You Are More Powerful Than You Believe You Are (Great Power Brings Great Responsibility).

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For those of you that are familiar with comic books or have seen the Spider-Man films, you have probably heard the classic phrase by Peter Parker's uncle Ben that goes; "With great power comes great responsibility." Even if you may not be as familiar with the Spider-Man franchise in general, you've still probably heard this statement being mentioned somewhere. I believe one of the biggest reasons that this phrase resonates with so many people besides so many people being fans of Spider-Man has to do with how authentic it is. I believe that the true meaning of this phrase goes far beyond comic books and films; it deals with various aspects of our lives as well. While this phrase may be authentic and true to life, it is also true that many of us do not realize how powerful we truly are. I believe that the downplaying of how powerful we are as individuals comes from society's mistaken idea of what power is. It is a fact that much of our society equates power to things like fame, celebrity, status, etc. Not to take anything away from any of these forms of power, because in a sense, all of these can be indicators of power. However, I believe that an individual doesn't necessarily need to have all of these things to be viewed as powerful, nor are they the only requirements in order to have an added sense of responsibility to others. Regardless of who you are or where you are at in your life, you probably have some kind of responsibility that's been given to you. Whatever that responsibility is alone requires a sense of power to maintain, and regardless of who you are, you are more powerful than you believe.

Hey, how's it going ladies and gentlemen? It's ya boy Brad H. coming right back at you once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I'm here once again for another week of giving my perspective on the various thoughts that cross my mind in my life. Like always, I take those thoughts and try to give them life through words that can hopefully inspire myself and anyone else as well. How have you guys been doing out there since the last installment? Things have been going okay for me since the last post. I'm pretty excited that the fall season is here. Those of you that stop through frequently already know how much that I'm not a fan of the summer anymore. The fall season is the time of the year where it's a lot more easier to get outside and actually enjoy being in nature. I'm also pretty excited that my Dallas Cowboys have started off the year with a 4-1 record. I'll be the first to admit that I was a bit skeptical about how well Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliot would do, but they have both been pleasant surprises so far this season. Now I'm not one of those Cowboy fans that have gone all crazy due to the great start to the season. The schedule is definitely going to get a lot tougher going forward, and it starts this weekend when they face the Green Bay Packers. We'll see how good both Dak and Elliot are as the season carries on, but they've both performed exceedingly well so far. I know that Jerry Jones stated that Tony Romo will be the quarterback once he's fully healthy, but that may be a decision that he may want to give some more thought to. While I do believe Tony Romo probably gives them the best chance at going far from a playoff perspective, it may not be such a good idea to mess up the teams already good rhythm with the switch. We shall see what happens in due time. Alright, I've talked for a bit, so lets go ahead and talk about this week's topic of how you are more powerful than you may believe.

Like I always touch on in each of my writings, I realize that a person's individual viewpoint on any topic will vary. The objective here isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather to hopefully give the people that read these posts something to think about and consider going further. I always want to point out that if anyone disagrees or feels differently than me about this or any other topics that I bring up, that is totally okay with me. I feel that we can all learn from each other as far as I'm concerned, so all thoughts and feedback aside of my own are always welcome here. So now for some brief insight into how this specific topic came about. Throughout the week last week or so, I had several thoughts about the phrase of how great power brings great responsibility. Coinciding with those thoughts was the thought I had that deals with the belief that so many of us tend to downplay our worth and value. The entire thought process of this is what led me to believe that this is something that I need to address in order to give those that maybe doubt how much power they have in this life to rethink that position. I want to help show others in this post that you don't necessarily have to be powerful from a materialistic standpoint to be powerful as a human-being. I'm a firm believer that it's the little things in life that matter the most, and it is often those little things that most of us overlook that can have a significant impact on the lives of others.

Now whether you believe this to be true or not, I feel that we all have some kind of responsibility. Of course we have responsibilities that deal with being able to sustain ourselves in life, but we also have a responsibility to our fellow humans. Maybe you have a responsibility to a child, your parents, or any other family member. If you happen to not have family related obligations, you probably have some kind of responsibility to a close friend. Finally, in the case that there's absolutely no one that you have a sense of responsibility to, you have a responsibility to yourself, which is ultimately the most significant responsibility that you'll ever have. See regardless of who you are, you are always going have responsibilities on some level or another for as long as you live. Now for the sake of this post and the point that I'm trying to make, I want to focus on the responsibility that we often have to others. Going back to what I stated earlier in this post, much of our society has what I feel is a skewed view on what power is, and there is what I personally believe is a myth to having power. The myth deals with the fact that being powerful can only come from high positions or the acquiring of certain material items. Again, I'm not trying to insinuate that those things aren't an indication of a powerful individual. I'm trying to show that those things are not the only requirement in order to be powerful.

From my perspective on this topic, if you have a responsibility to someone or something that's greater than you are, then you are already a powerful and valuable individual. One of the biggest mistakes I think many of us make is not always seeing the bigger picture in this life. Many of us get so caught up in ourselves that we often forget that we as a person is only a small link in a larger chain. We put so much value and energy into the superficial things that are considered to be "true power", that we often forget that the most ultimate form of power comes in the form of having a sense of duty and responsibility to others. Think of an army of soldiers as an example. They work together as a unit, and there are unfortunate instances where some of them may go down. However, the biggest thing is that they fight for a cause greater than themselves, which is why they should be viewed as powerful. This is something that I've mentioned in previous posts, but many people believe that much of a person's self esteem and value derives from the things they've acquired. I believe that anything that a person accumulates is a blessing, but are you able to share those blessings with others is the question? I believe that if you're a person that is able to do those things, then you are powerful. Again, this doesn't apply to material items; it deals with knowledge, wisdom, and being able to give things to others that don't have a price tag. In my personal opinion, this is the greatest form of power an individual can have, especially in a world where many people are so self-absorbed.

