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.

How Positive Daily Habits Throughout Your Life Can Aid You In Handling Negative Factors.

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The majority of us all know by now that habits are a part of our daily lives. For the most part, we are all creatures of habit. Some of these habits that we employ are done on a conscious level, and some of them are subconsciously driven. For example, when you put on your shoes, you probably subconsciously put the first shoe on a specific foot before the other. You may subconsciously tie your left shoe before your right shoe every single time, etc. This is an example of how we all practice habits on a subconscious level. Then there are the habits that we partake in that we consciously engage in. When you make the choice to go for a walk everyday, that is a conscious choice that you make to improve your health. If you make the choice to just sit around and never exercise or move your body, you are also making a conscious choice to not improve your health. Whether for good or for bad, habits are a driving force in our lives. Now we all know that there are good and bad habits, but for the topic that I'm going to covering for this installment, I want to focus more on the habits that are deemed to be more positive. I just gave an example of what I consider to be a positive habit when I talked about improving your health. However, I will also acknowledge that what is considered to be a positive or negative habit is something that is subjective to what an individual thinks. It also comes down to what an individual considers to be right for their own life. Now when we think of positive habits, we also think of activities that we engage in that produce some kind of positive results in our lives. Now regardless of how positive your habits are or how positive of a person you may be, we all know that there will occasionally be factors that are going to affect us negatively. There is no way around avoiding negative factors happening in our lives. However, depending on the severity of those negative factors, there are various ways that we can combat against those them. The practice of positive daily habits throughout our lives that can help greatly in handling those potentially negative factors.

Hello once again ladies and gentlemen! This is your main man Brad H. back once again to bring you another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Thank you once again to all of you that are joining me on this journey of inspiration and self-awareness. I'm back for another week to give my personal perspective on a topic that has been on my mind recently. By addressing the topic that I'm going to discuss, I'm hoping that it will serve as inspiration that can hopefully help us all to keep on moving forward in our lives. So for this week's section where I discuss something that isn't related to the topic for the week, I'm going to address something in regards to the recent hurricane that hit the U.S. mainland. By now, most of you know about Hurricane Florence that made landfall as a category 2 storm two weeks ago in North Carolina. The storm affected several other states as well, including South Carolina. Last I heard the death toll from the storm was at 36. Now what I want to address is the idea of evacuating from areas where storms are approaching. One of the things that was in the news prior to Florence's landfall was the number of people that chose not to evacuate despite there being mandatory evacuation warnings from local officials. Now I'm not sure what the count is, but I'm sure there have had to be hundreds of rescues taking place due to people being trapped by flood waters. So where I am I going with this you may wonder? I just want to say to everyone that are in areas where hurricanes have the potential to affect you, listen to your local officials when they call for mandatory evacuations. This is something that I've been affected by myself, so I'm not just saying this as someone that can't relate. I've had to evacuate for two hurricanes in my life (Rita and Ike), and I can say without a doubt that listening to your local officials when something like this happens is of utmost importance. I know that some people weren't able to leave, but if you are one of those that are able to evacuate, please don't put your life and first responders lives at risk. I realize that hurricane season is coming to a close, but there is still potential for the United States to be affected in the coming weeks. Just be smart and have a plan if you're in one of those areas. Alright, now that I've gotten that out of the way, lets go ahead and transition into the topic of the week that deals with positive habits and how they can aid us in handling negative factors in our lives.

Now is the part of the topic for the week where I give the usual disclaimer before tackling the topic that will be covered. I do this as a way to let everyone know that I'm not trying to force my beliefs on anyone. I'm just simply using this as a way to give my own perspective. We're all different in all areas of life, especially when it comes to how we think and see the world. The main goal here is to hopefully provide some inspiration for us all, and through that potential inspiration, I'm hoping to also encourage others to see certain topics in a manner in which they may not have before. I know that for me personally, I find myself feeling more enlightened whenever someone is able to express something in a way that I never considered before. I believe that the potential to learn from one another is limitless, and I hope that I'm able to do that for some of you. By now, I'm sure that some of you are wondering how did I arrive at wanting to discuss this topic? Since the last installment of the blog series, I've been thinking about how I handle negativity now compared to how I handled it in past years. As with most of us on an occasional basis, I've recently had to deal with brief bouts of negativity being directed towards me. No need to get into what it was specifically about, but I know that some of you also deal with this on some level of capacity at times. From my personal perspective, I considered how I handle certain negative forces these days. In years of past within my life, I often used to find myself being completely thrown off balance whenever I encountered negativity from certain people. My entire day would often be ruined, and I found that I was often more on edge during those times. Now I will acknowledge that a lot of my not allowing these kinds of things to throw me for a loop like they once did can be attributed to me being older and wiser. However, I also know for a fact that implementing more positive habits on a daily and consistent basis has helped leaps and bounds. For this week's topic, I'm going to give some examples of daily habits that can help with handling negativity. I'm also going to try and establish reasons why I personally feel this can be beneficial to our lives. Again, these are just my own personal thoughts, and I hope some of you can relate to what I say.

