The Importance Of Being Able To Adapt To The Unpredictability Of Life.

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A common theme that I've brought up over the years via these topics that I've addressed is the idea of change, and how it is enviable in our lives. There is absolutely nothing in this world that stays the same forever. I believe that the majority of people are willing to acknowledge this. In some ways, the idea of change can be viewed as a comparison to how we evolve as people. We all start our journey of life as babies, and as life carries on we develop into adults. Throughout the process of developing into adults are constant changes happening to our minds and bodies. One of the interesting things about change and how it unfolds in our lives is that is that it has many forms and layers. It can be something that is hard for some people to accept, while others may welcome it. Furthermore, and similar to the constant changes that we go through physically and mentally, there are going to be instances where change will have both pros and cons. There will spots of change that will be welcoming in our lives. These types of change are generally considered good and the type that serves us in a positive way. On the opposite side of the spectrum when dealing with change, some forms of change may not be so appealing to us. These particular characteristics of change are the type that many of us have a hard time accepting, and could be considered as negative depending on the how the individual handles it. There is a famous quote by legendary martial artist Bruce Lee that is often quoted by many. The by Lee states; “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” When I hear this quote, I think of how important it is to be able to adapt to the unpredictability of life.

Yo, what up peeps? This is ya man Brad H. back on the scene once again, and I would like to welcome you all back to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am back once again to give my perspective on a topic that I feel would be beneficial to address. Thank you in advance to all of you that have read this far, and I hope that this topic will touch someone out there. Before getting into this week's topic, I want to give my opinion on a topic other than the focal point of this installment. I want to briefly give my take on the NBA since the playoffs will be starting pretty soon. I believe the defending champion Golden State Warriors are still the favorite to win it all once again this year. However, like others have brought up also, I'm beginning to see signs that this Warriors dynasty is beginning to crumble. A prime example is last night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves that they lost. I would have to say that the final six seconds of that game was a total meltdown by the Warriors. Then I see them lose to the lowly Phoenix Suns a couple of weeks ago, a game that I would never expect a healthy Warriors team to lose. Now in the Warriors defense, I will say that they could just holding off playing their best ball until the playoffs get here. I mean it is the later part of the season where most of the terrible teams are tanking, and the teams that are solidly in the playoffs are probably milking it a bit. I still feel the Warriors should be considered the favorite to win it all once again. However, I see several teams that I could potentially see knocking them off the throne. As for my San Antonio Spurs, I can't really see them moving past the seven seed. It is possible, but not likely with only six games remaining. It would be nice to see them advance out of the first round this year, but I'm not so sure if they end up facing the Denver Nuggets or Houston Rockets. We shall know in due time, but I think it is pretty cool that although there are only a handful of games left, there are still teams jockeying for position in both conferences. I'll be talking more NBA related things in upcoming topics, but for now I'm going to end it and transition into this week's topic of being able to adapt to the changes of life.

Before diving more into this week's topic, I want to start off by saying that a topic such as this one requires us to understand that there is a great deal of subjectivity to it. We all react and handle situations in different ways, so this isn't something that should be viewed in a vacuum. Just wanted to be sure and state that. Now going back to the quote by Bruce Lee that I brought up earlier, he states how water is formless and becomes whatever it is put into. Now though the human body is primarily made up of water, we as people aren't physically able to become whatever situation that we're put into. I can't just jump into a tub and become the tub, nor can I get into a car and become the car. What I believe Lee was trying to convey in his message is the importance of being able to mentally adapt to the situations that life puts us in. I talked earlier about how change is something that is guaranteed to happen in life and how many people struggle with certain types of change. Naturally, if you have been accustomed to anything whether a person or object constantly being in your life, losing that person or object will have an effect on you. If you've been used to living your life a certain type of way and find that you've been thrown off of that way of living, it is going to play a huge role in how you live your life going forward. Situations such as these require for us to adapt to the circumstances at hand to keep ourselves going. It is not much different than how an animal in the wild adapts to its environment to survive. Now when it comes to animals and their ability to adapt, what happens to the animals that are unable to adapt? I won't say what happens, but I'm certain that all of you already knows what happens to them. To a certain degree, this is similar to what we as humans are fighting against when it comes to change.