So the message in this week's post is pretty clear and straightforward. No matter who you are or where you are in life, you are more powerful than you can imagine if you are blessed with having the responsibility to something or someone bigger than you are. Many people are given responsibilities that they may not always want, which is something that most of us can attest that we've all dealt with that are some point. The thing to remember is that whatever responsibility that we have was given to us for a purpose, and I'm a firm believer that there isn't burden given to us that we can't at least find a way adapt to. We as people have to learn to embrace the responsibilities given to us, and always be mindful that there's great power that resides within to help us rise to the occasion of whatever of whomever we're responsible for. So to all my friends out there, don't ever believe or doubt that you are not a powerful person. More importantly, don't allow society to make you feel as if you're powerless for not having what everyone else has, or doing what everyone else is doing. In a world where the majority feels one way about certain things, being able to not listen to and get caught up all the hype is a power within itself. So never forget how powerful you are, and that great power brings great responsibility. Keep positive, and stay pressing forward everyone.

Well as in the words of the R&B group Boys II Men, "We've come to the end of the road." Nah I'm kidding, but we've arrived at the end of the this week's installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. A big thank you goes out to everyone that joined me once again. I hope that there was some meaning and understanding gained from this post, and hopefully it served as a bit of inspiration to some of you out there. If you have anything in relation to this topic that you want to contribute, please feel free to drop your thoughts in the comment box. The fall of the year is upon us, so wherever you are in this world, try to get outside and enjoy this great weather. I know that I'm definitely going to as long as it doesn't do any raining. I'll see you all in the next post, so until that time comes, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts.

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

The Importance Of Not Being Too Hard On Yourself For Making Mistakes.

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We're all aware that mistakes are a part of life. This is something that most of us have heard consistency since our days of being a youth. I've mentioned this several times in the past on here, but to be a human-being is to make mistakes. While there are those that have no problem to admitting that we're all flawed as humans, there are also those that have a hard time confessing to being an individual that make mistakes. I'm not entirely sure why it is so difficult for many to us to admit to our mistakes. Maybe it has to do with so many people having big egos in this time and era. I'll leave whatever the reasons for this up to someone else to decided. At any rate, whenever we make mistakes regardless of how minuscule they may be at that particular time, we normally develop the tendency to brush them off and move forward. I personally think this is the right way to go in regards to making mistakes, however, there are also many of us that struggle with being overly hard on ourselves for our mistakes. There are instances where we tend to mentally beat ourselves up when it comes to our mistakes, and this can often lead to a cycle of struggling to break free from making the same mistakes time and time again. Similar to anything else in life that involves the breaking of a habit, mistakes are right along with that catalog of things in my opinion. It is okay for us to make mistakes, but it's not okay to constantly be hard for ourselves for them.

As in the words of the late Notorious B.I.G., "And another one!", welcome ladies and gentlemen to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! For those that maybe don't know the formula here, I'm here to give my perspective on various topics and thoughts that I think about in my daily life. I take those thoughts and try to put them into words that will hopefully inspire myself and others to keep on expanding our minds. If this is your first time visiting here, I'd like to say welcome to you. If you're a frequent viewer already, I'd like to say thank you for stopping by once again. I hope everything has been going well in everyone's lives since the last topic. Man, there has been a lot of unfortunate tragedies as of late. First off, and I feel bad for not mentioning this in my last post, my grandmother's oldest brother passed away earlier this month. He had somewhat been out of touch with a good portion of the family for the last few years, but we're all saddened by his passing. He was around 96 years old I believe. I'd like to say rest in peace to you Uncle Wilmer. The yearly trips you made home before you got down were always one of the biggest highlights of the year for me. We also had the tragic death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez a few days ago. For some reason or another, Jose's death really affected me. I think a lot of it has to do with my uncle passing, but also due to the fact that he was such a young guy with a big future ahead of him. I'm not a Marlins fan, but I always enjoyed watching Jose pitch. It was easily recognizable that he had a zest for the game of baseball. Two other tragic deaths that I want to mention before moving on is golfing legend Arnold Palmer, and actor Bill Nunn, whom both passed last weekend. I hope my mentioning of these individuals deaths aren't a downer for you all. I just wanted to be sure and acknowledge them, as well as anyone else who has lost loved ones recently. Alright, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic on the importance of not being too hard on ourselves.

As I always touch on in each of my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on any topic will vary. My objective here isn't to focus on what is considered to be wrong or wrong; that's totally subjective and up to the individual. The goal is to hopefully give the people that read these posts something to think about and consider going further. As always, you don't have to agree with anything that I touch on, and I also encourage anyone that feels differently to leave their thoughts below. All thoughts and opinions aside of my own are always welcome here. So before getting into the topic itself, I want to give some brief insight on why I'm writing on this topic. Personally, I am one of those individuals that I mentioned earlier that often beats themselves up mentally for their mistakes sometimes. Now I don't consider to be someone with an ego that won't admit to his flaws, but I will admit that I can be hard for myself at times. It's a habit that I've gotten better at breaking in the last year or so, and I have some great people that I've come across to thank for that. This week's message is primarily for those that struggle with being too hard for themselves for their mistakes, but it's also a reminder to anyone else that beating yourself up for your failures will not accomplish anything. It's all about what you're able to learn and take away from your mistakes.

As I stated earlier in this post, it's normal for we as humans to develop somewhat of a self-defeating mindset after making mistakes. Now this state of mind normally depends on the severity of the mistake(s) we make. Of course the smaller and more less severe mistakes probably won't affect us as much as a mistake that have more serious consequences. I won't go into what is considered to be smaller mistakes compared to the ones that have a bigger impact on our lives. However, I think we all can agree that a general rule of thumb is that a mistake is a mistake regardless of how big or small it is, and the magnitude or lack thereof can definitely play on our psyche. Now you may wonder how do mistakes affect our state of mind? Take this as an example. Most people associate the making of mistakes as personal failures. Now I personally don't see this as the case, but we cannot overlook the fact that many people think this way. Since failure is associated with not being successful at something in particular, many of us tend to develop a negative state of mind whenever we make mistakes. Again, I personally see failures and mistakes as two different things, but you can see how the two can be viewed as being similar by most. From my perspective, this is exactly why so many people fall into a chronic negative state of mind. It all deals with seeing certain things for something they're really not.

