Hey, what's going on party people? This is another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' coming right back you all once again. Of course I go by the name of Brad H., and I'd like to welcome everyone once again to another posting where I give my perspective on a topic that I feel could be helpful and relevant in all of our lives. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day. Now that we are a few days removed from Thanksgiving, I want to briefly talk about that Monday Night Football game that took place this week between the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs. Now it is rare where I will DVR a sporting event to watch a second time. If I do happen to DVR something sports related, it is because I know I won't be able to watch it live. This was a game that I had to DVR to watch a second time. For those of you that saw the game, you know exactly how exciting of a game it was. The Rams ended up winning the game 54-51. The fact that there was well over 100 points scored in this game is insane in its own right. We all know both of these teams are juggernauts offensively, but it was the turnovers that ultimately decided this game. Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs turned the ball over five times and still threw for 6 touchdowns and nearly 500 yards. All I can say is wow. At this point of the season, I think it is safe to say who the cream of the crop is in the NFL. There are several legit teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, and of course the New England Patriots. However, I think most of us can agree that the Chiefs, Rams, and New Orleans Saints are probably at the top when it comes to be favorites. As much as I don't want to say it (don't like the Saints), I believe the Saints are the top team in the league at the moment. Speaking of which, they'll be playing my Dallas Cowboys next Thursday. We'll have to see what happens there, but I'm not expecting Dallas to win that game. The good thing about sports is that anything can happen, and upsets are always possible. We're gonna have to see how the rest of the few weeks left in the regular season play out, but big props to the Chiefs and Rams for an amazing game.
So now that I've addressed something besides the topic that will be covered in this week's edition, it is time for me to now give the usual disclaimer that I give before putting my thoughts out here for you all to read. This regular disclaimer is just something I do to let it be known that my viewpoint isn't the only way to view things. Some of this may not even apply to many of you, but hopefully there are various nuggets of wisdom that can be taken from this. This is just an outlet to express thoughts and ideas, so I hope they're able to help someone else out there. So as I have already addressed, we all have different ways of viewing things in this life. The objective with this isn't to focus on what is right or wrong, but rather to inspire some thought and wisdom that we can use to be applied to our lives. Some of you may not agree with some of my views, and that it totally your right to do so if that is the case. However, I also hope that most of what I say will be helpful in some of your lives as well. Whatever you may think or feel on this or any of the other subjects that I have discussed on here, I'm grateful for every single person that chooses to spend a few moments of their lives reading what I think. Also don't forget that if anyone has anything that they would like to add in addition to what I have brought up, please feel free to do that in the comment section at the end. I can't say it enough, but we're all here to learn from one another. So how did I come up to wanting to address this topic for this installment? Similar to the most recent topic that I covered on being a forward thinker, this edition's topic was inspired by something I listened to on Youtube earlier this week. I heard a guy bring up the idea of self awareness in a specific context, and the words "self awareness" stayed with me throughout the week. I pondered on it for a few days, and I thought to myself that the idea of self awareness is definitely something that our society is lacking in these days. I figured I could try and use it in a context that show why it is important to be self aware. So basically I'm going to provide a few examples of what I think self awareness is, and then try and show why it is important that we keep this in our minds. I hope you all can relate.
As I brought up earlier in this topic, the ability to have self awareness stems from looking at yourself with honest eyes. Ever notice how easy it is for so many people to criticize the lives of others, yet people are rarely able to apply that to their own lives? Picture someone that constantly talk down on other people, but this person doesn't ever say anything bad about themselves. I'm sure this is something that most of us have done before, and if we're being honest with ourselves, it is something that many of us probably do on a regular basis. It is definitely not something to be proud of in my opinion, but again we're trying to look at things from an honest point of view here. I personally believe that much of this way of thinking comes down to self preservation. We're all guilty at times of diverting attention from ourselves in order to serve our own self interests. Another negative trait that this stems from is jealously as well. When a person is jealous of another person for whatever reason(s) that may be, it is much easier for the jealous person at hand to direct negative energy towards someone else. There are various things that can cause us to direct negativity towards others, and I could probably go on and on about the traits and habits that cause people to do this. Now what do negative habits such as pride and jealously have in common? I'm sure we can come up with a few things they share, but the thing that really stands out to me is that they come from internal issues within us. These negative traits don't have anything to do with what others may do to us. They are internal traits within us that we project unto other people, and that is where the issues lie in my opinion. I believe that much of the reason why we lack self awareness comes from not properly addressing the internal issues that we face within. If a person isn't happy within their own life, or course it is easier for them to try and point out the flaws in others. I believe gaining or having a sense of self awareness can help us combat against some of these negative habits. I say this because instead of always putting the onus on others, you look for ways to address the issues in your life that come from within.
