Thinking Out Situations Before Jumping Into Them (The Look Deep Before You Leap Mentality).

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There's a fairly popular saying that goes "Look deep before you leap." I can't remember exactly how old I was when I first heard that remark, but it was one that struck me, and has stuck with me for a good portion of my life. The making of mistakes is something that most of us will experience on a regular basis. One of the unfortunate aspects of our society is that it has conditioned us that the few are perfect and never make mistakes, while the many are condemned most for our shortcomings. Regardless of what your position may be when it comes to making mistakes, no person can deny that mistakes are a part of life that EVERYONE will experience. While mistakes will always happen and can vary in their degree of severity when it comes to our lives, the ones that we make from lack of proper planning normally have the biggest consequences. There will also constantly be times in our lives where we may find ourselves in certain situations that we're not entirely sure about. I believe this aspect of life applies to every human-being on some level or another. It is a known fact that we all have general doubts and concerns about certain situations that we find ourselves in, but the truth of the matter is that many of us jump into situations that we don't entirely think through. I like to refer to this as the look deep before you leap mentality; a mentality that I feel we must work on implementing more often.

What's going on people? It's your boy young Brad H. coming back at you once again, and welcome to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope everyone has been maintaining since the last time I wrote and if this happens to be your first time stopping by here, let me be the first to say thanks and welcome. We've found ourselves nearly at the end of May, which means that many high school students either have or will be graduating this week. One of my cousin's will be graduating and walking that stage this upcoming Friday. I'm very proud of and happy for his accomplishment, and a good portion of the family will be out there in full force to support his moment. Big shout out to all the high school students that are graduating no matter where you are located. I also want to acknowledge and give a shout out to my younger sister for another successful semester of college. She is now only three courses away from obtaining her degree, so I'm very proud of her as well. I just wanna give a big shout out to everyone out there that are achieving their goals regardless of how big or small they may be. Now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of thinking out situations before jumping into them.

Like I always aim to point out in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on any topic will always vary. The goal here isn't to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give anyone that reads something to hopefully think about and evaluate further. My mission here is to use this platform as a way to express some of 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 okay with me. Now for this week's topic, I'm going to be talking about the importance of thinking out situations before jumping into them so quickly. I know for many that this particular topic likely applies to the youth, however, I feel that a person is never too old to learn the lessons of life. Even if you're well versed on certain life lessons, it never hurts to get a refresher course every so often. Another reason why I'm addressing this topic is to hopefully encourage more people to think certain things through instead of just acting. I want to stress that my ears to closet to my eyes and mouth, so anything that I mention here applies to myself as well. Too many people are out here are looking to give advice to others, and many of these people aren't following the advice they're giving. I personally strive to not be one of those people.

Now those who maybe are not familiar with the "Look deep before you leap" saying may think that it only applies to water, etc. If we're being honest here, most people will likely equate this saying to someone going to the edge of something that has a stream of water below, and then examining how shallow or deep the water is before jumping in. From a straight forward perspective, that is exactly what it means. However, it can also be an analogy for many of the mistakes we make that come from not always thinking before we act. See, in some instances, many people do not fully examine certain decisions and situations before jumping into them. Similar to the water comparison, there are times in life where we don't thoroughly examine some of our decisions, and then we find ourselves in a situation where we're possibly drowning. I don't mean drowning from a literal sense, but I mean from a perspective that we often find ourselves in too deep in regards to certain situations that we didn't think through properly. Then again, there are some situations and decisions that can have dire consequences for ourselves, as well as for those that care for us.

So what are the situations and decisions that require in depth consideration before jumping into? Well I personally think it's subjective to how well an individual is able to handle life issues. However, for the sake of this blog entry, one of the biggest examples I can think of jumping into a serious commitment with another person. I'm far from an expert on relationships, but I think we can all agree that a serious relationship with another human being is a serious commitment. Now where does the look deep before you leap mentality come into play? From my perspective, a person must seriously examine anyone and anything that they're considering a long term commitment to. This is important because the wrong people or the wrong situations can ruin your life in ways that can't always be easily fixed. I know it sounds cliche, but many people put too much value only into what they can see with their own two eyes. In order to apply the look deep before you leap mentality, you have to be willing to look beyond what's in front of you. Imagine a person that is only focused on how beautiful someone is, but doesn't pay attention other aspects of this person's character. Just because a person looks good doesn't necessarily mean they are good for you. Like I mentioned earlier, making a serious commitment to the wrong person, place, or thing can have lasting consequences on your life.