So why exactly is it important to not beat ourselves up for our mistakes? From my perspective, being overly hard on ourselves can aid in putting us into that chronic cycle of having a negative state of mind. See, the thing with us being human is that our emotions and state of mind often depend on the things that happen to us. So naturally, we feel good whenever good things happen, and we feel the opposite whenever things don't go our way. Now the thing with making mistakes is that it's something we cannot avoid. We may be able to avoid making the same mistakes over and over again, but whenever we're tackling something that we're not accustomed to is going to come with some mistakes. Since mistakes cannot always be avoided, there is really no benefit to being hard on ourselves. Now I don't have to tell you the importance of not being negative all the time. This is something that I've discussed many times on here in the past. Now with that said, I want to stress that having a negative state of mind makes us even more prone to mistakes. Being negative all the time doesn't only sap away our energy, it also takes away our confidence and the ability to believe in ourselves. Whenever we're unsure of certain things that we may face, a level of doubt and insecurity in our ability to get through them naturally develops. I believe much of this stems from being constantly negative, thus why I feel it's important to not be too hard on ourselves whenever we make mistakes.

So how do we combat against beating ourselves up for the mistakes we make? Well I believe that there's really no solid answer to that question, mainly because we're naturally going to feel some regret or disappointment from our mistakes. However, there is something that I think can aid in this constant battle, and I stated it earlier in this post. We have to learn to view our mistakes as lessons rather than failures. Instead of being so hard on ourselves whenever we mess up on something, we have to be able to take something positive away from it that we can apply in the future. It's okay to feel a bit of disappointment whenever you make a mistake, but the key is to not dwell on it for too long. We've all heard it before, but the world in general already beats us up for our shortcomings, so there's no sense in adding to it by doing it to ourselves. Again, I know all this sounds more easier said than done, and I myself struggle with this from time to time as I stated earlier. But, as I've also stated before, being aware and conscious of something is half the battle of conquering it. So don't be too hard on yourself whenever you make a mistake at something. It's very important to not develop the habit of thinking negatively every time something doesn't go your way. I'll end with a quote by Robin S. Sharma that relates to this topic: “There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. There is no such thing as a negative experience, only opportunities to grow, learn and advance along the road of self mastery.From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be a wonderful teacher”

Well we've come to the end for this time around folks, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off now. I'd like to say thank you once again to anybody that stopped through for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As I always like to mention, I hope that there was some understanding gained from this post, and I hope that anyone that read it can relate a bit. If you have anything you'd like to contribute on this topic or if you found it inspiration to you, please feel free to drop a comment below. Well we've arrived at the weekend, as well as a new month, so I hope everyone has a safe and happy one. I'll see you all in October. Until next time, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Never Allow Others To Make You Feel Bad For Bettering Yourself.

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I'm pretty certain that most of you have heard of the saying that goes "people are like a bunch of crabs in a barrel". By chance if you have not heard of it before now, this statement deals with the obvious handling of a bunch of crabs stuck in a barrel together. However, there is a sublime mindset about this statement that many people use as a way to describe people that hate to see others rise above them in the real world. It deals with the fact that there are some people that hate to see others get ahead of them in life, similar to when one of the crabs begins to climb out of the barrel, the others will reach up and drag him back down. Now regardless of whether you believe in the crabs in a barrel mentality or not, the brutal honest truth is that there are people in this world that hate to see other people bettering themselves. It is truly unfortunate when you think about it, but there's no denying how much of a fact this is. This is something we both see and hear about daily. Anytime you find someone that is doing things to better themselves, there will likely be people that are also waiting for that person to fail. Despite how bad this way of thinking may be, it can somewhat be expected from outsiders that may not know you as well. You know the kind of people that don't like you, but also don't really know you. However, in some cases, this thinking applies to people that we're the closest to as well. Regardless of who it is that may be projecting their own insecurities towards us, we must never allow others to make us feel bad for trying to better ourselves.

What's up ladies and gents? It's your guy Brad H. coming straight at you once again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I'm sure most of you know how it works around here, but for those of you that are maybe visiting for the first time, I'm here to give my perspective on the various topics and thoughts that I think about in my daily life. I try to put those thought into words that I hope will not only benefit myself, but hopefully others as well. I hope that everyone has been doing well since the last post. I've been speaking about it for several posts leading up to now, but FOOTBALL IS FINALLY HERE. I'm not sure about anyone else out there, but football is what the bulk of my conversations with others for the past week or so has been about. Week one is officially in the books, and although my team lost on an awful play to end what should have been a winnable game, I'm just happy and excited that we have football back for the next few months. I may have mentioned this in the past, but this is the beginning of the time of the year that I enjoy most. Not only because of sports in general, but the fact that the weather will be starting to get cooler soon, as well as the holidays starting to approach us. I was just telling someone yesterday that it feels like people are more happier during the winter months, and I believe a big portion of that deals with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. I know I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but I'm just excited. Anyway, now that I've rambled for a bit, lets go ahead and talk about what this post is mainly about, which is the importance of not allowing other people to make you feel bad for wanting to better yourself.

As I always touch on in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. The object here isn't to focus on what is considered to be wrong or wrong; that's totally subjective and up to the individual. My goal is to hopefully give the people that read something to think about and consider further. You don't have to agree with me, and if you happen not to, that's totally fine. Your presence here is welcome regardless of whether you agree or disagree with the things I write. Like always, I'd like to take a little time and give some insight on how I came about writing on this topic. As with a good portion of the past things I've written about, this week's topic is one that I think about regularly. However, the primary reason why I decided to expand on this topic deals with my hearing of others talking about it via social media. I watch a lot of videos on Youtube, and I came across several people that mentioned something that deals with this topic in their videos. Their videos may not have dealt with this topic exactly, however, there were references in some form of the plight of dealing with negative flack from others while attempting to better yourself. Because this is a topic that I already think about and experience, as most of you probably do as well, something within me told me to address this in my own way. The crabs in a barrel mentality will never truly end in our society, but I feel that it's important for people that are trying to better themselves to persevere regardless of what others may say or think.

