Why It Is Of Importance To Always Be At Your Strongest.

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I believe that we all can admit that it is a little known fact that we as human-beings often partake in self deprecating actions on occasion. We would be lying to ourselves if we said otherwise. Now when we think of actions that could be seem as being self deprecating, what actions and activities does this include? There are a variety of actions that could be seen in this manner from my own perspective. A good portion of what could be seen as self deprecation all comes down to the individual and their own personal vices. Now another thing that we can also admit is that there are various reasons as to why we find ourselves engaging in habits that are self deprecating. We will get into that later on in the topic. Furthermore, not only does self deprecation come down to the individual and what we're partaking in, but each activity that could be viewed as self deprecating has a different effect on different people. Basically engaging in self deprecating behaviors is bad period, but there are behaviors that are worse than others. This is something else that we will be touching on throughout this topic. Though there are many variances that can have an effect when it comes to self deprecating behaviors, the one thing that nearly all of them have is common is that they weaken us. During these trying times that we're facing right now, it is crucial for us to be operating on a higher frequency than normal. This is one of the reasons why it is of importance for us to always attempt to be at our strongest.

Hello once again my good people! This is your boy Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I am here for another week to hopefully provide some inspiration that can hopefully be beneficial towards our lives. I hope that all has been well and good for you all lately, and I want to thank those of you that are reading this. So for my soapbox this week, I'm going to give my opinion on the whole mask vs. no mask debate that is going on amidst the Covid-19 pandemic that we're still in. As most of you have likely seen on the news the last week or two, the cases are beginning to ramp up in certain states. The state of Texas, which is where I'm from is seeing a major uptick along with California, Arizona and Florida. Now there has been a lot of talk about whether wearing masks when people go out works or not. I'm not here to tell anyone what to do, but with these cases rising and clearly getting out of hand, I am an advocate of mask wearing. I see so many people online and on the news that complain about the masks. I just think to myself that it's just a mask. I know it is an inconvenience, but unless you work somewhere where you have to wear it all day long, it's really not that big portion of your life. If it can help slow down this spread and not overload the healthcare system, I'm all for it. Again, I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. I just hope everyone takes this serious and look out for one another. If that means wearing a mask when you go to places, then that's what it is. Now that I've given my spill on that, lets get into this week's theme of the importance of always being at your strongest.

Now when I personally think of what it means for an individual to be at their strongest, I think of someone that is operating at their peak performance. This means different things for different people, which ultimately means that it is up to us an individuals to define what it means for us to be at our strongest. Now I mentioned in the opening how we often engage in habits that could be seen as being self deprecating. Before I get to the point that I am trying to make with this topic, I think it is important for us to first define what it means to be self deprecating towards oneself. The definition of self deprecating is to belittle or undervalue oneself. This basically mean partaking in things that are beneath you. Now as with the theme of operating at your strongest, determining whether something is beneath you as an individual is something that it up to the individual. There may be certain things that I personally feel are beneath me, but that doesn't mean that another person can feel that way about those things when it comes to their own life. Again, it is totally up to you as individual to determine this. Now I cannot speak for anyone else, but I think that it's pretty standard to think that doing things that are beneath you will not equal to a person being at their strongest. I believe it is nearly impossible to be strong when you're doing thinks that weaken you in any way, shape or form.

So when it comes to the idea of a person being at their strongest, what exactly does this entail? There are a variety of ways that this could be defined, and I want to point out again that it is totally subjective. However, for me personally when I think of being at my strongest, I think of the word preparation. Now I do realize that it isn't feasible to believe that a person can always be prepared for everything, but we also know and understand that there are ways to prepare yourself to the best of your ability. We do this by engaging in good habits that help us to improve. On the other side of the spectrum, we can also do things that can weaken us. These are the bad habits that can often lead to a lack of preparation. For example, imagine a student that has a big test coming up at the end of the semester. If this student makes a commitment of studying an hour a day for the two weeks leading up to the test, you'd think they would be more likely to do well right? Now if the same student chooses to play video games or hang out with their friends instead of studying, and they wait till a couple of days before to cram for the test, the odds of them not doing as well will likely increase. Now I know in this example that the preparation was for something that was upcoming, but the fact remains that whether something happens on the spur of the moment or upcoming, good habits will increase your chances of being prepared for what is to come.