I know that I mainly focused on the relationship aspect of this topic as an example, but there are many others out there where improper planning can be devastating to a person's life. Again, the goal here is to encourage more of our society to look deeper into situations before diving head first into them. Like I stated previously, we all make mistakes, but the truth of the matter is that mistakes are no excuse for knowingly making ill planned choices. Furthermore; and this is an even harder truth, there are some situations and decisions that don't always afford us the do-overs of correcting our mistakes. Like the drowning analogy I used earlier, some situations don't always end in a lesson learned. So with all of that said, lets start adopting the look deep before you leap state of mind more often, and this goes for everyone regardless of how young or old you may be. Never ignore any and all situations that you find yourself presented with that find you uneasy or questioning things. Always listen whenever that inner voice tells you when you something isn't right. Mistakes are a part of life and never ending, but I believe that we can at least cut some of our losses if we take out the proper time to evaluate before acting. Lets start looking deep before we leap folks.

Well my friends, I believe I was able to get my point across in this entry. I'm going to go ahead and sign off for now, but big thanks goes to everyone that stopped by again for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. My hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this installment. If that happens to not be the case for you, then your visit here is still extremely appreciated. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week ahead, and I'll see you all in the next one. Till next time my name is Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts.

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Finding Positive Outlets For Channeling Anger and Frustrations.

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There's a saying that we're all familiar with that goes; "Nothing in certain in life except death and taxes." Whether you believe this to be true or not is up to you, but one thing that we cannot deny is how that quote has stood the test of time. For the sake of the argument that I'm going to be making in this week's post, I'm personally going to go a bit further and put the emotion anger in that category of guarantees that come in life. Being human means that we're going to experience a multitude of various emotions, and one of them is anger. While some people have no problem with expressing their anger and frustrations publicly, many of us try to lock this emotion away in an invisible closet that doesn't exist. Whether you're the former or latter in this case isn't what we're going to focus on this week. While constant or even every now and again anger is guaranteed, the way we choose to react to our anger isn't. We can always look for more positive outlets for channeling our anger and frustrations.

What's going on folks? It's me young Brad H. coming back at you again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. How has everyone been doing out there? I hope that everyone has been staying up and maintaining since we last came together on here. If you happen to be a new reader here, let me be the first to say welcome, and thank you for stopping through. Well we're nearing the midpoint of the month of May, and we've definitely been seeing our share of showers and thunderstorms in my area as of late. Hopefully the weather has been accommodating to you all wherever you are. In the previous post that was written, I talked about the then upcoming NBA Playoff series between the Spurs and Thunder. Well my Spurs have fell in the series 4-2. I'm pretty disappointed about it, but I kinda had a feeling that they weren't going to win last night. Congrats goes to the Thunder, and if last night was Tim Duncan's last game, big thanks to him for all the great seasons he has given us. We'll see what happens with the Thunder vs. Warriors series next. Don't care for either team, but it should be a good series. Now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of channeling our anger and frustrations towards more positive things.

As I always look to mention in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on any topic will always vary. My goal here isn't to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give anyone that reads something to maybe think about and evaluate further. My aim 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 with me. Alright, we're going to be talking about looking for more positive outlets to channel our anger this week. Back in the year 2014, I wrote a blog post titled "You Don't Have to Pay These People Any Attention(Controlling Your Anger and Reactions Towards Others)." It can be read here if anyone wants to read it, but that particular post focused on how we react to other people that may cause anger within us. Now for this time around, I want to address the point of looking for ways to turn anger into something more productive. In essence, this post not only deals with anger that is caused by others, but also the anger that can come with life in general.

Now we're all aware by now that anger for the most part doesn't accomplish, nor does a whole lot of good for us. Anger often triggers actions that lead to things like lashing out at others, violent tendencies, and doing or saying things that we often have to apologize for later on. I'm not even going to mention the health related downfalls that anger can cause, but to sum up the main point that I'm trying to make here, uncontrolled anger definitely isn't a good thing. Now a more controlled form of anger on the other hand can be a more positive asset at our disposal, but there's a certain amount of discipline required for most to get to that point. I'm far from an expert on this topic, however from my own personal opinion and perspective, one of the biggest keys to developing a habit of controlled anger is to first find more positive avenues for channeling our anger. Believe it or not, there are activities out there where being angry can actually be somewhat beneficial to our lives.