Before I get the obvious reason of why it is important to be able to adapt to how unpredictable life can be, I want to give an example of a situation that may require a person to adapt to change. I'm bringing up this particular example because, though it may be one that most of us that may not be wealthy can really relate to, it is one that has affected many people that have had to get accustomed to a lifestyle that they may not be used to. Now we all know that around the time period of 2008-09 that the United States was hit by a massive recession. There were a lot of banks and businesses that shutdown, and there was an epidemic of people losing their jobs. Now there were many people that experienced losses during that period that put them in a situation where they had to adjust their lifestyle. If a person goes from making 120,000 dollars per year to 40,000, that is a pretty significant income change. Now an individual that has the ability to adapt to a change of this nature will make the necessary adjustments to keep themselves moving forward. Unfortunately, there were some people that were not able to adapt to a lesser way of living, and it ultimately ended up becoming detrimental to them and their families. There were stories of people that were turning to bad habits such as drugs and alcohol to cope, and in some drastic cases, people had committed suicide. This is just one example of many that I could bring up, but I wanted to point this out because of how drastic things can get when a person can't adapt to the changes of it. We all know that life can be tough at times, and it isn't always easy to adapt to change.

So why is it important to be able to adapt to change and the unpredictability of life? Well in some instances, in order to survive, you have to adapt. In other words, there are some situations in life where if we're not willing to adapt to changes, we run the risk of not surviving the changes. There are going to be times when your life is on the line, and if you're not able to adapt to whatever situation that life throws at you, you run the risk of losing it all. I know it sucks to hear these kinds of things, but we have to picture life as if someone has pushed us into the deeper part of the water without us being aware of it initially. In those kinds of scenarios, you will either sink or swim right? If you want to give yourself a fighting chance of surviving, you're going to swim to the best of your ability aren't you? The positive note that I want to leave this topic on is the fact that though it may be tough adapting to change at times, I believe that we as a people rise to the occasion in most instances. When I think of how great people of the past survived and endured hard times in their lives, I feel encouraged that the human spirit can rise above almost anything that life can throw at us. As I mentioned earlier, adapting to what life throws at us isn't always an easy thing to do. We as people just have to be willing to accept the fact that change is going to happen in life. From my perspective, the willing to accept change is the first step of the process of being able to adapt to the unpredictability that is life.

Well that is pretty much all I have to say for this go round people. I hope that I was able to express myself in a manner that could be understood. This has once again been another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' brought to you by Brad H. Thanks goes to all of you that stopped by. I'm so grateful and appreciative of you that did. If any of you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to do so in the comment section. If you're on Twitter and you'd like to connect with me, you can do so at the handle @BradrickH. I hope that the weekend is treating you all well so far, and I hope you all have a great upcoming week. I'll see you all soon! Peace!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why Losing Your Way Doesn't Mean You Are Totally Lost.

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I think that we can all admit that staying on the right path in this world that we're living in can be quite a daunting challenge. The majority of us are taking in so much information via social media and television that our minds are often all over the place. It is difficult for a person nowadays to just sit down and concentrate on a single thing without being distracted by a slew of other things. Why do I bring all of this up you may wonder? Well I believe that when we're consuming so many different kinds of things and information that it becomes that much easier to be thrown off of our balance. I feel this is important because having a healthy and stable balance in life is the key to overcoming, as well as avoiding bad habits. I believe the key thing that makes having bad habits such a crutch in our lives is that once we engage in them, often develops into a downward spiral for a period of time. When it comes to the topic of losing your way, I believe that most of it stems from bad habits and things that may trigger us into bad habits. Now in saying that, I'm not implying that social media and television are the sole reasons why these type of things happen. I do however they can play a huge role in leading us down the wrong path. In all honesty, it really isn't that hard to believe since the majority of the things that we're being shown via television and social media aren't good. The bottom line with all of this is that too much consumption of bad habits, social media, and television can be hindrance in keeping us on the straight and narrow. Now regardless of how much balance an individual may have in their life, it is eventual that we're going to be taken away from our center and lose our way. Though losing our way isn't a good thing in this life, losing our way doesn't mean that we're totally lost.