So all of this ultimately brings us to the importance of always being at your strongest. From my own personal perspective, a person that is at their strongest are much more prepared for the unpredictability of life. As I have brought up already on this topic, there is never a way to truly be prepared for something that you're not expecting. I think most of us that live in the states can relate to this because most of us was not expecting this pandemic to hit us in the way that it has. Just think of the people that already prepare on a daily basis for any sort of crisis. These are the people that are more likely to be able to handle something that happens unexpectedly. On the other hand if you're stuck in a weaker state of mind, the chances of you not being able to endure unexpected circumstances is more likely. I personally believe that the best way to be at your strongest is to practice good habits that bring value to your life. Of course none of us can always be at our strongest, but we can always do our best to be there more often than not. We should all be doing doing our due diligence to make ourselves both physically and mentally strong as we can be. We cannot do this if we're stuck in a cycle of self deprecation by having bad habits that constantly weaken us. From my perspective, this is why I feel that it is of importance for us to be at our strongest as much as possible.

That pretty much sums up this week's topic folks, so it is time for me to go ahead and sign off. Thank you once again to those of you that stopped by for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope that I was able to bring this topic in a way that everyone can relate to. I also hope that you all found some type of value in this topic. If you have any comments or feedback to give, please feel free to do so. You can also connect with me on Twitter at the handle, @BradrickH. Well I hope you all enjoy this holiday weekend. I'll see you all on the next topic. Till next time, please stay safe and be smart when it comes to this pandemic. Take care everyone, and peace out!

©2020 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

How Bad Habits During Troubling Times Can Make Our Lives Even Harder.

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If you've been alive long enough, I think we can all agree that life can be hard to deal with at times. This is something that we are all aware of, and we also know by now that there isn't much that can be done to stop those hard times that life can bring. There are many different events that can happen in life that could be classified as troubling. The death of a family member or close friend is an example of one of those events. Finding out that you or someone that you care for has been diagnosed with a health condition can be troubling as well. Again, there are so many different things that could be troubling, and what could be troubling for one person may not apply to someone else. Like I always mention on here, much of this all comes down to perspective. However, I think it is safe to say that we all look for ways to ease those troubling life moments when they occur. Because we naturally want to feel comfortable and at peace within our lives, we all want to make troubling moments disappear as soon as possible. In the last topic that I covered via this blog, I talked at length about how positive daily habits are the key to handling negativity. While I am a firm believer in this being the most constructive way to deal with negative forces, I also know that not everyone practice daily positive habits. Furthermore, even for those of us that do make positive habits a daily ritual in our lives, bad habits are also a critical aspect of our lives as well. As I touched on in the last topic, we would all be lying to ourselves and others if any of us said that we don't have any bad habits. Having habits that could be considered bad are just a part of life that we have to constantly work towards changing for the better. Now with all of that being said, how often do many of us on occasion turn to bad habits whenever troubles come into our lives? Those bad habits are often the habits that make us feel good in the moment, but do they really make our lives better after the storms pass? I personally don't believe they do, and I'll go so far as to say that practicing bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even more harder.

Hello once again to all you good people out here in the land of the internet! This is Brad H. back at it once again, and I'd like to welcome everyone that showed up to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As with the usual standard that I've been using on here, we're back once again to address topics that will hopefully serve as some inspiration for all of us. My hope is that the topic that I've chosen for this installment will give us some added motivation to keep on moving forward in our daily lives. Before getting on my soapbox for a bit, I'd like to thank everyone that is joining me on here. Whether this is your first time visiting here, or you've been reading me for sometime, I sincerely appreciate everyone that spends a few minutes of their day reading these topics. I know I give thanks quite a bit on here, but I feel that it is something that cannot be said enough. In the last installment I talked about the importance of heeding warnings from your local officials if you stay in areas where hurricanes could potentially make landfall. I made those moments in response to Hurricane Florence that hit the Carolinas a few weeks ago. Well earlier this week the gulf coast was hit by Hurricane Michael. Michael made land around the Florida panhandle as a category 4 storm. The latest death toll from this storm is 17. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that have been affected by this terrible storm. Instead of spending my soapbox talking in depth about the storm, I want to talk about something I've been thinking about and that is control. I think that we as people always want to feel like we're in control of everything. People that are bosses and ceos want to feel in control of their employees. Parents want to feel in control of their kids. There are so many things that we want to feel in control over. However, how much control do we really have in this world? Can any of us stop a hurricane or volcano? Can we prevent tornadoes from touching down? We as humans want to feel in control, but when you think of the grand scheme of things, we don't have as much control as we think we do. This is why I think it is importance for us to always stay humble in this life. Not a single one of us are immune to anything in this life, so we have to temper our expectations when it comes to having control. Just something to think about ya know? Alright, we're going to go ahead and transition into this week's topic of how bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even harder.