So what are some of the activities that we can use to channel our anger? Well there are many of them out there, so you'll have to find one that interests you. For the sake of this topic however, I'll give a brief story on an activity I engaged in years ago that brought me positive results whenever I found myself angry. Years ago, back in 2003, I received a workout set as a Christmas gift. During that particular point of of my life, I was severely out of shape, overweight, and constantly battling with anger due to my situation back then. I would often overeat and indulge in bad foods whenever I was frustrated, and on occasion, I would say certain things to people that I cared about that I shouldn't have. Basically, I was handling many of my problems all wrong during that particular period. Then something happened that I believe changed me for the better. I decided that whenever I found myself becoming angry or frustrated, I would go exercise with the workout set that I received. I'd take all my frustrations, along with that negative energy I was experiencing, and channel it all into working out. This lead to pretty intense workout sessions, and as a result, I began to lose weight and tone up. I believe that decision was the catalyst which lead me to seek out other avenues for becoming a more healthier individual.

Now I'm not saying that working out is the only avenue for channeling anger, and there are several outlets that I've discovered on my journey of trying to become a better person that suite me well. However, the point that I'm trying to make here is that none of us have to allow our frustrations and anger to control us. Regardless if you're sitting around being angry at the world, or engaging in bad habits during those periods of anger in your life, the results of it all is often counter productive. Why take your anger out on others when you can take it out at a gym? Why sit around being angry when you can get outside and be active, or at least read self improvement books or paint if you're sitting? Even when there are dark periods of anger in our lives, there are still opportunities for growth if we're willing to acknowledge that a change for the better is necessary. Again no one is perfect, and we're all going to deal with anger and frustration. However, just because the emotion of anger rears its head every so often, we don't have to allow it to control us. So to all my people out there, continue to look for more positive avenues that will inspire you to channel your anger for something better. Remember that even in the darkest of times in life, there is still always light.

Well that's all that I have for you all this time, so I'm going bounce out of here. Again, much thanks and appreciation to everyone that stopped by for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As always, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. It's perfectly fine if that doesn't apply to you, and I'm still appreciative for anyone that hears me out. I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I'll see you all in the next one. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Till next time friends!

©2016 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!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Reaching A Goal Is Only The Beginning (Recommitting to a Goal).

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For many people in our society, the reaching of a goal that we may have been striving for often signals a finale. After all the time and effort that is exerted towards obtaining a particular goal, we often view the achievement as a curtain call; a way for us to take a bow and bask in the glory that comes along with the success. While some goals that may be reached are maybe a one and done type of scenario, there are others that require a consistent level of effort to maintain. Goals of this nature will probably feel like an ongoing process, and in actuality, that is exactly what they are. This truth isn't meant to discourage anyone, nor is it meant to invalidate any goals that you may achieve. However, many of us get to a goal that we've been working at, and then spend too much time tooting our own horn. Many of us fail to realize that the same effort that goes into reaching a goal takes the same effort required to maintain the fruits of it. Sometimes, reaching a goal is only the beginning.

Hey, what's going on ladies and gentlemen? It's me the everyday average guy Brad H. coming at you all once again, and welcome to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope that this reaches whomever that is reading it in good health and spirits, as well as in a sound and stable state of mind. Not much has been going on with me since the last time I touched base. We're officially at the halfway point of the month of April, which means that depending on wherever you're located, we're in the middle of the spring season. I've been enjoying the weather that we've been getting in my area as of late. It's been warm enough to get outside and be active, but cool enough to not feel like it's smoldering heat where you can't enjoy yourself. I'm going to enjoy the spring as much as possible, because I know that summer is right around the corner unfortunately. Yes I indeed said unfortunately, because I don't care for the summer heat much at all anymore. Anyway, regardless of what the weather is like wherever you are, I hope that you all are having a great month of April so far. Now that I've gotten all of that out of the way, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic.

