Deserve Hasn't Got Anything To Do With Life (Bad Things Just Happen Sometimes).

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There was an extremely popular show that aired in the mid 2000's that I'm pretty sure that many of you are familiar with called 'The Wire'. For those of you that maybe aren't as familiar with the show, I would highly suggest giving it a look if you can. Those of you that are fans of the show will probably know where I'm going next based on the title of this week's post. There was a popular character on show named Snoop that said something in one of the episodes that I found memorable. Now I'm not going to go into the details of the scene in which she remarked the statement that I'm referring to. I don't want to spoil anything for those of you that have yet to see the show. The statement she aggressively remarked to another character on the show was "Deserve got nothing do with it." Some of you may wonder why such a short and to the point statement stands out to me so much. The reason I feel this statement carries so much weight deals with the fact that so many of us feel that we deserve the things we desire in life because we're good people, etc. I myself will admit that I've maintained this state of mind for the majority of my life, and I've come to realize how this way of thinking can be a huge hindrance to our lives. It is true that none of us are entitled to anything in life, and it is also true that regardless of how good of a person you may be, bad things just sometimes happen in life.

What's going on everyone? It's ya boy Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope everyone has been doing well, staying up, and maintaining since the last time I wrote. We have arrived at the month of February already, which means that it is time for the NFL's Super Bowl this upcoming weekend. I'm pretty sure that many of you are excited for the big game, but I'm personally not all that enthused since my Dallas Cowboys didn't make it. I'm just kidding with the Cowboys part, but in all seriousness I'm not too thrilled this year because of the two teams that are playing. I'm definitely not a Patriots fan, and I've never been a fan of the Atlanta Falcons either. Of course I will be watching the game like the majority of the world will be, but I'm kinda just like "meh" on this one. As for a prediction, I think the Patriots are going to win it. However, although I don't like either team, I will hoping that the Falcons win for a couple of reasons. One, although I'm not a Falcons fan, I do like their wide receiver Julio Jones. He is not only one of my favorite receivers, he is also one of my players in the entire league. Secondly, Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon is from my hometown, and their kicker Matt Bryant along with defensive tackle Jonathon Babineaux are local guys as well. Good luck to all the local guys from the Falcons. Alright, time to get into this week's topic of bad things just happen sometimes.

As with the regular routine here, I always maintain that peoples individual viewpoints and opinions will always vary. The objective here is isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather to hopefully encourage readers to view various topics differently than they normally would. I don't expect everyone to share in my views or beliefs, but I hope that something can be taken away from what I talk about here. For some brief insight into how this topic came about, it pretty much comes from a conversation that I recently had with a family member of mine. This particular family member was sharing with me some of their opinions on this topic, and how it applies to their life. That conversation truly struck a chord within me that inspired me to come on here and talk about this topic. As I stated earlier, I believe the belief of feeling that we are deserved certain things because of who we are is something that many of us can relate to. I see this as a pretty straight-forward topic, but I think it is one that can serve as a reminder for some of us, as well as a reality check for those that maybe struggle with this. Again, whatever your thoughts and beliefs may be, I appreciate those of you that read, and whatever thoughts and feedback you may have are welcome here.

So many of us will have moments where we get the feeling that we are owed the things we want in life right? I believe a few of the reasons we often feel this way can be attributed to the hard work that we put towards earning something, or maybe we've attempted to maintain a certain standard of living in hopes that it will pay off down the road. While I believe that no one deserves praise for exemplifying these kind of qualities, I do find them to be admirable. If you happen to be one of the people with these qualities that are of the belief that you get out of life what you put into it, then the way of thinking when it comes to the topic at hand probably applies to you. Probably the biggest thing to keep in mind when it comes to life is that it is extremely unpredictable. Life is something that is constantly changing and evolving, which means that we all are going to deal with our shares of highs and lows. Because of the volatility that life brings, there always exists the possibility that regardless of how hard you work or how good of a person you may be, you may not always get out of life that things you feel you're deserving of. This can be hard reality for many people to accept, especially those that may be accustomed to things happening for them frequently. However, it is a necessary reality that we all must occasionally face.

One thing that I think history has tried to teach us is that bad things sometimes happen to good people. There are countless accounts and stories out there of tragic and unfortunate events happening to people that didn't do anything to deserve those things. Sometimes people just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, or maybe they were victims of circumstances that someone else may have been facing. Whatever the case may be, it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done in your life, bad things can happen to anyone at anytime. This is why in my opinion that I feel that it is important to try and throw out that whole "I deserve" mentality. There is nothing wrong with wanting or expecting things to happen your way, but having the mentality of thinking that you deserve or are entitled to certain things will always leave you disappointed. Saying all of that doesn't mean that I'm saying that we should be bad people. Of course we should strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. I'm simply saying that we should never rely on being good people as a means of thinking we're deserved things. Focus on trying to be the best person you can be, but never count on that for receiving good fortunes in your life.