Mic check, one, two; one two! Can y'all hear me loud and clear? Of course I'm just kidding with the mic thing, but I'm Brad H. back on the blog mic once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I am here once more to hopefully bring some information that will serve as inspiration to us all. Thank you to everyone that is joining me once again. So for those of you that read the last post, I pointed out that I would be celebrating another birthday on March 11. In the last post I talked about how much I appreciate birthdays now. This time I'm going to briefly touch on what happened on my birthday this year. I had the opportunity to attend the Houston Rockets vs. Charlotte Hornets game in Houston. This was my second time going to an NBA game, but besides this one being on my birthday, what made it even more interesting was the seats me and my family had this time around. We were a lot closer to the action, and they actually cost a lot less than the ones we had last year. Many of you probably know that I'm a die hard San Antonio Spurs fan first, but I do like the Rockets as well. I favor the "Clutch City" Rockets from the 90's more, you know the teams that had Hakeem Olajuwon, Vernon Maxwell, Kenny Smith, etc. I could go on naming them, but I think you all get what I mean. The game itself wasn't that competitive, as the Rockets controlled the game for the most part. The big treat for me was seeing Kemba Walker from the Hornets play. Since I follow the NBA so closely, I can probably point out a player or players from nearly every team that I like. For the Hornets that would be Kemba. Though the Hornets lost the game (I'm glad they did), it was nice seeing Kemba play one of this better games of this year. He had 40 points, but I can't remember the exactly total number of assists and rebounds he had. Anyway, the guy was cooking, and it seems like he didn't miss. As I mentioned the game wasn't that competitive, but still a fun time. There were several other things I done for my birthday, but due to time constraints I will leave those details out. I want to thank everyone on Twitter that wished me a Happy Birthday. As I said in the last post, I appreciate these things so much more now that I'm older, and I can say without a doubt that the last two birthdays I have had were extremely special. I have my family to thank for that. Hopefully I will get to see another one next year. Alright, I've rambled enough, so lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of why losing your way doesn't mean you're entirely lost.

The topic of dealing with a person losing their way can be a tough one to tackle. For one, there are so many different ways that a person can lose themselves. It is for that reason that I am going to deal with generalities while discussing this topic. Secondly, a topic like this one often requires us to look at ourselves in a light that we may prefer not to. Often times when we lose our way in this journey life, it involves us falling back into a habit that isn't good for us. The even scarier thing in saying that is the idea that it often times isn't just a single habit that is affects us. I'm a firm believer that poor habits breed even poorer habits. As I pointed our earlier, habits can quickly turn into a downward spiral. Now one of the things that I've frequently brought up on this platform is the fact that we're imperfect individuals. This coincides with us losing our way due the fact that because we are imperfect people, there are going to be times when we will lose our way. Everyone's situations are going to be different, but there is no way to truly escape something that inescapable. Beating something that hinders us in life is often only the beginning; it is the war that rages on afterwards that matters the most. Now the reason why I have established all of this is show that it isn't all that difficult for us to lose our way. Also, if you do happen to lose your way at some point in life, though not a good thing, it isn't something that you should beat yourself up over. Again we're not perfect individuals, so none of us are immune to these things happening. Furthermore, and the main theme of this discussion is that if you do indeed happen to lose your way at some point in this life, all isn't totally lost.

I pointed out previously that beating something is often only the beginning. From my perspective, the struggles that we face in our lives are similar to a war. As much as many of us may hate to admit it, and that includes myself, wars in general are often never ending. The smaller battles that take place throughout a war can often lead us to think that the war is over. However, this is often far from the case, and the greater war will continue rage on. For example, lets say that an individual has an addiction to food right? This person loves food to the point where it has become a detriment to their life and health. Lets say that this person eventually beats and escapes this addiction to the point where they feel that have a grip on being able to control their addiction to food. Now similar to an an wound that someone has, if you pick at that wound enough, it can open up once again. Now the thing like something like food addiction, and most addictions in general, though you may have conquered them at a certain point in your life, they are still ever present. In the example that I'm giving with someone dealing with food addiction, escaping food is impossible because it is something that we need to survive. It is something that is always going to be around right? Therefore, it is something that you can necessary win a war against. The same person that has beat their food addiction can easy be triggered into falling back into their addiction to food if they're not able to consistently win the daily and individual battles that go along with being at war with yourself. I used food addiction as an example, but remember that this logic can apply to anything that hinders us from reaching our full potential. However, as I have stated several times already, all is not lost.