Before going any further with this post, I want to be sure and state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My goal here isn't to focus on what may be right or wrong, but rather to give whomever that is reading this something to maybe think about and reevaluate more in depth. The mission is strictly for me to use this platform as a way to express my ideas and opinions. If anyone happens to feel differently or disagree with my views, that is totally fine. So as I mentioned earlier, this week's topic will deal with recommitting to a goal that has maybe already been met. Some of you may wonder what brought me to write about this topic. Well, for those of you that maybe follow this blog a little more closely than others, you may have noticed that the previous post before this one dealt with goals and failures. I realize that the summer months are likely approaching for many of you, and that normally is the time when a lot of people begin to set certain goals for themselves. The last post I wrote was meant to inspire people that faced setbacks while working towards a goal. This week's topic is meant to inspire those people that have maybe reached a goal, but need to be reminded that sometimes the reaching of a goal is only the beginning.

As I stated earlier, it's normal to feel a sense of accomplishment with reaching a goal that you've been working towards. However, many of us develop a certain sense of complacency after hitting that target goal. Ever heard that saying that goes; "Success is a full time job?" Well, that same sentiment applies when it comes to various goals that are reached. See, in order to maintain certain goals that we have reached, a certain degree of recommitting is required. Otherwise, all the work and progress that you put in towards reaching that goal will likely become undone. Some of you may be aware that I often talk about the power of the mind in my posts. Well, once again, the mind plays a powerful role in being able to recommit to a specific goal. The power of having a strong mind is limitless, and it's in our best interest to work on building our minds to combat the complacency that sometimes develops with reaching a goal. Some of you may be wondering what are the kind of goals that may require a level of recommitting to? Well, one of the biggest is one that a lot of us are aware of and unfortunately, it's also one that many people fall back into old habits with.

I think that we can all agree that one of the biggest goals that many people have is to lose weight and get healthier. Well, there are many times when person may begin to reach some of those health related goals, and then find themselves becoming complacent with what they've achieved. If you're not careful with your lifestyle, you may look around and find yourself falling back into some of the same habits that you had once before, which in turn can lead to all the progress you've made towards the goal you've reached being undone. That's not what we should be striving for. See, certain goals in life shouldn't be just for a season. Sometimes, in order to live a better life style and quality of life, the goals that we reach have to be lifestyle changes. A lifestyle change is a change that shouldn't yo-yo up and down to the point where it creates inconsistency in our lives. A lifestyle change is one that requires us to draw a line in the sand and say to ourselves, "No more!" It doesn't just apply to health, but anything in life that requires time and effort to reach. The same dedication that you put in towards reaching a goal is the same dedication that is required to maintain it.

Now I'm in no way saying that we shouldn't be proud of ourselves when we reach our goals. Always continue to be proud of yourself when reaching a goal, and give yourself the proper credit for a job well done. There is a certain amount of discipline that we must hone in order to reach our goals right? Well, after reaching a specific goal, we should be looking for the next stage of discipline to conquer and work towards. From my perspective, I view goals as being stepping stones into better things. Think of life as if were a staircase, and each goal reached is a step on the staircase. In order for us to keep on advancing and moving forward, we have to look for the next stage of discipline that is required to keep on advancing. This can be a very difficult task at times, and I myself have struggled with this. However, despite the degree of difficulty that may come, it's definitely something that can be obtained with a strong mind. So to all my friends out there, remember that reaching a goal is sometimes only the beginning. Learn to use those achievements as a spearhead towards better things, and don't be afraid to recommit to your goals.

Alright folks, I believe that I got the point that I was trying to make across, so I'm going to bring this post to an end. Big thanks and shout outs go to everyone that stopped by for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As I always like to say before I end, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. Even if that's not the case for you, I still appreciate those of you that stopped by. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the week, and I'll see you all in the next post. My name is Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Till next time my friends!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Failure Can Still Be Progress.

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From a strictly generalized perspective on life, the society that we live in often associates failure as something bad. Whenever an individual fails at something regardless of what it may be, they're inclined to feel they're a failure by society's standards. None of us want to fail at anything that we're passionate about, and failing at something isn't going to make us feel good about ourselves at that moment. However, while no one wants to experience failure, the undeniable truth is that we're all going to fail at multiple things throughout various points of our lives. As I've gotten older in my life, I've come to realize and understand that failure itself is not as important as what can be learned from our failures. With each failure that we may experience in our lives, there is almost always something beneficial that can be taken from it. This fact alone may not ease any disappointment that comes along with failure, however, it can become a motivational force towards succeeding and moving forward in the future. From my perspective, while failure may not be ideal for us, it can still represent progress.

