The Importance Of Living In The Moment.

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The past, the present, and the future. All three of these spaces are a representation of where we've been, where we are now, and the unknown of what lies ahead for us. While all three aspects are important components of who we are as individuals and where we are going with our lives, many of us give too much of our energy to the spaces that represent our history, and the unknown that's ahead. As important as both the past and the future are to our lives, neither should have precedence over the moment that we're living in right now, which is known to be the present. There can be all kinds of reasons for why so many of us put so much focus into what's happened already, and what has yet to occur. However, the importance of being present in the moment is something many of us don't give enough of our energy to. I once heard a lyric in a song that goes; "The present is a gift." If the present is indeed a gift that we're given, it can be argued that many of us aren't fully appreciating this gift to its greatest extent. Focusing on the present can be a daunting task for many of us, but the importance of living in the moment is something we must learn to appreciate.

Hello once again ladies and gentlemen. It's your boy Brad H. back again, and welcome again to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Hope all has been good and well with you all since the last edition. Of course if that hasn't been the case for you, keep on holding your head up high, and maybe you can find a bit of inspiration here. Well summer is officially here, and I'm sure many of you can agree with me when I saw that you can definitely feel its presence. There has been some absolutely horrible humidity here in Southeast, Texas as of late, and I know it won't be getting better anytime soon. I'm not going to complain about it too much though. There are always people dealing with much bigger problems than the heat. The NBA Finals have also come to an end, which is something that I'm definitely happy about. I'm not sure if I stated it in previous posts, but although I'm not a fan of either team that were participating, I was pulling for the Golden State Warriors to take it all. It looked promising for them being up 3-1 in the series, but of course Cleveland came back and won the series. I kinda had a feeling that the Warriors would lose the series if it went to seven games, and that turned out to be the case. Although there were quite a few bad calls by the refs throughout the series, congratulations goes to the Cavaliers. Believe me when I say that it pains me to say that, which is why I stated that I'm glad it's all over with. Well now that I've gotten on my soapbox for a bit, lets go ahead and get into this week's topic on the importance of living in the moment.

Before getting started, I always try to mention in my writings that a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. My aim here isn't to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give anyone that reads these posts something to hopefully think about and evaluate further. The main goal here is to use this platform as a way to express some of my views and opinions. If anyone happens to feel differently or disagree with my views on this or any of the topics I write about, that is totally okay with me. So how did we come to this week's topic of the importance of living in the moment? Well, just like the majority of the topics I choose to discuss, the importance of living in the moment is something that I personally struggle with. While a struggle, it is however something that I've become more aware of as time goes on, which is ultimately inspiring me to put more focus and thought into at least getting a hold of this problem. I'm not going to act or pretend that I have everything about life figured out, so I want to stress that because my ears to closest to my eyes and mouth, anything advice that I dish out here applies to me as well. So many people try to portray to others that they have it all figured out, and I'm striving to not be one of those kind of people since that's not the case.

In regards to dealing with the struggles of living in the moment, many of us are either focused on things that have already happened that we can't let go of for whatever reasons, or we're overly concerned with upcoming things that have either yet to happen, or will probably never happen. It can be something as big as worrying about what's going to happen years down the road, or as small as what's going to happen in the next few hours. As I stated earlier in the post, there can be many reasons for why many of us struggle when it comes to living in the moment. I personally believe that one of the biggest reasons many people struggle with living in the moment deals with anxiety. Now there are all different kinds of anxiety that an individual can possess, but for the sake of this entry, I'm going to look at it from a more generalized perspective rather than a particular form of anxiety. Now I'm sure that most of us are aware of anxiety and how it affects so many people. However, many people do not know the true extent of it's meaning. Anxiety is defined as "A mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry, anxiety, or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities." Some of you may wonder how does this relate to the importance of living in the moment, and that's definitely a fair question to ask.