I'm a firm believer that for every action that a person takes, there is also a reaction. Whether it's for better or for worse, I believe that this state of mind applies to everything in life. Now going more into the context of this topic that we're dealing with, every positive action that we may take towards bettering ourselves will not always be met with a positive reaction from others. As I stated earlier, some people will not be happy for you because of their own insecurities and in some cases, people will negatively project those insecurities onto you. Most of the time, this action is conveyed solely as a way to deter you from whatever you feel is best for your own life. Now some people are able to press on despite all this, and ignoring their detractors comes relatively easy. However, for others that are facing this kind of backlash from others, blocking out the negativity from the doubters and haters can be a daunting challenge. In some cases, this can eventually lead to some people feeling bad or guilty for what they're doing to better themselves, which can stir up emotions that question whether or not we're doing the right thing. I know it sounds crazy for many, but it is a fact that there are people in this world that deal with this on a consistent basis. What's even more unfortunate is that this type of emotional abuse often comes from the ones that know us the best.

Now that we've established why there are people who will make you feel bad for doing things that will better yourself, I want to talk briefly about the primary way that others are able to do this. Going back to what I stated earlier, I believe that much of it deals with emotions. We all know that our emotions play a huge role in the things we do from a moment to moment basis. In some ways, our emotions often guide our actions and decisions. Much of this depends on what our emotional state is at that particular moment, which solidifies that our emotions have a big impact on whether we make good or bad choices. One thing that I think many of us tend to forget is that some people will often us their own emotions as a way to control us. Take this for example. How many times have you said no or didn't adhere to someone that you care for wishes, and then you found yourself changing your mind because they maybe begged or displayed emotions of disappointment towards you? We've all done this at some time or another to get what we want, and we all have fallen prey to others doing this to us. This is an example of how people use their emotions as a way to control others, and this is often the method that people will use as a way to make you feel bad for wanting to better yourself. Now I'm not saying that everyone is like this, however, this is something that we need to look out for when people are doubting something you may be doing to better yourself.

So how do you combat against people that go out of their way to make you feel bad for doing things that you think will better you? From my perspective on this topic, I just think that you have to listen to and trust your own instincts. We can't allow other people to deter us from whatever paths that we may be on towards the journey for self-improvement. Additionally, try not to fall victim to the emotionally insecurities that others will project upon you. Like I stated earlier, we live in a crabs in a barrel society, and you'll find that even the people that you're close to will sometimes subtly not be happy for you when you're changing for the better. Again, much of this is their own insecurities, so don't allow those to keep you from moving forward. Anything that you feel will better you as a person can never be truly bad. Why? Because it's your life, and only you can know what will make you happy in this life. I'll just end by quoting a lyric from a song called Sober Soldier on Stic.man's album 'The Workout'. "When you make a positive change people will judge you, some will take it personal, but don't let it budge you." Keep on pressing forward my friends, and never allow people to make you feel bad for wanting to better yourself.

Well that's all I have for this time folks, so I'm going to go ahead and end this one. Thanks once again for those of you that stopped through for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. Like always, I hope that some meaning and understanding was gained from this. Furthermore, I hope that someone found it inspirational and meaningful to their life. I'm all about keeping it as positive as possible here, and I try to use this blog as hub where others can find inspiration. We've arrived at the weekend, so I hope everyone enjoys and has a safe one. Alright I'm gone people, so have a good one. Until next time, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

We're All At Different Stages In This Life (Comparing Your Situation To Others).

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I think it's a fairly normal habit for us as humans to draw much of our self worth and value from our peers. We often draw comparisons to where we may be at in various stages of life to those that we grew up around, as well as maybe the people we attended school with. It feels like the mindset for the majority of people is that you're only doing as good as your peers, and if we're not at or above that standard at the moment, then you're obviously a failure. Although it's a totally subjective thing from my personal stance, for most people, there is somewhat of an invisible bar that is used for the standard that people use to determine their self worth. Now although I feel this way about the subject, I will attest that drawing comparisons from our peers can be beneficial from a motivational standpoint. We all need inspiration to aspire for greater things occasionally, and using those that are maybe doing better than us in certain aspects of life can become a positive motivational force for us to do better. Now with all of that said, I also think that too many of us depreciate our own value at times. We put so much pressure on ourselves to live up to others, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy if we're not at the same level that our peers may be. Life has various stages that we all go through, and no one journey for one person will be exactly like someone else's. We're all at different stages in this life, so we shouldn't compare our situations to else's.

Hey, what's up ladies and gentlemen? It is me Brad H. coming right back at you like an arrow shot out of a bow with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I want to start off by saying thanks and welcome to you all. Some of you may already know the drill, but for those of you that maybe do not, I'm here to give my perspective on the various topics that I think about in my daily life. I try to take those thoughts and put them into words that I hope to not only benefit myself, but hopefully anyone else that needs a little bit of motivation as well. I hope everything has been going pretty good for you all out there as of late. I know many of you are excited about the NFL season starting less than a week from now. Trust me when I say that I'm definitely right there with anyone that feels that way, although an injury that occurred to a key player on my favorite team has somewhat tempered my already low expectations for this upcoming season. Some of you may already know that I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan, which means that the injured player that I'm obviously talking about is the quarterback, Tony Romo. I was actually watching the preseason game that he went down in, and I was thinking to myself that a lot of Cowboys fans probably stopped breathing for a sec. He was able to get back up and walk away on his, but of course we know now that he has a broken bone in his back. The ironic thing about all this is that despite me being a Cowboys fan, I already had a feeling that Romo would get injured at some point this season; I just didn't expect it during the preseason. At any rate, the rookie Dak Prescott has looked fairly good in the preseason, so we'll see what happens going forward. Of course we know the regular is different, so temper your expectations Cowboy fans. Alright, I'm rambled enough, so lets get into this week's topic of being at different stages in life.