Yo, what up folks? It's the everyday average guy Brad H. back at it once again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. How are you guys doing out there? I hope that you all have been staying up and maintaining wherever you may be, as well as whatever situations you may be facing. We're almost at the month of April, which is kinda hard for me to grasp my mind around at this moment. Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it feel like the year 2016 is speeding through like a spaceship in hyper drive? (Forgive the Star Wars reference, ha). I once heard someone say that time tends to move a lot faster the older we become. I'm not sure how many of you may agree with that statement, but I can say from my perspective that I find that statement to be very true. Anyway, the month of March was a pretty positive month for myself. I celebrated another birthday, ran in another race, and had an enjoyable Easter spending time with family members. I hope that March was good to you all as well, and here's to the month of April being even better for us all. Alright, now that I've gotten on my weekly soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of how failure can still be progress.

Before we go any further, I want to be sure and state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My personal goal here isn't to try to change peoples minds on how they feel about a certain topic, but rather to leave anyone that reads these posts with something to think about and maybe consider further. It's totally fine with me if you happen to disagree with me on anything I've written here. Again, the mission is to use this platform as a way to express my ideas and opinions. Alright, so this week we'll be talking about why failure can still be progression. This is a topic that I feel needs to be addressed for the aforementioned reasons I stated earlier. However, I also want to use this topic as a way to hopefully motivate and inspire anyone that may be feeling a bit down on themselves for a recent failure that maybe has occurred in their life. Again, society as a whole associates failure as something negative, but here at Brad H.'s Perspective, we're not overly focused on what society as whole does and think. Much of our society thrives off negativity as is, so it's no wonder why we often beat others down whenever they fail. For this week, I'm going to point out how using our minds can help in viewing our failures in a more positive way.

Every single one of us probably has a goal or goals that we're working towards. When you're working towards achieving something important to you, there will always be little hiccups and setbacks that may happen along the way. The degree of these setbacks will vary, as some setbacks are more bigger than others. Despite the variance of any setbacks that may occur towards reaching a goal, there is almost always a moment when we may want to give up and quit on that goal. You may begin to think to yourself that you're facing an uphill battle, or that you're trying to get somewhere while swimming against a strong current. You're facing all these outside problems along with chaotic things going on while trying to reach a goal, and it feels like it's just not meant for you to succeed. Sounds familiar? We may find ourselves believing that it's time to throw in the towel because there's no point in going on with so many factors that are working against you. Quitting may indeed be an option, and it may even be an understandable one when you feel that you're not making any progression towards your dreams. However, this is when the power of the mind becomes so important.

See, because we have been conditioned by society to feel like we're failures whenever we don't achieve something big or important, many of us tend to forget the importance of whatever progress that we've made before we stumbled. The thing many of us forget is that when you've started taking action towards a obtaining a goal, you've already done something very important whether or not you've reached that goal; made progress. If you're working towards something you're passionate about, and you've managed to slip up along the way and made a mistake, it doesn't signify failure because you've already taken positive steps towards progression. Your mind, along with a negative society will try and play tricks on you to convince you that you need to quit completely because of a setback. This is when the important usage of your mind will play into either breaking you, or inspiring you to keep on pressing forward towards your goals. Rather than giving into negativity, we have to use our minds to focus on all the progression that we've already made. Just as an example, how do you think people that run marathons are able to complete them? They tap into the power of their mind whenever their body wants to give out.

I'm a work in progress myself, so I don't know, nor do I have all the answers to reaching goals. However, what I do know is that we'll never get to those goals if we give up on them so quickly. Failure and failures will happen along this journey of life, but the most important thing is whether or not we learn from those failures. If we're learning from our failures and continuing to readjust our strategies towards reaching our goals, then I believe we're making positive progression not only towards a specific goal, but towards life in general. I believe that this game of life is one where for as long as you're alive and breathing, you never stop truly learning. Again, focus your mind and channel as much of your energy into your progressions rather than your failures. I believe that by doing this, we'll find the inspiration to keep on going whenever we feel ready to quit. More importantly, remember that you're never truly a failure unless you completely quit. Like the saying that we're all familiar with goes; if you happen to fall down, dust yourself off, and pick yourself right back up.