If you are someone that is maybe feeling like you've lost your way in this path in life as of late, be mindful that you can always get back on the right path again. This is the reasoning for why I say that losing your way doesn't mean that you are totally lost. This society that we live in that seems to harp more on the bad and negative can have you thinking that losing your way means that you are lost forever. We have to be able to see ourselves as if we're driving down an unknown highway. There are going to be times during your drive where the ride will be smooth and pain free. There are going to be times when there will be bumps and potholes that send a jolt of shock to us. Then there are going to be in the worse case scenarios where something causes us to veer of the road completely. Going off of the road completely is definitely a bad thing, but the thing about going off of the highway is that as long as you're able to survive the bumps and veering, you can always get back on the road. Remember that for as long as you're able to be on the road moving forward, then you are never truly lost. I use this analogy because I can distinctly remember using it years ago when I was talking to a friend of mine from high school. Also, I want you all that are reading this to keep in mind what I brought up earlier when I said that everyone has different things that may cause us to lose our way. I brought up the whole social media and television thing in the first paragraph because I know that much of what goes and it being shown through these outlets are much of the catalyst that causes people to lose their way. It often doesn't take much to plant a seed of negativity in our minds, and we know that seeds can always grow into something more. So this is just some inspiration for anyone that is feeling like they've lost their way recently. You are never lost, you may just have to battle whatever it is in your life that you're at war with. Time to stand up and fight back!

Well I believe that I have pretty much covered everything that I wanted for this topic, so it is time for me to depart for this go round. This is one that could be elaborated on more, and I'll leave the door open for that in the future. But for now, I'll leave it at this. This has once again been another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I am Brad H., and I'd like to once again thank those of you that stopped by. If anyone has any comments or feedback to give, feel free to do so in the comment section. If you're on Twitter, you can also hit me up at the handle @BradrickH. I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far, and I hope that you all have an even greater week ahead. Till the next time that we meet, I wish you all the best. See you all in the next installment! Peace!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why You Shouldn't Allow Others To Gauge Your Effort.

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Opinions; you have them, I have them, we all have them. People are always going to have opinions in this life. Having an encounter without someone voicing their opinion about something is totally unrealistic. Opinions are pretty much limitless when it comes to when, who, and where to have them. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and nothing or no one in this life is safe against having them formed against you. Having opinions formed against us can be something that can work in our favor. They can also work against us depending on what we're being judged upon. Of course people will have a positive reaction whenever someone forms a positive opinion of them. Positive and helpful opinions of us are the qualities that we all enjoy hearing from time to time. On the opposite side of the coin, negative opinions also play a factor in what other people may think of us as well. No matter what kind of person that you may be in this life, there are always going to be certain individuals are going to have negative perceptions of you. You can't please or make everyone happy, so it is highly unrealistic to believe that others will always have a good word for you. There are also some instances where the opinions of others will matter to you in an aspect of life that matters to you. This can be anything from a relationship, to a career, or a passion. These are those moments when we're being critiqued by people or a person that is in a position to judge us. One of the things that we will often be judged on during these moments is the amount of effort that we put towards something. The amount of effort that an individual puts forth can be another example of how the opinions of others can have either a positive or negative effect on us. In regards to effort, the opinions of others may matter when it comes to what they think of you, but your effort is something that only you can truly gauge.

Hey, what's going on good people? This is Brad H. back once again to bring you all another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am back in the mix once again to bring a topic that will hopefully serve as inspiration to us all. Before I get into this week's topic, I wanted to address why my opinion on birthdays have changed over the years. Today is March 2nd, and my birthday will be in 9 more days on March 11th. I would say that since I turning 21 nearly seventeen years ago, I somewhat stopped getting excited about birthdays. I always enjoyed them when I was younger, but my opinion on them changed as I got older. Most people dread getting older because getting older often means that you have more years behind you than ahead in most cases. In the past few years I have changed my stance on birthdays once again. They align more now with how I viewed them when I was younger. Birthdays are special because turning another year older these days is truly something to be appreciative of. I think that most of us can admit that people are dying more younger these days than in past years. There was a time where you didn't really see people in their 30's and 40's with a lot of health issues, etc. Times have changed though, and people are checking out younger and younger. So with all of that being said, I appreciate and look forward to my birthday more now than I have in past years. Instead of seeing getting older as a bad thing, I see it as something that should be thought of very highly. Living a long life is something that many people are denied, so I feel that we all should celebrate the idea of making through another year. Another thing making my birthday even more exciting this year is that I'm going to the Houston Rockets and Charlotte Hornets game. I'm definitely looking forward to that. That pretty much sums up why my views on birthdays have changed. I hope that everyone that may have an upcoming birthday has a great one. Welcome to March baby! Alright y'all, now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and talk more about effort, and why we shouldn't allow others to gauge it.