Like I always point out in my writing, a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My focus here isn't to put a lot of credence into what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give those that read something to think about further. As I stated previously, the main goal with this entry and this blog in general is to hopefully inspire others, as well as myself through the process. Of course if there is anyone that disagrees with the things I discuss or the method in which I use to discuss them, that is totally fine. Your visit is still very much appreciated regardless if our views differ. So how did we arrive at this particular topic for this week? Well, like most of the other topics I've written about, it is something that I already think about pretty frequently. Furthermore, it's a topic that I've had several in depth discussions with people that I'm close with about, but I've yet to come on here and give my thoughts on it. Finally, due to how relevant it is to so many of us out here in this world, I think it's a topic that I need to address more deeply in a post. For far too long, we as a people have based our worth on things that really shouldn't define who we are as people. I realize that this will continue to go on, but I feel that I have to do my part in showing others why they shouldn't be comparing where they are in this life to anyone else.

Now as I stated earlier in this post, we all are in different stages throughout this life. Although many people are aware of this fact, many of us still feel the pressures to keep up with the "Jones's" as people would say. There are several examples of life where this state of mind has relevance. Some examples may include things like getting married, having children, and finding the right career. Now I'm not saying that none of those things aren't important; they most definitely are. I believe, however, that the problem stems from the fact that many of us lose sight of the fact that no two individuals circumstances will be exactly the same, which means that some people will achieve certain aspects of life quicker than others. The society that we live in has painted this image where life is similar to a race, and everyone is expected to reach the finish line at exactly the same time. Of course life doesn't work that way, nor should it be viewed in this manner. From my perspective on this topic, the biggest comparison to life and goals is like people running a marathon. You have one person that gets to the finish line first, and then other competitors finish the race behind them. Some people finish the race a little slower, and some may not finish at all. That is what makes life interesting, and also makes us all unique as individuals.

So getting back to the mental aspect of this topic, there are too many of us attach our self worth to how we view others. Much of the mental part of this deals with we as people allowing others to make us feel this way. Like I stated earlier, in a generalized society, if a person hasn't gotten married or obtained a certain level of success by a specified time period, many people will paint your life as a failure. From my perspective, there are two key elements that we must keep in mind. First, try not to live your life based on a time schedule set by society. I believe a lot of people make some of the biggest mistakes by trying to live up to society's expectations. Instead of participating in this habit, try to remove those barriers from your mind, and live at your own pace. Secondly, do no compare your situation to your friends, your classmates, or your family. Whatever path you're on in life is yours and yours alone. It's not for anyone else to understand, which means that much of what we do will already be under scrutiny from other people. People may not always like your lifestyle or your choices, but most people will always respect a person that stands firms in their convictions.

Now touching once again on the self worth aspect of this topic, and this is the portion of the post that is the most important from my perspective. No matter who you are, where you are in life or what you've done, you are a person of value. No matter what anyone else may say about this, I believe that every person in this world has some kind of value. Some may wonder where is the proof in this? The proof is that we're here and breathing, so even if you don't feel you have much to contribute to this world, you still have the opportunity to do so because you're alive. I realize and understand that we live in a superficial society that places value on people by how much they've accomplished. While we should always strive to do better for ourselves, not obtaining the same level of success as our peers doesn't make you any less valuable. You may not have all the fancy or material items in this world, but your value to this world is priceless if you're the kind of person that gives yourself to others for a cause bigger than you are. So with all of that said, just remember that we're all at different stages in this life, so try not to compare your life to other people. Just keep focusing on being the better individual you can be, and I believe that the universe will reward you in kind.

Well we've made it through another week folks, so it's time for us to part ways for now. Now don't go crying on me now. I'm just kidding of course. Anyway, thank you all to everyone that came through for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' once again! I hope that this post was of inspiration to someone out there, and even in the event that it wasn't, your visit here is always welcomed and appreciated. Feel free to drop any comments or feedback like always. I hope you all have a great weekend ahead. Football is right upon us, so enjoy. I'm out people, so until next time, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you all in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

The Importance Of Mentally Protecting Your Eyes and Your Ears (Watch What You Choose To Give Energy To).

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The eyes and ears; two of the very most vital organs of our bodies that we use for listening and visualization. There are so many quotes and references that have been made throughout the years when it comes to the importance of both the eyes and ears. One of the most popular quotes in regards to the eyes goes; "The eyes are the window to the soul." A recent quote that I came across that deals with the value of the ears says; "Ears are the extension of the heart, so if you know how to listen, you know how to love." When the average person may hear anything about taking care of their eyes and ears, they likely think of a visit to an optometrist, or visiting an ear doctor. While it is indeed a fact that we must care for both the eyes and ears from a medical standpoint, there is another aspect of self care many people neglect when it comes to these two organs; the mental side. The eyes and ears are not only physical organs that we use for everyday sights and sounds, they're also valuable to maintaining a healthy and tempered state of mental wellness. I've been thinking about this topic as of late, and I think it's an appropriate one to get a bit more deeper with, and give out some information on. The eyes and ears must be maintained physically, but it's very important to protect them mentally and spiritually as well.