Alright my friends, I hope that I was able to get the point I was attempting to make across. I'm going to go ahead and sign off for this time, so big thanks to all of you again for coming through for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. Like always, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this post. Even if there isn't, I still appreciate those of you that stopped by. At the very least, I hope that some of you find this inspiring to you. Well I'm up out of this peace for now, so I'll catch you all on the other side. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. Till next time!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Why Social Media Validation Shouldn't Play A Major Factor In Our Lives.

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Facebook, Twitter, Instagram; most if not all of us either have accounts on these platforms, or at the very least, know exactly what these sites are. The popularity of these social media sites along with the various others out there has probably risen above proportions that even these sites initial creators could even imagine. For many people in our society, the spending of hours upon hours on social media sites has often replaced the normal interactions that we once had with our family and friends. Some people would rather trade handshakes and conversations with everyday people for likes and comments on social media sites. With the expanding popularity of social media sites, there has developed a need for validation from others via these sites for many. Most of our society has developed into a world that compares and judges a person's value based on social media interaction and popularity among our peers through these sites. I will admit that the relevance of social media has become very important in our society, but seeking validation from others through social media shouldn't be a major goal. Quite frankly, social media validation shouldn't even play a major factor in our lives in my opinion.

What's going on ladies and gentlemen? It's me the everyday average guy Brad H. coming at you, and I'm back at it once again with another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope everyone has been doing excellent since the last post, and hopefully this reaches everyone in good health, as well as a positive state of mind. As for me personally, I recently celebrated another birthday. So March 11th marked my reaching the age of 35. It's been nearly a week now since then, and even saying that I'm 35 is still somewhat weird for me. Probably the biggest reason for that is that I don't really feel like I'm that age. Then again, age 35 is still brand new for me, so I'm not quite sure how it should feel at this point. All I know is that I physically don't feel much different than I did in my mid 20's as of yet. I suppose age in relevance to how one feels physically is one of those things that will vary with each person. As for my birthday itself, it was pretty uneventful for the most part. The weather prevented me from doing what I initially planned, but on a high note, I was able to receive a few birthday gifts that were pleasant surprises. I also got to catch the movie "10 Cloverfield Lane" during the weekend. That movie was pretty disappointing to me, so I won't talk about it much. Better yet, I won't say anything else about it besides going and seeing it. Overall, while my birthday didn't go as planned, just being able to see another year is the most important thing. Okay I've rambled enough, so lets get into this week's topic of social media validation and why it shouldn't be an important factor in our lives.

Before we delve into this week's topic, I want to be sure and state that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My personal goal with this topic, as well as with all the others isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather using this platform as an outlet to express my opinions. For those of you that maybe read this and do not agree with what I have to say, that's totally fine. However, my hope is to leave anyone that reads these topics with something to think about further, and maybe even find yourself evaluating more in depth. So as I mentioned earlier, this week's topic deals with people seeking validation through social media. Since nearly everyone uses social media, and so many people seek validation from others in everyday life, some of you may wonder why I feel this is a relevant topic to expand upon. Well, I personally think it's important because not only is it something that I see so many others participating in, but it's something that I myself struggled with awhile back. There was once a time where I put too much value into how others viewed me via social media sites, and it took awhile for me to realize what I know today. What someone thinks of you in your everyday life shouldn't matter to you, and the same rule applies when it comes to social media.

I can think back to a period a few years back when a big reason for me posting status messages on Facebook was to impress others. It was a way for me to somewhat feed my ego by hoping that others would give attention to what I posted. Now I'm in no way saying that everyone does this, nor am I saying that it's necessarily wrong. If being a person that constantly strives for attention though social media sites is your thing, then go right ahead on if it makes you happy. However, for me personally, tying my worth to what others think via social media isn't something I'm interested in any longer. See, what I've come to realize over the past few years is that social media is somewhat similar to reality television. When we view reality television shows, they try to give off the impression that everything they're showing us is real when in actuality, there are many layers that go towards a reality show. There are producers, directors, sets, and crew members behind the cameras that are pulling all the strings right? Since there are so many layers that go into a reality show itself, it can't be entirely real right? Also, do you really believe that people on these shows are truly being themselves? I personally do not believe that to be the case. I want you all to consider this for a minute. Imagine you're at home and there was someone filming you. Do you think you would act the same way being filmed that you would act if there was nobody there? More than likely you wouldn't, and while that comparison is not exactly the same, there is a similarity when it comes to social media. Social media allows us to have an audience and in general, even subconsciously, most people act differently when they're given an audience.