Now that I've brought up a topic besides the topic that we're going to be talking about in this edition, it's time to go ahead and give the usual disclaimer that is given before going in depth on the main topic. We all come from different backgrounds, which also means that we all have different outlooks on life and the way we see the world. The primary objective with this topic, as well as the rest is to hopefully give some inspiration that will help us to keep on pressing forward in this life. Through the words that I'm aiming to express here, I'm also hoping that this will inspire others to see things in a way that they may not have before. I'm not trying to force my beliefs on anyone else, but if this helps become a spark that will gets the critical thinking juices going for others, then I consider that to be a good thing. I believe the opportunities to learn from one another is an endless endeavor, and I think it is something that we would exploit as often as we can. So how did I come to discussing how bad habits during troubling times can make our lives even harder? Well I briefly touched earlier on how last week's topic dealt with positive habits being an aid during difficult times. We all know that when there is good happening life, there is also bad going on as well. Life is a balance of the two, so if I'm going to to talk about the good that comes with positive habits, I also have to be willing to get the bad out there as well. Now in making an attempt to convey all of this, I'm not saying that the bad should be our primary focus. That absolutely is not the case. However, I also recognize that life doesn't always bring only good moments. Yes there are many good moments that will come our way in this life, but there will always be sprinklings of bad moments to go along as well. For this week's topic, I'm going to attempt to show why it is important to be able to rely on your good habits whenever those bad times come along. I don't want this to be seen as a fear tactic, but rather something that we can hopefully be able to take something positive away from.

Ever heard the saying "that when it rains it pours?" I'm sure that most, if not all of you have heard this being mentioned before. This is one of those popular phrases that many people use to describe when things in life maybe aren't going so well, it can often last for sometime without there being much good on the horizon. Think of it like receiving some bad news one day, and then also receiving some more bad news only a day or a few days later. I think that most of us have had times in our lives that describe this, but we also know that while we will face times of adversity in our lives, those times won't always last. Brighter days are always on the horizon if we keep a positive outlook and an open mind. That said, many of us often self sabotage ourselves when it comes to facing troubling moments in our lives. Now in saying that, I hope that I'm not giving the impression that this is something we intentionally do to ourselves. In some aspects and circumstances that may be the case, however, I don't believe that this is something that we as people do just to intentionally make things even harder. Now going back to sabotaging ourselves that I mentioned, how exactly do we do this you may wonder? Well from my perspective, and believe me I feel that this applies to myself at times, we often resort to bad habits when we're facing challenging in our lives. This is something that I have mentioned so many times on here, but I think we'd be lying to ourselves if we said that this is something none of us ever do. Now the reason why I say we resort to bad habits comes from the fact that we often turn to things that make us feel good in the moment. We as people don't like feeling uncomfortable and uneasy, so it is in our nature to gravitate towards the things that make us forget about our issues. I don't feel this is something that we should be judged for doing. As I stated before, I believe this is something that is just a part of our human nature. But just because something is part of our nature as humans doesn't mean that it is always the right option. The last topic that I covered goes more into that.