Hey, hey, hey, it's the Fat Albert show! Nah, I'm kidding with you all of course. What's up guys? It's the young soul Brad H. coming back at you once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. Some of you may already know how the routine goes, but for those of you that do not, I'm here to give my perspective on topics that I feel will not only benefit myself, but hopefully be of help to others as well. So how have you all been doing since the last entry? I know many of you probably have been watching the Olympics that are taking place. I've been watching it off and on, but it has been pretty exciting seeing so many Americans doing so well in the individual competitions. I mean what else can you say about Michael Phelps other than he's absolutely an Olympic legend? People normally classify athletes as legends once they retire, but I think it's safe to say that Phelps being regarded as a legend before he even retires is justified. Also, Simone Biles has continued to show just how dominate of a gymnast she is. Finally, seeing Simone Manuel become the first African-American woman to win the gold in an individual swimming event was great. Her interview afterwards was really touching and heartfelt. Being that they're both her and Simone Biles are Texans like myself, I'm very happy for them. Congrats goes to them both, as well as everyone else who is doing well this year in Rio. There are too many for me to name at this time, so congrats to everyone. We still have a few more days of events left, so lets cherish and enjoy them. After all, they only come around once every four years. Alright, now that I've used up my soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and get into this week's main topic of the importance of protecting your eyes and ears.

Before getting started, I always aim to point out in my writings that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary from person to person. My focus isn't to put too much energy into what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give those that read on these topics something to think about further. My primary goal with this entry and this blog in general is to hopefully inspire others, as well as myself through this platform. If anyone happens to disagree with my perspective on this or any of the topics I discuss, that is totally okay. Now I usually give a little insight into how I came to write about whatever topic that I'm discussing for the week. However, I don't feel it's necessary to do this time since it's something that I've somewhat highlighted in previous posts. If you're familiar with some of my past blog entries, you've probably heard me say something along the lines of; "My ears are closest to my eyes and mouth, so any advice that I give applies to me as well." Although I've been thinking about the topic that we're talking about as of late, it's something that I already give thought to on a frequent basis, which is evidenced by my mentioning of it in past posts. Because of that factor, I'm just going to go ahead and dive right into this topic, and why I think it should be considered such an important thing.

So as I stated earlier in this post, the eyes and ears aren't just organs that we use for seeing and hearing. Although sight and sound are regarded as the primary purposes of the ears and eyes, there is a mental aspect that goes along with the things we give our eyes and ears to. Now the eyes and ears may be two different organs, but like everything else in our bodies, they connect to our brain. Most of us are already aware of this fact, but despite having different organs that make up our bodies, everything in our body connects in some way. We also know that the brain is the main organ of our central nervous system, but it's also much more than that. There have been many debates as to whether or not our brains are similar to computers. I'll leave that up to you to decide whether you believe that to be true or not. However, there is no denying that our brains are the haven for the things we see and hear. Everything that we see and hear gets stored within our brains in some way or another. Whether it is happening knowingly or subconsciously, everything that we give our ears and eyes to is being stored in our brains. Now I'm far from a doctor, and I apologize for all the medical jargon. However, I hope that you can see where I'm going with all of this.

Now we can't always control what we see and hear, however, there are times when we knowingly give our eyes and ears to less than positive things. There are all kinds of things on television and the Internet that we consciously give a lot of energy to that don't generally benefit our minds. We all know people that like to gossip and spew a lot of negativity about others, and while we may not personally participate in this kind of stuff, our ears are still taking in all this negativity. Where do you think all these negative things that we see and hear are going? They're going straight to our brains, which plays a huge part on what kind of state of mind we maintain. Do you really think that we as a people are going to be able to maintain a healthy and positive state of mind if we're constantly feeding our brains negativity? I personally don't think so, which is why it's important to do all you can to protect what your eyes and ears give energy to. I'm sure that most of us have watched or heard something that had such an extreme shock value that despite it probably happening years ago, it has still stuck with us and has a negative impact on us even to this very day. Again, I'm not talking about things that we see or hear that couldn't be helped. I'm referring to the things we consciously give energy to.

While I see it as imperative to protect our eyes and ears from a mental standpoint, I'll attest that it's definitely not an easy thing to do in a world that continuously feeds us a lot of garbage and negativity. Besides the obvious choices of limiting what we choose to watch on television and the Internet, as well as who we choose to hang around, I honestly can't say that I have any other sound advice or solutions to better ways to watch the things we feed our brains. All I can really do is try to do my part in trying to make others aware of this topic and it's importance. From my perspective, I see this topic as something very important to address in a world that I feel aims to influence us negatively on a daily basis. It's very crucial to our lives to care for ourselves physically. However, we also want to have our minds healthy and functioning at its peak. The powers within our minds are limitless, and I feel that in order to unleash those power to their fullest potential, an awareness of the things we choose to view and listen to is a requirement. With all of that said, I want to say to anyone that may already be striving to free their minds of the negativity that is constantly be shoved in our faces daily, keep on pushing to combat against it. Again, it may not be easy, but being aware of something arms us with all the needed tools to defeat it.

Well I believe I'm going to go ahead and end this week's post. I hope that there was some kind of meaning and understanding gained from this week's topic. Thank you again to those of you that stopped through for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' once again. As always, feel free to leave any feedback or comment on this or any of the other topics that I have discussed. The weekend is upon us, so I hope you all enjoy and do something exciting. Alright, I'm out folks, so have a great weekend and upcoming week ahead. Till we all meet again, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you all in the next one, and peace!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why Not Having Others To Support Or Believe In You Can Be Beneficial.

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Love and support from other people are two of the many actions and emotions that this world thrives on. Not only do we all need and want these things as an active part in our lives, we often have a deep desire to receive them from those we care about most. I may be wrong in saying that, and I'm aware that there are some that will disagree. However, I believe anyone that feels otherwise is either fooling themselves, or maybe don't care much about life in general. While it is indeed a fact that we long for others to believe in and support our dreams and aspirations, the fact of the matter is that truth will not always be the case for many of us. Most of us are aware of this, but there will even be times when our own family won't have our backs on the things we're passionate about. Not having their support or belief in us doesn't necessarily make them bad people, it just means that whatever our vision may be at that particular time isn't for them. Understandably so, this can cause most of us to develop bitter feelings and wonder why others do not believe in us. While we may not always understand the reasons, it is actually okay if others do not always believe in the things we do. Furthermore, I'm learning that not having that belief and support from others can actually be beneficial towards our lives if we allow it to.