As someone that struggles with anxiety from time to time, I can personally attest to it hindering a person's ability to live in the moment. Just speaking from my own perspective, the reason anxiety can deprive us of living in the moment is because we're too worried about what's going to happen next. It's almost like your brain is working several steps ahead of your mind and body, which causes us to lose conscious of the present. From my perspective on this topic, anxiety can totally sap our ability to enjoy being in the moment with others. Now why is trying to live in the moment such an important thing? Well, simply stated, the present is all that we really have. There's a lyric in a song by one of my favorite hip hop groups (Cunninlynguists) that goes; "You can't count on the future, only the past." I think those lyrics pretty much define why focusing on being present in the moment is vital to our lives. We know where we've been with our lives, which is defined by the past. While it's okay to reflect upon the past every now and again, the fact is that the past represents a time that's over. In regards to the future, because the future hasn't happened yet, we don't know what lies ahead in our lives. How can we enjoy today when we're already worried about yesterday, as well as tomorrow? I personally feel that life cannot be fully enjoyed if we're not in the present.

So how do we train ourselves to live in the moment? If I'm being honest here, it can be a very difficult thing for most people to do. However, there are some habits that we can implement to help with this. I'm not a professional when it comes to this, but here are a few tips that have helped me out quite a bit. First, learning to be grateful can help with living in the moment. Many of us take that glass half empty approach with life and don't realizing that we're truly blessed beyond what we may believe. Make it a daily priority to focus on being grateful for all the small things in life. Next, I would say that learning to meditate can help with living in the moment. Meditation can be a helpful tool when it comes to controlling our thoughts, which can help with controlling anxiety. Finally, getting outdoors and just breathing in that good fresh outdoor air can be of great help. While there is a lot of bad going on in the world, there is still a beautiful world out there for us to enjoy. Looking at little things like the trees, birds, flowers, etc can be a huge reminder of how blessed we are to be here. Again, living the moment can be a difficult thing for many of us to do, but it's definitely not impossible. Just work at it daily and lets learn to enjoy the moment. Remember that every second that passes is another moment that is gone, and never coming back.

Alright now folks, I believe I was able to get my point across, so I'm going to go ahead and sign off for this time. Big thanks as always to everyone that stopped by for another entry of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! Like I always mention, I hope that some meaning and understanding was gained through this. In the event that this wasn't the case for anyone that read, I still appreciate your visit. I hope you all have a great weekend ahead, and feel free to leave any comments that you find relevant to this topic. Some of you may have some input that could help myself, as well as others who may struggle with this topic. Alright I'm out, so until next time my name is Brad H., and I wish you all peace and positive thoughts.

©2016 Bradrick H. All Rights Reserved.

Being Patient With Achieving A Goal (Marathon Not A Sprint).

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I'm pretty sure that we all have heard a famous quote that goes; "Life is a marathon, not a sprint." Many people believe this statement to be a fact, and I'm one of those many that will co-sign as to how truthful and authentic I find it to be. That said, for such a profound and honest statement to be embraced by so many, we still live in a world that predominately believes in doing things fast. Maybe it has to do with the fact that we live in what some call a "fast paced" society, where time is considered to be too valuable to waste. While I'm personally strive to not get caught up in the "fast paced" aspect of the society we live in, I do understand how crucial of part of our lives that time plays in our lives. From my perspective, one of the downsides to being in a world that moves fast is that many people believe that the fast paced aspect applies when it comes to achieving our goals as well. I believe we have fallen into a misconception that because our society is fast paced, everything else should happen fast for us as well. In my opinion, this is definitely not the case when it comes to setting and reaching goals, and I think this is something that must be addressed. They say that patience is a virtue, and that mindset definitely applies when it comes to achieving goals.