Just from my perspective, and I'm sure most of you can agree with me on this, anyone can put on a facade via social media. Often times the people that seek the most validation through social media are the people that have the biggest issues and insecurities in their everyday lives. In today's society, the social media platform has become the reality show outlet for not only being able to receive the attention we may not be getting outside of it, but for also masking the lack of happiness that should already come from within ourselves. Why else would a person need to post multiple pictures of themselves daily, or constantly spend hours upon hours glued to what everyone else is doing on their social media? Again, I'm not saying that engaging in social media is wrong, however, the seeking of validation from others through social media is probably not the best place to go for attention. Lets be honest here; in most cases, most social media friends are not your real friends. A real friend may interact with you via social media, but they will also have interactions with you outside of it as well. I also want you to consider the following. If you were to die today, how many of your thousands of friends and followers via your social media would come to your funeral service?

It may seem like I'm bitter and bashing social media in this post, but that isn't the case at all. My goal is to get people to understand that a phone call from someone is more valuable than a Facebook like. Going out to dinner with a friend or family member should mean more to you than the comments you receive on a status or picture. There are some people out there that actually get upset when people don't like a photo or status they post. It really shouldn't be that serious, and that's something that I had to learn for myself. A genuine compliment from someone outside of a social media site should mean more than posting a picture and getting a truckload of likes and comments from people that may not truly care about you as a person. From my perspective, social media should be viewed as a tool for gaining and sharing information. It should be a catalyst for interacting with others and making new connections with other like minded people that could potentially become true friends beyond just social media. Social media should be a small part of your life, and not the end all be all in your world. In my personal opinion, what social media shouldn't be is a platform for seeking attention and validation from other people. This isn't a virtual middle and high school where everyone wants to be popular. There's a lyric from a rapper I like named Locksmith that goes; "Attract sharks when you fishing for compliments." Keep that in mind whenever you're looking for validation via social media.

Alright, alright; I believe or at the very least hope that I was able to get my point across with this topic. I'm going to go ahead and wrap this one up, so thanks again for those of you that took out the time to check out another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! As I always like to state again before I close that the hope here is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this. Even if there was not, I still appreciate those of you that stop by. Well I'm out of this joint, so I hope to see you all in the next one. I go by the name of Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts. See you all in the next one!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

The Importance of Controlling Your Emotions.

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We're all aware that our emotions play a huge part in our everyday ability to function. Our emotions are normally the driving factor behind the decisions that we make, as well as how we react to certain things that happen in our lives. While we all have emotional moments and experiences that are a part of our make-up, the degree of variance in how our emotions control us will vary from person to person. Some people will just be more emotional than others, and some people will allow their emotions in certain circumstances to control them more than others. It appears that in this day and age that society looks down upon people that are emotional, and while I'm a firm believer that it's okay for we as people to be emotional at times, allowing our emotions to control us can be a very detrimental thing to our lives. It's okay to have emotions, but it's also important to work on having a firm hold over your emotions as well.

What's up ladies and gentlemen? Good day to you all, and welcome to another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. As I tend to say repetitively because it's the truth, I hope this reaches you all in good health and spirits, as well as in a positive state of mind. The year 2016 is quickly progressing along, and we've already arrived at the month of March. March is always an exciting month for me as it marks my birthday month. I'll be celebrating my 35th year on this planet on the 11th, so I'm pretty excited about that milestone if you will. Also, I wrote in the last post that I would be participating in a 5K in late February. The race took place this past Saturday, and it was an overall fun and successful event. The event titled the Kinsel Ford 5K was the very first race that I ever partook in, and this year marked my fifth time participating in this annual event. Saying that it has somewhat of a nostalgic place in my life would be an understatement. For the past few years, it has become an event that I look forward to. Although it was a challenging ordeal participating with my dealing of a few injuries leading up to the race, I was still able to complete the race in under 30 minutes; the target goal that I normally set for myself. Its been a few days since the event took place, and I'm still pretty satisfied with the aftermath! So the next big thing happening for me will be my upcoming birthday, and I'll be sure to talk about that some in the next post. Alright, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of dealing with our emotions better.