So if you're one of those people that feels you're deserving of things, I encourage you to try and see things a little bit differently. Again, I'm not trying to discourage anyone or be negative with this topic; I'm just saying that in reality, bad things can and will always occur in our lives. But for all the bad that is in the world, there is always good that is going to come as well. I think that it's importance to appreciate any breaks that we may receive along this journey of life. However, see them for what they are and enjoy them when they come, because they can be far and few in between. I always try to leave a quote that I feel coincides with these topics before I end these posts. This is the one that I found for this topic that I feel resonates deeply with what I'm trying to express. The quote comes courtesy of Dennis Wholely and goes: "Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the Lion not to attack you because you area vegetarian." We should all know by now that life is not always fair; we just have to learn how to live with that.

Well that's it for this week's topic folks! I'm going to go ahead and sign off for now, but thank you once again for all that stopped by to read another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As always, I hope that there was some meaning and understanding gained from this, and I really hope that some of you out there can feel where I'm coming from with this. Hope 2017 has been treating you all well so far, and I hope everyone enjoys the big game this weekend. I'll be back soon, so until that time comes, I hope everyone stays safe. Have a great weekend everyone, and I wish you all peace, wellness, and positive thoughts.

©2017 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why Social Media Validation Shouldn't Play A Major Factor In Our Lives.

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Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; most if not all of us either have accounts on these platforms, or at the very least, know exactly what these sites are. The popularity of these social media sites along with the various others out there has probably risen above proportions that even these sites initial creators could even imagine. For many people in our society, the spending of hours upon hours on social media sites has often replaced the normal interactions that we once had with our family and friends. Some people would rather trade handshakes and conversations with everyday people for likes and comments on social media sites. With the expanding popularity of social media sites, there has developed a need for validation from others via these sites for many. Most of our society has developed into a world that compares and judges a person's value based on social media interaction and popularity among our peers through these sites. I will admit that the relevance of social media has become very important in our society, but seeking validation from others through social media shouldn't be a major goal. Quite frankly, social media validation shouldn't even play a major factor in our lives in my opinion.

What's going on ladies and gentlemen? It's me the everyday average guy Brad H. coming at you, and I'm back at it once again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope everyone has been doing excellent since the last post, and hopefully this reaches everyone in good health, as well as a positive state of mind. As for me personally, I recently celebrated another birthday. So March 11th marked my reaching the age of 35. It's been nearly a week now since then, and even saying that I'm 35 is still somewhat weird for me. Probably the biggest reason for that is that I don't really feel like I'm that age. Then again, age 35 is still brand new for me, so I'm not quite sure how it should feel at this point. All I know is that I physically don't feel much different than I did in my mid 20's as of yet. I suppose age in relevance to how one feels physically is one of those things that will vary with each person. As for my birthday itself, it was pretty uneventful for the most part. The weather prevented me from doing what I initially planned, but on a high note, I was able to receive a few birthday gifts that were pleasant surprises. I also got to catch the movie "10 Cloverfield Lane" during the weekend. That movie was pretty disappointing to me, so I won't talk about it much. Better yet, I won't say anything else about it besides going and seeing it. Overall, while my birthday didn't go as planned, just being able to see another year is the most important thing. Okay I've rambled enough, so lets get into this week's topic of social media validation and why it shouldn't be an important factor in our lives.

Before we delve into this week's topic, I want to be sure and state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My personal goal with this topic, as well as with all the others isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather using this platform as an outlet to express my opinions. For those of you that maybe read this and do not agree with what I have to say, that's totally fine. However, my hope is to leave anyone that reads these topics with something to think about further, and maybe even find yourself evaluating more in depth. So as I mentioned earlier, this week's topic deals with people seeking validation through social media. Since nearly everyone uses social media, and so many people seek validation from others in everyday life, some of you may wonder why I feel this is a relevant topic to expand upon. Well, I personally think it's important because not only is it something that I see so many others participating in, but it's something that I myself struggled with awhile back. There was once a time where I put too much value into how others viewed me via social media sites, and it took awhile for me to realize what I know today. What someone thinks of you in your everyday life shouldn't matter to you, and the same rule applies when it comes to social media.