Hey, what's going on ladies and gentlemen? It's me, Brad H. coming back at you all again, and I'd like to welcome you to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As always, I'm back at it once again to give my perspective on topics that I feel will not only be beneficial for myself, but hopefully for other people as well. I hope that everyone has been doing great since the last entry. If that hasn't been the case for you as of late, keep on persevering and enduring. Remember that things are never as good as they seem, nor are they as bad as we always think. So what's been going on in the world as of late? Well it's a presidential election season, so that of course has been a big topic in the news. The 2016 Olympic games in Rio are currently underway, which is an exciting time for the world, however, the event is being somewhat overshadowed by the water crisis happening there. On a more happier note, we're in the month of August, which means that football is right around the corner. I was having a discussion just yesterday with someone about how fast this summer has seemingly gone by. I think that most of us can agree that it's been a very hot one, so I'm definitely not going to complain about it coming to an end soon. I'd like to give a big shout out and wish good luck to all the countries participating in the Olympic games. I'm hopeful that the United States will bring back the bulk of gold medals. Alright, now that I've gotten on my little soapbox for a bit, it's time to get into this week's topic of why not having support from others can actually be beneficial.

As I always mention in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. The focus here isn't to put too much emphasis on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give those that read something to hopefully think about and consider more in depth. My main goal with this entry and this blog in general is to hopefully inspire others, as well as myself via this platform. Of course if anyone happens to feel differently or disagree with my views on this or any of the topics I write about, that is totally okay with me. So how did this topic of how others not having belief in us can be beneficial come about you may wonder? Like the majority of the topics that I write about, it deals with personal experiences that I'm either currently facing, or have dealt with in the past. This particular topic for me is interesting in the sense that I know where I once was in regards to how I reacted to others not believing in me, and now I have a clearer understanding of how and why it can actually be beneficial to our lives. I want to stress that I'm not saying that we don't need support or belief from others, especially our friends and family. Having their support is crucial to any successes that we hope to achieve. However, my aim is to hopefully show how a negative can become a positive with a change in our state of mind.

As I stated earlier in this post, many of us often become angry and bitter whenever the people we love most don't take interest in the things we're passionate about. The result of this causes many of us often develop a "me against the world" type of mentality that can alienate us from those we're closest to. While some may see this mentality as a positive thing for becoming extra motivated to prove others wrong, I personally see this mentality as being self defeating in the sense that it doesn't accomplish much. First off, we should never push away the people we're close to if it can be prevented. Like I stated earlier, a person not believing in the same things you do doesn't make them a bad person; it just means that they don't see eye-to-eye with you on a particular aspect of life. Now I understand that in some cases that a split cannot be helped, but learning how to coexist and get along with others despite having differences of opinion is important. Secondly, because the me against the world mentality frequently stems from the anger and bitterness of not feeling support, it can be counterproductive in the sense that the anger is negative energy. From my perspective, the angrier you become regardless of who or what it is directed towards, the more room you leave for mistakes and bad decisions. This is something that I've written about in the past.

Now with all that has been pointed thus far, some of you may wonder; how exactly can not having support be beneficial for us? Well from my perspective and from my personal experiences as of late, it can help in teaching us how to develop a stronger belief within ourselves; something that many of us lack. See, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting others to believe in and support us, however, the problem is that we often become too reliant on others for this support. We have become so accustomed to relying on validation and support from others, that we forget that the most important validation should come from within ourselves. The biggest reason I see this as a beneficial thing has to do with the added bonuses that come along with having self belief first. The biggest bonus that I would point out is the added confidence in going after what you're passionate about. The added boost of confidence comes from having the extra inner belief that you don't need anyone else to motivate you to do the things you want. You're able to look at yourself from a more positive perspective when you have an added boost of self belief. Another bonus I would add is the development of a stronger mind and will to succeed in the things you want. I believe that not having others in your corner can help train our minds towards becoming more disciplined, and we all know that discipline is needed when it comes to going after our ambitions.

Having that added belief and support from others can greatly help us in achieving the things we want, but not having it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. Think of it like this here; when we're faced with difficult issues, we can either wallow in them ,or make the choice to do something about it. If we sit around and wallow because our family and friends don't see the same vision we do, then we'll never have the motivation to do anything. If we make the choice to do something about it, we'll come to realize that having their blessings for the things that are important to us only adds to our lives, rather than being the sole motivating factor in our lives. I know that I've touched on a lot here, but my advice for anyone that struggles with this is to train your mind to develop an almost unbreakable feeling of self belief first. Don't ever allow others opinions of the things you enjoy doing deter you from staying on your path. Whatever path that you're on is for you and you alone. Don't get down because people doubt you, but let their doubts be a driving force for you to keep on pressing forward. Most importantly, remember that having support from others is always helpful, but having faith in ourselves is all we really need. Not having others to believe in us can be make an already difficult journey even rougher, but it can truly be beneficial to our lives if we maintain an open mind.

Well we've come to the end now, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off for this time. I hope that I was able to get my point across in this entry of 'Brad H.'s Perspective', so thank you again for anyone that stopped by. Like I always mention at the conclusion of my writings, I hope that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. If that happens to not be the case for you, your visit is still greatly appreciated. Feel free to leave any feedback and comments below. For those of you following the Olympic games, I hope you enjoy them. Alright, I'm out, so have a great weekend everyone. Till next time, I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

The Only Way To Be Rewarded For Your Suffering Is To Endure.

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"You're already in pain, get a reward for it." Those are the words from popular motivational speaker Eric Thomas in his viral video on Youtube titled 'The Secret to Success'. I'd highly recommend anyone who has yet to view this particular video to give it a look. Mr. Thomas touched on many important points in that video, but the words he spoke that I quoted earlier have been resonating with me recently. As human beings, we're naturally inclined to give up whenever we're facing any kind of adversity we're not accustomed to. It's almost as if our bodies and minds are programmed to shutdown whenever we're confronted with something out of our levels of comfort. I believe this notion applies to every aspect of our lives regardless of what type of challenges we're facing. I believe the biggest thing with facing obstacles that do not coincide with our level of comfort deals with growth. Having a willingness to endure in times of hardships is how growth happens, and growth is one of the biggest regards that comes from suffering.