Now I mentioned earlier that there are various habits we have that dominate our lives, and that what can be considered positive or negative when it comes to habit is totally subjective. What you consider to be a positive or negative habit is up to you, but a good example of a positive habit that I think most of us can relate to is gratitude. I think it is fairly safe to say that most of us express some level of gratitude daily. You may express gratitude for being able to wake up and see another new day. Your depth of gratitude could also be showing gratitude to someone else for doing something for you, etc. I believe if you develop a habit of expressing gratitude, whether openly or internally, you likely focus more on the things that you're grateful for rather than focusing on the things you're lacking in your life. Another example of what I think we all can consider a positive daily habit is what I mentioned at length earlier, fitness and exercise. A person that exercises in some shape or form on a daily basis is probably going to have a much better quality of life than someone who doesn't. We all know the benefits of moving our bodies are innumerable, so there isn't much need to go more depth into that. These are just a couple of positive habits that we have the capacity to exhibit on a daily basis. Again, the idea of positive daily habits is subjective. They are also limitless in the sense that there are always new habits can be acquired that can add to our lives. Again, there are all kinds of habits, but I want everyone that reads this to consider the positive habits that you exude daily. I realize that conquering habits that may be negative is important as well, but that's not what we're going to focus on for this installment. Again, lets ponder on the positive habits in our lives, because I believe the positive habits are the ones that are the most important when it comes to conquering negativity. Just like you can't put a fire out using fire, you can't defeat negativity with negativity.

So why do I feel that practicing positive habits on a daily basis can aid in us handling negativity? Well from my perspective, the positive habits that we practice on a routine basis helps in giving us added confidence to tackle various aspects of life. I personally believe that this gives us an added tool to have in our arsenal when it comes to combating against negativity. I have a belief that a person that is willing to put themselves through something challenging has a leg up on someone that doesn't. One of the things that separates elite athletes from us is that they put their bodies through things that most of us either can't, or not willing to do. When you watch a boxing match and see a boxer that is able to fight for 12 rounds, that comes from hard training before getting into the ring. I believe that the constant running and training in the gym that they put themselves through gives them the confidence they need to face the challenge of going into the boxing ring. If you were to take someone that has never trained for a sport and put them in that situation, they probably wouldn't fare to well since they're not conditioned to do so. Now think of us that aren't elite athletes in regards to this week's topic. You may not be any kind of athlete, but practicing daily habits is similar to training, and the upcoming negative events that will be approaching are similar to the upcoming event. The negative events are going to be coming after you, but the training that you do in the form of those positive daily habits will help you during the battle if you apply them correctly. I hope I'm not confusing anyone with the comparison to sports, but I think most of you get where I'm coming from with this. If you are a long time reader here, then you likely know that I'm a big sports fan. Sometimes it is easier to incorporate these kind of comparisons to be able to get a point across.

Now that I've tried to convey why I feel the practicing of positive daily habits can aid in handling negative factors, I want to close by mentioning that this doesn't always guarantee you will come out on top. Going back to the sports analogy, training hard for an event doesn't mean that a team or athlete will always be victorious. The same applies when it comes to this week's topic. You can practice positive habits daily, yet there are going to be some negative factors that come at us that are going to be too hard to handle initially. Much of this deals with an individual's threshold to handle life, but there are always going to be instances that seem to be a little too big for us. Of course being victorious is something that we all want to experience, but the most important takeaway that I hope people can take from this comes with being confident enough tackle those negative factors whenever they creep into our lives. When a person works on a specific muscle, that muscle naturally becomes stronger through the constant training of it. The daily habits that we partake in are us flexing our life muscles in order to be strong enough to cope when negativity comes around. So I want everyone to think of at least one positive habit that you practice daily or on a frequent basis. Whatever that may be, I want you to rely on that whenever you find negativity thrown your direction. I want you to remember that you are bigger and better than any negativity that is in front of you because you put yourself through challenges on a daily basis. You are a disciplined vessel that is in control of your emotions and how you react to others. For those of you that can't think or any daily habits in your life, I challenge you to look within and find some that you can engage in. Again, this is be anything. It all boils down to what works for you in your life. So lets focus on being and staying positive, and lets slay those negative dragons that are lurking in our lives. \

Well I think that about wraps it up for this one folks. Again, I hope that I was able to express this in a way that people out there can relate to. This has been another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' brought to you by Brad H. As always, I hope that there was some meaning and understanding that could be gained from this. Furthermore, I hope that it served as some kind of inspiration to at least one person out there. If you have any comments on this or any of the other topics that I cover, please feel free to drop some comments. If you are on Twitter and you want to connect with me, you can find me on there with the handle @BradrickH. Hopefully the weekend has been treating you all well so far. Mines has been pretty good so far. I attended one of my cousin's football game earlier. They lost the game, but it was still a good experience. Well I hope you all have a great week ahead, and remember that negativity is going to come into our lives, but keep on going! I'll see you all in the next one. Peace!

©2018 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.