Now that I've talked about how we often self sabotage ourselves during difficult moments in our lives, I want to give some examples of how we do this. I want you to think of some of the things that you all engage in when you are feeling stressed out in your life. Now if you're someone that always faces your problems head on without the aid of anything negative, none of this will apply to you, and I personally commend you for being able to do that. However, for those of us that maybe don't always take the forthright approach towards tackling our problems, some of the ways we choose to aid in our stressful moments may be good for us initially (so we think), but they often can exacerbate our problems. Lets just say that whenever you're feeling stressed out that you choose to binge eat a certain type of food that tastes good, but has a lot of sugar in it. Of course eating it is going to taste good and help you forget about those troubling times you're dealing with, but also eating too much of it can have ill effects on your health also. This is an example of how a bad habit can potentially make our lives even more harder. You are already dealing with something hard, but you are also potentially putting yourself at risk for having even more issues down the road. Now I know that food is just one example, but this can apply to nearly anything. There is another statement that goes "too much of anything is bad for you." Something as simple as watching television or playing video games can turn into something toxic if you're not able to limit how much of it that you intake into your life. This is the exact reason why we're always told to try and find more constructive ways to handle our problems. Allowing the potential for problems to stack on top of problems can create a spiral effect of issues that you may never find a solution to. Again, I don't believe this is something most of us do intentionally, but it is something that we can only change if we're aware of it.

So how do we keep bad habits from making our lives even worse? Well I could say what I've been saying about replacing bad habits with better ones. At this point that kinda goes without saying. However, I want to touch again on what I said earlier about not always be aware of how the things we do affect us during stress moments in our lives. We all know by now that in order to remedy a problem, we must first able to identify the problem. For this week's topic, instead of identifying what the problems are, we want to be more aware of the things we're engaging in and how they affect us. From my perspective, often times the bad habits that we engage in have become so normalized to us that we don't even see them as bad habits. When we pick up those cakes, pies, etc to eat when we're feeling stressed, we're often not aware of how they can affect us in the long term due to the fact that doing this has become normal to us. This is exactly why it is a habit. Sure the goal that we should focus on is replacing those bad habits with better ones like I talked at length about in the last installment. However, making ourselves aware of the effects of what we do when we're stressed can help greatly in keeping bad habits from making our lives even more harder. This all comes down to rewiring ourselves to create better habits, and the only way to do this is to break those negative patterns we engage in. So my challenge for everyone that has read this and find themselves struggling with partaking in bad habits when troubling times come around, just pause and take a second to gauge how you are feeling. Really think and ponder on what you're facing. Often times the things we're dealing with may be troubling, but they often aren't as bad as we make them out to be. I also want you to think about why you are choosing to do something when you feel stressed. Think about why you are choosing to binge eat, drink, etc. Finally, try and focus on how this is going to affect you in the long run. Always remember that every action has a consequence, and some of those consequences have more costly effects than others. I understand that it isn't easy breaking bad habits. Believe me I know this first hand. But we also shouldn't go along being comfortable with the potential of making something that is already bad even more worse.

Well I think I have said all I wanted to say for this go round, so I'm going to go ahead and close this installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective' out. I hope that I was able to express myself in a manner that made some sense. I also hope that someone out there was able to find some kind of inspiration from this. If you have any comments or anything else to contribute to this, please feel free to do so in the comments. I can also be found on Twitter @BradrickH. Well I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I hope you all have an even more enjoyable weekend. Be sure to keep everyone that was affected by Hurricane Michael in your thoughts. From what I've seen on the news in regards to that storm, some of the areas that were affected where it made landfall are going to be uninhabitable for weeks, maybe months. The power that these storms can pack is truly devastating. Well I hope you all have a great and positive week ahead. Till next time, I'll see you all in the next one. Peace!

©2018 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

The Importance Of Practicing Good Habits (Relying On Good Habits During Struggles).

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A common theme of discussion here on this blog site deals with the various struggles that we all are either facing now, or will be facing in the future. Some may see this as a bad or negative thing, however, the main reason that I talk about the struggles we face so much is because I not only know that many of us are dealing with them, but I want to help in finding ways to deal with them. With that said, there are many of us that implore poor habits on a regular basis. I'm not going to get into what is classified as a bad habit or habits. It really varies from person to person, and what I may consider to be a bad habit may not be looked at similarly by someone else. The point however is that we all have some kind of habit or habits that don't do much to really help or elevate our lives. Something else that I've come to notice about myself, and this may be something that some of you can relate to as well. What I've seen is that bad habits often become amplified whenever we're facing situations and struggles. It seems that whenever those rough times and situations occurs in our lives, we turn to our bad habits to help us cope with them. The problem with this is that the bad habits turn into a crutch, which makes an already difficult situation(s) worse. Before we know it, we're in a downward spiral of negativity where our bad habits are controlling us. Since we know that our bad habits make our situations even more harder, we have to learn how to flip it around and develop good habits to rely on during hard times.

