenge for everyone that has read this and find themselves struggling with partaking in bad habits when troubling times come around, just pause and take a second to gauge how you are feeling. Really think and ponder on what you're facing. Often times the things we're dealing with may be troubling, but they often aren't as bad as we make them out to be. I also want you to think about why you are choosing to do something when you feel stressed. Think about why you are choosing to binge eat, drink, etc. Finally, try and focus on how this is going to affect you in the long run. Always remember that every action has a consequence, and some of those consequences have more costly effects than others. I understand that it isn't easy breaking bad habits. Believe me I know this first hand. But we also shouldn't go along being comfortable with the potential of making something that is already bad even more worse.

Well I think I have said all I wanted to say for this go round, so I'm going to go ahead and close this installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' out. I hope that I was able to express myself in a manner that made some sense. I also hope that someone out there was able to find some kind of inspiration from this. If you have any comments or anything else to contribute to this, please feel free to do so in the comments. I can also be found on Twitter @BradrickH. Well I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I hope you all have an even more enjoyable weekend. Be sure to keep everyone that was affected by Hurricane Michael in your thoughts. From what I've seen on the news in regards to that storm, some of the areas that were affected where it made landfall are going to be uninhabitable for weeks, maybe months. The power that these storms can pack is truly devastating. Well I hope you all have a great and positive week ahead. Till next time, I'll see you all in the next one. Peace!

©2018 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Avoiding People And Things That Can Trigger Bad Habits.

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To be a human-being is to have habits. We may not want to always acknowledge it, but every single one of us have habits on some level or another. Whatever those habits may be will vary from one individual to the next, however, we all possess both good and bad habits that are a part of our makeup as individuals. While our good habits are likely the ones that we'd like to be at the forefront of who we are as people, the bad habits are normally the ones that we're judged upon by most. Whether you believe this to be fact or not is up to you, but the truth of the situation is that many of our bad habits can hinder us from becoming a better version of ourselves. Another truth of the matter is that we all have certain things and people that can trigger some of the bad habits that we engage in. No one is perfect, and getting rid of any habit that is considered to be bad can be a daunting task. However, in order to make some headway into breaking some of our bad habits, we must first learn to identify and avoid the people and things that can trigger those bad habits.

YO! How are you all doing out there this time around? It is me the everyday average guy Brad H. coming at you all once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope that you all have been doing well since the last time I wrote, and I also hope that this reaches everyone in good health and spirits. We're nearing the closing of the month of April, and I don't know if it's been like this where you guys are, but we've definitely been getting our share of April showers this month. Also, the NBA playoffs are underway, and being the basketball fan that I am, that's always marks an exciting time of the year for me. My San Antonio Spurs have advanced to the next round of the playoffs, and will be taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder this coming Saturday. I hope they're able to get it done and advance to the Western Conference Finals. We'll see what happens in the coming days and weeks with the other teams also. I hope everyone that likes basketball is enjoying the playoffs so far, and I hope everyone has had a great month of April. Alright, I think I've done enough rambling, so lets go ahead and get into this week's topic dealing with bad habits and the triggers that can cause them.

Like I always mention in my posts, I want to state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. The goal here isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather to give the readers something that they can maybe think about and evaluate even further. My sole mission here is to use this platform as a way to express my ideas and opinions. If anyone happens to feel differently or disagree with my views on this or any of the topics I write about, that is totally fine. So this week we'll be talking about the things and people that can set off and trigger us into bad habits. I want to start off by saying that my ears and eyes are closest to me, so any advice that I give out in this post is advice that I will be applying to my own life as well. I also want to state that I realize that not everyone will have the same good or bad habits. Again, the goal isn't to focus on the habits themselves, but rather trying to identify the things that can set off those habits. I'm a firm believer that a problem must first be addressed in order to be solved, so this is one of those instances where we as individuals have to first recognize what bad habits we're engaging in.

Many of us walk through our everyday lives not realizing the things that trigger us to do certain things. Whether they're good or bad, many of the habits we engage in often become like a second nature to us. I believe that it's one of those deals where a person does something continuously again and again for so long, that they slowly begin to believe it is normal. Think of it like a lie that a person continues to believe over and over again until their mind begins to believe it's the truth. Now I realize that may sound a bit extreme in this instance, but the point I'm trying to make here is that I don't feel that our bad habits are always second nature. From my perspective, many of our bad habits are formed through the accumulation of the negative people that we encounter, as well as the negative behaviors we engage in time and time again. In other words, there isn't any habit that we engage in that can't be change or fixed without some effort. Unfortunately for many of us, we've been indulging in our bad habits so long that we often overlook the things that can trigger them. For this reason alone, I'm trying to encourage myself and others to become more aware of the people we interact with, as well as the often subtle things that can set us off.

Now that I've gotten that our habits aren't second nature like many of us believe they are out of the way, we have to address the things that trigger those bad habits. Some of you may ask; "How exactly does a person avoid something that can trigger us into bad habits?" Well, the honest truth is that many of them are unavoidable in some cases. Think about this as an example. Lets say that a person is trying to cut a certain type of food out of their diet to become healthier. You can avoid that particular food all you want, but you'll often at times see others eating this particular food. If not that, you'll likely see it when you're in the store, or you may end up seeing it advertised on television. Unlike a certain group of people or a specific person that can trigger you into bad habits, there are some things that just can't be avoided, because you're always going to be exposed to it in some way, shape or form. Some of you may now be confused since I'm talking about avoiding triggers, but I'm also saying that they're unavoidable in some cases. I apologize if I've confused some of you, but hopefully what I'm saying will make sense soon.

So how are you supposed to avoid something that is always in front of you in some form or another? Now if you're a frequent reader here, you're already aware that I often talk about the power of the mind, and that's exactly what we have to use in order fight off any urges that can trigger us into bad habits. We have to build up and strengthen our minds in order to escape the hold that our bad habits have on us. From my perspective, an individual with a strong mind knows how to resist things that may be bad for them. A person with a strong mind knows how to look their problems and issues right in the face and say "I'm not running from you." Now if there is a certain person or people that can trigger you into bad habits, then do whatever you have to do to physically avoid those people. For everything else out there, you have to learn how to build your mind up to be able to resist those triggers. Of course it's not something that happens overnight, nor will it be easy. Trust and believe that we'll all have failures from time to time. However, with enough practice, discipline and focus, I believe we can make great strides in conquering those bad habits that control us. Keep in mind that the same way habits are built up, they can also be erased as well. Recognize and identify what your personal triggers are, and don't be afraid to look your problems in the face head on. From my perspective, that is the only way we'll be able to truly avoid the things that can trigger bad habits.

Well folks, I hope I was able to get my point across here, so I'm going to go ahead end this one. Much thanks for everyone that stopped by for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As always, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. In the case that doesn't apply to you, I still appreciate those of you that took out the time to hear me out. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the month of April, and I'll see you all again in the next post in the month of May. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Till next time friends!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.