Before getting into this topic, I want to state that a person's viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My goal with all of this isn't to focus on what is considered right or wrong, but rather using this platform as an outlet to express my opinions. If you happen to disagree with me that's perfectly fine, however, through the process of expressing my opinions via this platform, the hope is to leave anyone that reads this with something to think about and maybe evaluate more. Now as I stated earlier in this post, emotions play a big part in how we live our lives. I would even go so far as to say that the way we handle our emotions is probably at the core essence of who we are as people. I believe that emotions are the catalyst for not only how we view the world in general, but for also how we view our relationships and interactions with others. When you really take it in and consider it, the happenings in our individual lives, along with how good or bad our relationships with others are play a large factor in determining how high or low our emotions can get. It's basically a process of what is happening in our lives vs. how we react to and handle what is happening.

Now from my perspective on this topic, being an overly emotional person can be a good or bad thing depending on what is happening in our lives. We're all aware that whenever something good happens for us that it normally sparks happy feelings and emotions, while the opposite happens whenever things tend to go south. Since happy and positive emotions are associated with things going well, for the sake of making my point in this post, I want to focus on the importance of having control of our emotions when things may not be going all the best. My reasoning behind this has to due with that the fact that many of us make irrational choices and decisions whenever we're allowing ourselves to be controlled by our emotions. This is exactly why I stated earlier that this is a habit that can be very detrimental to our lives. Whenever you're an emotional wreck when things aren't going all that well, it's important for you to understand you're not really your true self at that particular moment. At that moment, you've more or less become a slave to your emotions, which in turn puts you more at risk of making bad choices.

Some of you may wonder why is any of this even relevant since we all have emotions. I can't speak for anyone else, but it's important to me because I myself have allowed myself to become a slave to negative emotions at times. It's something that we all battle with at times but more importantly, it's something that I see happening in society way more than I'd like to see. Too many individuals are hurting themselves both in the long and short term by allowing their emotions to control them at certain moments. Think about this example for a second. You have a person that maybe loaned a family member or a friend some money right? Weeks go by and they haven't seen nor heard from the individual that the money was loaned to. Now the emotion of anger is probably beginning to kick in, and at this point it would be totally justifiable. Now lets say for the sake or argument that the person finally catches up with and confronts the individual they loaned the money to, and a heated argument takes place among the two. While being angry is understandable, do you believe it would do more harm or good if the person that loaned the money confronted the other individual in a more aggressive manner compared to a more calmer approach?

The point that I'm trying to make here is that allowing your emotions to control you in bad situations can be counter productive. We've all seen and heard of family members and friends falling out over certain things, which is similar to the example that I used. Normally in these type of situations, it begins with anger, which leads to a negative emotional state of mind that sparks these heated confrontations. In the end, these type of conflicts ultimately do more damage than good. As I've mentioned previously, it's perfectly normal for our emotions to play a role in certain situations. The thing we want to focus on is not allowing ourselves to do or say something we end up regretting because we were emotional at a particular moment. None of us are perfect and we're all flawed individuals, so of course gaining a hold on our emotions is a task that will not come easy. However, the thing we want to work on is becoming more conscious of our decisions whenever those negative emotions start to creep in. From my perspective, a more conscious person is a more aware person, and a more aware person makes better decisions regardless of how good or bad a moment is. One of my favorite examples I like to use in regards to controlling your emotions goes like this: Allowing your emotions to control you is like being in a moving car, and your emotions are in the drivers seat while you're sitting on the passengers side; a crash is bound to occur.

Well folks that's it for this entry of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I believe and hope that I was able to get across the point that I'm trying to make. Like always, the hope is that some meaning and understanding was gained from this. Even if there wasn't, I still appreciate those of you that stop by. Alright I'm out this peace, so thanks again to those of you that stopped by. Have a great week ahead, and stay positive my people. See you all in the next one. Peace!

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.