Hey, hey once again! What is going on people? It is me Brad H. back once again, and I'd like to welcome everyone to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope everyone has been doing pretty good since the last topic that was created on here. If that hasn't been the case for some of you as of late, keep on trying to hold your head up. I already know how difficult it can be to do this when it feels like one bad thing is happening after the next. I know because as I mentioned in a previous post maybe a couple of months back, I've been having my share of struggles throughout this year. If it hasn't been something going on with me, it has been with family members and people that I care for. We already know that regardless of how well things may be going in our individual lives, we can never feel truly fulfilled inside if the people we love are having problems. At least that is the case for me. I won't go into details or anything like that, but some of the things that have happened so far this year sometimes feel as if they're never going to end. I just want to say to anyone out there that have been facing struggles as of late to keep on keeping on. I know it is easier said than done, but we have to keep on living and pushing forward. Nothing will never change if we just choose to sit around and feel sorry for ourselves. Nothing positive is going to happen if we keep on asking why our lives have to be so hard, etc. Again, I know how hard it is due to me having to deal with some of the issues in my life. All we can really do is weather these storms the best way that we can. That's pretty much all I have to say for this week that doesn't deal with the topic at hand. Now that I think about it, it is actually kinda interesting that I brought all of that up considering what this weeks' topic is about. So without further ado, lets go ahead and talk about the importance of practicing good habits.

As with the usual disclaimer that I give on every topic that I discuss, I want to state that everyone has their own personal views on topics, as well as different ways of thinking and expressing opinions. My objective here is not to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to hopefully inspire and encourage others to see the topic at hand in a manner that they may not have before. If anyone feels otherwise or disagrees with my views, that is perfectly fine and okay. Any feedback and opinions are welcome here, and I encourage anyone that reads this to give their thoughts. As for how this topic came to be, it really comes down to what I was speaking on earlier in regards to some of the struggles that I've been facing in 2017. It is indeed a fact that whenever things may not be going all the best for us, we often tend to harp on all the negative that is happening, rather than focusing on the good things that may be happening. The good may be far and few in between, but regardless of how things are going, there is likely always a little bit of good that we can point to in our lives. The culmination of all these things lead me to wanting to write about this topic. I hope that others out there that come across this can relate to what I'm saying. We're not trying to solve our problems with this weeks' topic, but we are hoping that we can see some inspiration and light that can help us to cope with those struggles.

Now when it comes to habits, we all have them in some way right? It all varies from person to person, but I think from a general perspective that we all normally have a mix of both good and bad habits. For some people the good outweighs the bad, and it's vice versa for others. Now with that said, I don't think that most of us can deny that most of us allow our bad habits to overtake us whenever we're dealing with stress in our lives. I can definitely attest that this applies to me personally, and it is something that I'm working towards becoming better at managing. So why do we allow our bad habits to get the best of us when times are tough? From my perspective, I, like many others see our habits as an escape from what we're dealing with. Instead of facing the problem or problems, we'd rather just ignore them and hope they vanish away. Think about a person that loves playing video games. Lets say that playing video games is one of this persons hobbies right? Nothing wrong with that at all. However, lets say this person is facing a difficult time in their life, and instead of facing their issues, they decide to rely on playing videos all day to cope with their problems. As I stated, there is nothing wrong with playing video games, but you see how quick something that we may do as a recreational activity can become a bad habit? We all hear the saying that moderation is the key, but most of us don't even begin to think about doing anything in moderation when we're stressed out. All we know is that we want it to go away.