From my perspective on this subject matter, I believe that someone that has the proper amount of awareness of themselves are able to sustain themselves longer in all aspects of life. Those of you that are frequent readers here know that I often use sports to make examples of the topics that I discuss. I'm going to use another sports related example here also, however, I think the example that I'm going to use can also be applied when it comes to getting older in general. Imagine an aging athlete that is still participating in whatever sport they're a part of. Now we know that with age comes decline in abilities right? Besides the obvious reasons such as potential injury and future health related problems, a decline in skills is another major reason why athletes are encouraged to retire. Most athletes that still participate at an advanced age just can't contribute in the manner they did when they were younger. Now being that most athletes have huge egos and outspoken personalities, many of them have a difficult time acknowledging when it is time to let go. Having the right amount of self awareness would be beneficial to those athletes that still believe that they're able to do the same things they done when they were much younger. A self aware athlete would likely know where their level of skill is at, and they would have the ability to adjust their game to fit their strengths at whatever stage of their career they're in. A veteran linebacker in the NFL may not be able to move sideline to sideline like he once did, but he may be able to plug up the middle keep running backs from getting shorter yardage. An advanced age linebacker may not be able to tackle like he once did, but he may have the knowledge and veteran leadership to understand all of the defensive schemes. He may not have the physical skills anymore, but his knowledge may allow him to properly lead a defense. I know that not everyone can relate to this example, but I think you can get the gist of what I mean. Again, it is all about being able to look at yourself with honest eyes.
The main reason for my bringing up the topic of the importance of self awareness comes from knowing first hand how hard it can be to view yourself with honest eyes. I know this is something that many of us either struggle with, or have struggled with in the past. Being honest with yourself when it comes to issues that you may be facing in your life isn't an easy thing do. We all have aspects of ourselves that we may not be happy with. The insecurities that we keep within ourselves are much of the reason why we focus on the flaws of other individuals. Diverting the attention from ourselves towards other people isn't going to help us out in the long run. Also, it is hard for me to imagine that people that engage in downing other people because of your own insecurities are truly happy within themselves. Having self awareness will allow you to not only look at yourself with those honest eyes that I've brought up several times already. It also gives you the tools and knowledge that you will need to work on fixing those aspects of yourself that you may not be happy with. It's okay if you're not the best person in this world, but it's not okay if you know that you're not being a good person and you don't even try to change it. It is okay if you can't run as fast as you did when you are younger. It's not okay if you think you can do things the same way you once did to the point where you're putting your own health in danger. This is all about being aware of where you are in your life, and being able to properly access yourself honestly. Again, this isn't an easy thing to do and if you are interested in going down this rabbit hole of self awareness, you will have to come face to face with things about yourself that you honestly won't like. You may find a lot of hurt and pain on the journey of self awareness, but you can also learn how to become a better version of yourself if you maintain an open mind.
I think that pretty much sums up what I wanted to discuss for this go round, so I'm going to go ahead and leave it there. Thank you all for those of you that tuned into another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Of course if anyone has any feedback or opinions, feel free to do so in the comment section. You can also hit me up on Twitter @BradrickH. It is so hard to believe that the next time I discuss something on here will be in December. It just amazes me how life seems to speed up so fast the older you get. At least it feels that way for me, but I know people that have told me the exact same thing also. This year is quickly coming to an end, so lets try and make this last month or so the best that we can. I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I will see you all on the next go round. Till then, take care everyone! Peace!
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