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!
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