So what are some good habits that we can have? Again, it varies from person to person, but when I think of good habits, I think of things and activities that have the potential to enhance our lives. For example, working out whenever you feel stressed is an example of practicing a good habit. If you're spiritual or religious, meditation and prayer is an example of a good habit. These are just a few examples, but it all depends on what works for you. Regardless of whatever you define as being a good habit however is what you must learn to lean on whenever you are facing struggles. Why is it importance to practice good habits during times of stress? First off, I want to say that it is good to practice good habits all the time regardless of what is happening in our lives. However, I see the reasoning for doing it even more so whenever we're dealing with issues comes from the fact that goodness helps give us hope to get through our struggles. From my perspective, I think that many of us feel alone and hopeless most of the times when we're dealing with things. We may find ourselves feeling as if no one truly understands where we're coming from, or even worse feeling as if no one cares. I believe that when you practice habits that are good for you, it gives you the confidence to be able to face whatever you're dealing with. Think of someone that runs marathons; whenever that person is facing struggles, they can always say to themselves that if they're able to conquer something as hard as doing a marathon, then they can surely get through times of struggle. Again, I believe that practicing good habits gives us confidence, which is necessary to lean on when you're facing obstacles.

I want to stress that just because I'm saying that good habits are important to lean on in times of crisis, I also realize that there are some things in life that we can never truly prepare for. I don't want to convey a message that practicing good habits is the remedy for everything that may be wrong in our lives. What I am saying however is that we have to learn to not allow those bad habits in our lives to be a constant crutch for dealing with our problems. I want to show that there is always another way to be able to deal with our issues. We've all heard the horror stories of celebrities and people in general that lost their lives to things such as drugs, self harm, etc. When the dust settled, we often found out that these people were facing depression and things of that nature. So yes, practicing good habits is very important, and they can honestly probably be the difference between having a balance life, or a chaotic life. The motivational quote that I'm going to leave you all with for this week comes from motivational speaker Brian Tracy. I think this quote goes along with this week's topic pretty well. The quote goes; "Good habits are hard to develop but easy to live with; bad habits are easy to develop but hard to live with. The habits you have and the habits that have you will determine almost everything achieve or fail to achieve."

Well we've come to the end once again folks. This week's post came out a little later due to a few circumstances, but as we always hear people say, better late than never. I want to give a gigantic thanks to everyone that stopped by for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Like always, I hope there was some meaning and understanding that could be gained from this and the rest of the topics that are created here. If that happens to not apply to you, I still appreciate you for coming through. I hope everyone has a good weekend, and hopefully an even better week ahead. Also, remember that whatever you're dealing with in your life is temporary. Sometimes we just have to learn to ride the waves until they calm. Keep on fighting my friends, and stay strong. Alright, I'm gone everyone, so I'll see you all in the next one. Till then, I wish you all peace and happiness. See you all soon!

©2017 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Avoiding People And Things That Can Trigger Bad Habits.

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To be a human-being is to have habits. We may not want to always acknowledge it, but every single one of us have habits on some level or another. Whatever those habits may be will vary from one individual to the next, however, we all possess both good and bad habits that are a part of our makeup as individuals. While our good habits are likely the ones that we'd like to be at the forefront of who we are as people, the bad habits are normally the ones that we're judged upon by most. Whether you believe this to be fact or not is up to you, but the truth of the situation is that many of our bad habits can hinder us from becoming a better version of ourselves. Another truth of the matter is that we all have certain things and people that can trigger some of the bad habits that we engage in. No one is perfect, and getting rid of any habit that is considered to be bad can be a daunting task. However, in order to make some headway into breaking some of our bad habits, we must first learn to identify and avoid the people and things that can trigger those bad habits.

YO! How are you all doing out there this time around? It is me the everyday average guy Brad H. coming at you all once again, and I'd like to welcome you all to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope that you all have been doing well since the last time I wrote, and I also hope that this reaches everyone in good health and spirits. We're nearing the closing of the month of April, and I don't know if it's been like this where you guys are, but we've definitely been getting our share of April showers this month. Also, the NBA playoffs are underway, and being the basketball fan that I am, that's always marks an exciting time of the year for me. My San Antonio Spurs have advanced to the next round of the playoffs, and will be taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder this coming Saturday. I hope they're able to get it done and advance to the Western Conference Finals. We'll see what happens in the coming days and weeks with the other teams also. I hope everyone that likes basketball is enjoying the playoffs so far, and I hope everyone has had a great month of April. Alright, I think I've done enough rambling, so lets go ahead and get into this week's topic dealing with bad habits and the triggers that can cause them.