I can think back to a period a few years back when a big reason for me posting status messages on Facebook was to impress others. It was a way for me to somewhat feed my ego by hoping that others would give attention to what I posted. Now I'm in no way saying that everyone does this, nor am I saying that it's necessarily wrong. If being a person that constantly strives for attention though social media sites is your thing, then go right ahead on if it makes you happy. However, for me personally, tying my worth to what others think via social media isn't something I'm interested in any longer. See, what I've come to realize over the past few years is that social media is somewhat similar to reality television. When we view reality television shows, they try to give off the impression that everything they're showing us is real when in actuality, there are many layers that go towards a reality show. There are producers, directors, sets, and crew members behind the cameras that are pulling all the strings right? Since there are so many layers that go into a reality show itself, it can't be entirely real right? Also, do you really believe that people on these shows are truly being themselves? I personally do not believe that to be the case. I want you all to consider this for a minute. Imagine you're at home and there was someone filming you. Do you think you would act the same way being filmed that you would act if there was nobody there? More than likely you wouldn't, and while that comparison is not exactly the same, there is a similarity when it comes to social media. Social media allows us to have an audience and in general, even subconsciously, most people act differently when they're given an audience.

Just from my perspective, and I'm sure most of you can agree with me on this, anyone can put on a facade via social media. Often times the people that seek the most validation through social media are the people that have the biggest issues and insecurities in their everyday lives. In today's society, the social media platform has become the reality show outlet for not only being able to receive the attention we may not be getting outside of it, but for also masking the lack of happiness that should already come from within ourselves. Why else would a person need to post multiple pictures of themselves daily, or constantly spend hours upon hours glued to what everyone else is doing on their social media? Again, I'm not saying that engaging in social media is wrong, however, the seeking of validation from others through social media is probably not the best place to go for attention. Lets be honest here; in most cases, most social media friends are not your real friends. A real friend may interact with you via social media, but they will also have interactions with you outside of it as well. I also want you to consider the following. If you were to die today, how many of your thousands of friends and followers via your social media would come to your funeral service?

It may seem like I'm bitter and bashing social media in this post, but that isn't the case at all. My goal is to get people to understand that a phone call from someone is more valuable than a Facebook like. Going out to dinner with a friend or family member should mean more to you than the comments you receive on a status or picture. There are some people out there that actually get upset when people don't like a photo or status they post. It really shouldn't be that serious, and that's something that I had to learn for myself. A genuine compliment from someone outside of a social media site should mean more than posting a picture and getting a truckload of likes and comments from people that may not truly care about you as a person. From my perspective, social media should be viewed as a tool for gaining and sharing information. It should be a catalyst for interacting with others and making new connections with other like minded people that could potentially become true friends beyond just social media. Social media should be a small part of your life, and not the end all be all in your world. In my personal opinion, what social media shouldn't be is a platform for seeking attention and validation from other people. This isn't a virtual middle and high school where everyone wants to be popular. There's a lyric from a rapper I like named Locksmith that goes; "Attract sharks when you fishing for compliments." Keep that in mind whenever you're looking for validation via social media.

Alright, alright; I believe or at the very least hope that I was able to get my point across with this topic. I'm going to go ahead and wrap this one up, so thanks again for those of you that took out the time to check out another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As I always like to state again before I close that the hope here is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this. Even if there was not, I still appreciate those of you that stop by. Well I'm out of this joint, so I hope to see you all in the next one. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you all in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Strike A Balance In Life(Being Positive, and Being A Realist).

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Balance is not only a a very important word, but an essential lifestyle tool. Without balance in our everyday lives, it would be near impossible to view things on an equal plane. Balance isn't only limited to our physical being, but also our emotional status. It's important to look for and find balance within our minds as well. In my opinion, it's one of the key components that that keeps viewing everything around us in the proper perspective of life. Once again this is ya man Brad H. Hope you all are doing well, and welcome to another edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. Thanks again for reading.

As you can no doubt tell, this week's topic deals with striking a balance in life. Most of us have heard of that saying; "too much of anything is bad for you." Whether you find that old saying to be true or not, it's a fact that keeping things on an equal plane is the best chance for living a balanced life. For example, if a college student parties way too much and doesn't study enough, they're probably going to end up not making it through school. That's just one example out of many that we could use, but the most important thing is that we must learn to find balance through good and the bad that comes with life.

There will always be good and bad times in life no doubt. Some of us bask in the good that comes with life, while others run when the bad approaches. A lot of people maintain a positive attitude when things are going well, but completely lose that attitude when things take a turn for the worst. Some people are too positive, almost to the point where they become naive -- while others never display a positive mindset, and constantly expect the worse to happen. I personally feel that it's important to be positive, but balance that positive attitude with a realist outlook on life. Reality continuously shows us that some people are not who they always claim to be. It also shows that for every occasion that things are going well, the potential of bad occurring can be lurking right around the corner.

I guess I would say that the main point that I'm trying to get across is that life will never be perfect, but it's important to look for balance. Always look to balance out the negative factors in life with positive thinking, but also maintain a realistic approach to your problems. It's never wise to lean too far to any side, but rather find a common ground somewhere in between. That's pretty much it. Well thanks again for tuning into another edition of 'Brad H's Perspective'. I always appreciate and welcome feedback. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week, and we'll back at it again soon. Peace!