Hey, how's it going ladies and gentlemen? It's your guy Brad H. once again, and welcome to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I'm back at it once again to give my perspective on another topic that I feel will not only be beneficial to myself, but hopefully to you all as well. At least that is my hope. I hope that you all have been maintaining since the last time we spoke, and like always if that hasn't been the case for you, keep on holding your head up high. Things can always get better or worse for us, but the better will not come without some effort and a positive state of mind on our part. As for me personally, things have been pretty good since the last installment. Some of you may know that I'm a San Antonio Spurs fan, so you can imagine that I was disappointed to hear about the retiring of longtime Spur Tim Duncan. I've always admired him as a player, and I hate that I never got to see him play in person. However, after such a long and distinguished career in the NBA, I suppose it was about time for him to get out. Thanks for the memories Tim, and I'm certain most fans of the Spurs feel the same way. There are also a few birthdays happening within my family the next few days. Actually, there was one celebrated yesterday. One of my cousin's will be turning 18, and his little brother celebrated his very first birthday yesterday (June, 20). Also, today is my grandmother's youngest brother birthday. It's kind of amazing when you think about how much time seems to pass so quick. I can remember when the 18 year old wasn't even a year old yet, and now he is grown. I can also remember writing last year about the birth of his younger brother whose birthday was yesterday. Kinda hard to believe that it's been a year already. At any rate, although I will be seeing them both, I want to say Happy Birthday to both Biggie and Zay, as well as my great uncle Grover. Now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a bit, it's time to get into this week's topic that deals with being rewarded for your suffering.

Like I always mention in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My focus here isn't to put too much credence into what may be considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give anyone that reads these posts something to hopefully think on and evaluate further. If that happens to be the case for you personally, then these entries are doing exactly what they're intended to do. The main thing for me here is to use this platform as a way to express my views 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 okay with me. So we're going to be discussing how enduring our struggles is the the only way to be rewarded for your suffering. Besides drawing inspiration from Eric Thomas as I mentioned earlier, I've been dealing with some personal issues as of late that I'm looking to see through to the other side. It's not anything serious or life-threatening, just some habits that I'm trying to cut off that I feel will give me a better clarity of mind, body, and spirit. We're all aware that it isn't always easy to break habits, and sometimes there will be some pain and suffering on the journey towards breaking them. However, I do believe there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and that's what I keep telling myself on my personal journey.

Now what is suffering? What exactly qualifies as suffering? Everyone is different and have different interpretations of what they consider to be suffering, so it's purely subjective for the most part. The official definition of suffering that I found is; "the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship." When the majority of us think of suffering, we normally liken it to something that deals with the more serious aspects of life. Examples of this could be the loss of a loved one, financial hardships, or dealing with chronic illnesses and diseases. These are only a few examples of suffering, and I think we can agree that they are definitely the most serious examples that I'm going to provide. Unfortunately in most cases, these examples often come with no real rewards or benefits. While all of these examples, as well as any other serious forms of suffering is both unfortunate and sad in many cases, I want to address suffering from a lesser perspective than the examples I mentioned. I'm aiming to view it from the perspective of having to endure the suffering that is required in order to achieve something you may want. I'm talking about the kind of suffering that we sometimes purposefully choose to put ourselves through in hopes to see a greater reward in the end.

So what I am referring to when I talk about the kind of suffering that we intentionally choose to put ourselves through? From my perspective, I'm thinking of various achievements and goals that we may be striving to reach. It doesn't always have to necessarily have a tangible reward at its conclusion, but the completion of it leaves you a sense of joy and accomplishment that can't be bought by any price. I want you to think about this for an example. Imagine someone running in a marathon or any kind of distance related race. Throughout the course of testing your body to the limits and physical rigors required to finish, there is going to be some form of pain and suffering along the way. Now imagine the person running the race quitting at the halfway point because it has become too uncomfortable for them. Think of it like jumping out into the deep end of a swimming pool without a life vest. Now I'm not saying that a person should push themselves to the point of harming their body. However, the point I'm trying to prove that quitting while we're facing any kind of adversity won't leave us with a sense of fulfillment if we know we didn't do our best with whatever task is at hand. You can liken it to one of those feelings we have when something is wrong or missing in your life, even if everything else may be going right for you.

Before I bring this post to a close, I want everyone to realize that regardless of what kind of suffering you may be enduring, whatever you're dealing with is exactly where you're supposed to be at that moment. I'm one of those people that doesn't feel that things happen by accident. Furthermore, I want to stress this point. Anytime you're facing challenges that are causing you pain and suffering, that's probably where all the change and growth is happening in your life. This is the exact reason to keep on enduring when you want to give up. The only way to truly test your character and know what you're made of is if you're willing to go through the pain and suffering that is required. It's kinda like a rights of passage in my opinion. Again, we're always going to have that inkling of doubt that wants to trick us into giving up because it doesn't feel comfortable. However, like I mention in most of my writings, this is where the power of the mind comes into play. We can get through nearly anything with a strong and healthy mind. So to all my friends out there facing challenges, keep on enduring if you're able. There is always a greater payoff for your suffering if you're willing to stay the course, and I truly believe that we'll become better people at the end for our willingness to endure.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to go ahead and end this one. I believe that I was able to get my point across in this installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. Thank you once again to everyone that stopped by. My hope is that there was some meaning and understanding gained by this post. Of course if that wasn't the case for you, your visit here is always both welcomed and appreciated. I hope that everyone has a great weekend ahead, and feel free to drop any feedback or comments. Alright I'm out of this joint so until next time, I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Peace!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.