Like I always mention in my posts, I want to state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. The goal here isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather to give the readers something that they can maybe think about and evaluate even further. My sole mission here is to use this platform as a way to express my ideas 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 fine. So this week we'll be talking about the things and people that can set off and trigger us into bad habits. I want to start off by saying that my ears and eyes are closest to me, so any advice that I give out in this post is advice that I will be applying to my own life as well. I also want to state that I realize that not everyone will have the same good or bad habits. Again, the goal isn't to focus on the habits themselves, but rather trying to identify the things that can set off those habits. I'm a firm believer that a problem must first be addressed in order to be solved, so this is one of those instances where we as individuals have to first recognize what bad habits we're engaging in.

Many of us walk through our everyday lives not realizing the things that trigger us to do certain things. Whether they're good or bad, many of the habits we engage in often become like a second nature to us. I believe that it's one of those deals where a person does something continuously again and again for so long, that they slowly begin to believe it is normal. Think of it like a lie that a person continues to believe over and over again until their mind begins to believe it's the truth. Now I realize that may sound a bit extreme in this instance, but the point I'm trying to make here is that I don't feel that our bad habits are always second nature. From my perspective, many of our bad habits are formed through the accumulation of the negative people that we encounter, as well as the negative behaviors we engage in time and time again. In other words, there isn't any habit that we engage in that can't be change or fixed without some effort. Unfortunately for many of us, we've been indulging in our bad habits so long that we often overlook the things that can trigger them. For this reason alone, I'm trying to encourage myself and others to become more aware of the people we interact with, as well as the often subtle things that can set us off.

Now that I've gotten that our habits aren't second nature like many of us believe they are out of the way, we have to address the things that trigger those bad habits. Some of you may ask; "How exactly does a person avoid something that can trigger us into bad habits?" Well, the honest truth is that many of them are unavoidable in some cases. Think about this as an example. Lets say that a person is trying to cut a certain type of food out of their diet to become healthier. You can avoid that particular food all you want, but you'll often at times see others eating this particular food. If not that, you'll likely see it when you're in the store, or you may end up seeing it advertised on television. Unlike a certain group of people or a specific person that can trigger you into bad habits, there are some things that just can't be avoided, because you're always going to be exposed to it in some way, shape or form. Some of you may now be confused since I'm talking about avoiding triggers, but I'm also saying that they're unavoidable in some cases. I apologize if I've confused some of you, but hopefully what I'm saying will make sense soon.

So how are you supposed to avoid something that is always in front of you in some form or another? Now if you're a frequent reader here, you're already aware that I often talk about the power of the mind, and that's exactly what we have to use in order fight off any urges that can trigger us into bad habits. We have to build up and strengthen our minds in order to escape the hold that our bad habits have on us. From my perspective, an individual with a strong mind knows how to resist things that may be bad for them. A person with a strong mind knows how to look their problems and issues right in the face and say "I'm not running from you." Now if there is a certain person or people that can trigger you into bad habits, then do whatever you have to do to physically avoid those people. For everything else out there, you have to learn how to build your mind up to be able to resist those triggers. Of course it's not something that happens overnight, nor will it be easy. Trust and believe that we'll all have failures from time to time. However, with enough practice, discipline and focus, I believe we can make great strides in conquering those bad habits that control us. Keep in mind that the same way habits are built up, they can also be erased as well. Recognize and identify what your personal triggers are, and don't be afraid to look your problems in the face head on. From my perspective, that is the only way we'll be able to truly avoid the things that can trigger bad habits.

Well folks, I hope I was able to get my point across here, so I'm going to go ahead end this one. Much thanks for everyone that stopped by for another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As always, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. In the case that doesn't apply to you, I still appreciate those of you that took out the time to hear me out. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the month of April, and I'll see you all again in the next post in the month of May. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Till next time friends!

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