Now when it comes to talking about a topic such as "effort", there are various ways to look at it. The reason for this is due to there being so many ways for effort to be interpreted. For example, the effort that is required to run in a marathon isn't the same as the effort that would be required to write a paper for a college course. However, though a marathon and writing may be two totally different activities in regards to the effort that may be required for them, what they have in common is they require you to make an attempt at something. You cannot run a marathon if you don't make an attempt to run, and you can't write a paper if you don't attempt to pick up a pen. The degrees of effort may vary, but they all require us to at least make an attempt. The act of making an attempt pretty much goes without saying when it comes to effort. However, the degrees of how effort is judged what I want to mainly focus on in this topic. We've all at some point or another have maybe heard someone either tell us or say to someone else that we're not trying hard enough. Maybe it was your parents, a teacher or a coach that said those words to you, but I'm pretty sure that anyone that is reading this has heard those words being spoken at some point in your life. Now the question that I want to bring forth is this. How exactly can another person truly gauge another person's effort if they're not able to see through the same lens as one another? In other words, if we're all different in how we see and experience things in this world, how can someone else truly gauge your effort? Now of course I'm not talking about the more obvious ways to see that a person may not be trying. Going back to the writing example that I brought up, of course a person that just scribbles on some paper and turns it in didn't really try. But what if someone writes the paper and it just isn't good because they're not good at writing? If the paper is bad because they're not that good of a writer, can their effort truly be questioned by another person?

As people, we are all both good and bad at doing various things. A person that is very savvy at writing could probably write a paper without having to put forth an insane amount of effort. Someone that may not be as good at writing would likely have to work harder and put more effort towards it to become successful at it. Going back to the marathon example I brought up, a person that has the genetics for running will likely be able to complete a marathon easier than someone that may not. That being said, just because a person may not necessarily be as good at something as others doesn't always reflect the level of effort that they put into whatever it is. You can have a person that wants to run a mile in under 6 minutes, but it just may not be genetically possible for them to do so despite their efforts. The honest truth is that there are going to be some things that people just aren't going to be as good at doing despite how hard they may try. However, that doesn't mean that the person making the attempt isn't putting forth the proper level of effort. This is why I feel that we shouldn't allow other people to gauge our effort when it comes to things. As I stated earlier, there are always exceptions when it comes to effort and people trying. Some people make it obvious that they're not putting forth effort when it comes to trying certain things. However, I think it is wrong to question someone that is clearly trying effort. From my perspective on this topic, effort and success don't always go hand in hand. Making an attempt towards something doesn't always guarantee that you will be successful at it. However, and this is the main point that I want to pound away at this week, as long as you feel within yourself that you've tried your best at whatever it is you may be attempting, that is all that should matter. Another person and their opinions when it comes to this are totally null and void from my perspective.

Expanding more on this topic, I have frequently brought up in the past that the truth is that no one else can live your life for you. We all have different ways of living, so there is going to be varying opinions when it comes to questioning another person's effort. Why you shouldn't allow others to gauge your effort I ask? Simply stated, your opinion of yourself matters way more than what someone else may think. Rather than focusing on what other people think of your effort when it comes to anything, I believe that it is more important to focus on doing your very best at whatever it may be. I believe that when we try our best and give our maximum effort within ourselves, it will show through towards other people. Even then, it is still more important that you feel within yourself that you tried your very best, and if you feel within that you have, then that is all that matters. No one else will know or understand you more than you know and understand yourself. Therefore, other people aren't entirely qualified to gauge your effort. One of the reasons why I bring all of this up is due to the fact that some of us as people allow the opinions of others to define us. In some instances, we find ourselves questioning ourselves solely based on what someone else thinks. You may feel that you are putting forth the full effort, yet someone else may not see it and find yourself questioning yourself. If you know within that you aren't really putting forth the effort, then yea you should take their criticism for what it is. But in the case where you know you've done your best in whatever it is that you're trying, don't let other people question and gauge your effort. I'm going to close out this topic by saying something that I've been saying for many years now, and it is something that I frequently tell others. Your best is good enough.

I have pretty much mentioned everything that I wanted to bring up, so it is time for me to go ahead and sign off for now. This has been another topic of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' brought to you by me, Brad H. A big thank you as always to everyone that stopped by for another week. I'm truly grateful to everyone that has done so. If you have any comments or feedback, please feel free to do so in the comments. You can also find me on Twitter at the handle @BradrickH. I hope that this topic was able to help someone out, and hopefully there was some valuable information that could be taken from it. I also hope that all of you enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I hope that everyone has a great week ahead. I'll be a year older the next time you all hear from me. What an exciting time to be alive! Till next go round, stay strong and be positive. I'll see you all in the next one! Peace!

©2019 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.