YO! What's going on good people? It's your boy Brad H. hitting you all up once again, and welcome to another installment of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'! I hope that everyone has been doing great since the last installment, and if things haven't been going well for you as of late, I hope you can find a bit of inspiration here. We're in the month of June for 2016, and a lot has been happening in our world as of late. The world suffered the loss of a true icon and legend in former boxer Muhammad Ali, who died on June 3, 2016 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease at the age of 74. I believe that the reasoning for Ali's passing having such a big impact on the world is due to him being such an ambassador for having courage in our society. Yes he was indeed a great fighter, but the impact that he made on the world as an activist and for standing up for what the believed in is something that resonates with the entire world. I send my condolences to his family and anyone that is affected by his passing. Also, Mixed Marital Arts fighter Kimbo Slice died unexpectedly this week. My condolences go to his family as well. It can't be stated enough, but times like these are a testament to how precious life truly is. Cherish those close to you, because life is so unpredictable. I know I used my weekly soapbox a bit longer this time around, but I believe that it was fitting in this situation. Lets go ahead and get into this week's topic of the importance of having patience when it comes to achieving goals.

As I always try to mention in my writings, a person's individual viewpoint on a topic will always vary. The aim here isn't to focus on what is considered to be right or wrong, but rather to give people something to hopefully think about and evaluate further. My primary 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 as I stated previously, we'll be discussing the importance of having patience when it comes to our goals. Back in early 2014, I wrote a post titled "Focus On Daily Goals, Rather Than Long Term Goals. (Marathon vs. Sprint Mentality)", which can be read here. That particular entry dealt with more smaller daily goals that amount to something bigger. This week's topic isn't going to ignore the importance of daily goals, however, it deals with moving towards goals that many would consider to be bigger. Whether you're focusing on something daily, or trying to move towards something bigger, the whole marathon vs. sprint mentality still applies. Now before I get started, I want to say that I don't want anyone to think that I'm endorsing or saying it's okay to not expect results in our goals because I'm delving into this particular topic. People's level of patience will vary, so it's up to you to decide whenever it's time to throw in the towel on something that may not be working our for you as quickly as you'd like. However, I believe that many of us give up too quickly on certain things that may be important to us, which is the main reason for me addressing this is topic.

Now most of us have various goals and dreams that we aspire to achieve. Remember when we were young kids in grade school, and our teachers would ask us that question that we're all heard before; "What do you wanna be when you grow up?" Most of us came up with lofty goals like becoming an astronaut, or becoming president of the United States, etc. For many of us as we age and become older, many of those big expectations we had during our youth become tempered. You may wonder what does any of this have to do with this week's topic at hand. Well, there are two points that coincide with what I'm talking about. First off, when we're younger, many of us are not often not told much how much effort and patience that is required in order to reach a goal. Because we're young and fragile, many of our elders seek to inspire us through more positive avenues, rather than a more realistic one. Secondly, setting goals for yourself at an advanced age requires a different mindset from being younger, however, the biggest rule of thumb is that you're never too old to set new goals for yourself. Now I personally believe the latter is probably the biggest mistake that many of us make in regards to our goals. We play these mental games on ourselves and think that because we're older and the clock is ticking, we have to rush in obtaining our goals. In turn, our patience towards our goals wear thin, which results in total burnout. We all know know what often comes after burnout; a lack of motivation to keep going.

Now, lets go back to the whole life being a marathon not a sprint mentality in regards to having a goal. As we mature and become older, we all become aware that nothing happens overnight, and that anything worth having is worth waiting for. Yes, this state of mind definitely applies to life in general, but the same mentality is required in order stay driven to succeed in something. Of course it is true that a great deal of effort is required in order to reach a goal, that goes without saying. However, a great amount of diligence is key as well. When we're moving towards something that may be considered big and is important to us, we have to exhibit a deal amount of patience before getting to that point. Again, living in a fast society where people expect results fast can make this an even more difficult journey. Think of it like this as a prime example to follow. Summer is almost here, and many people out there are looking to get fitter for this time of year. We all know that losing those pounds isn't going to happen overnight, and even if you're losing weight quickly, you're more than likely putting your health at risk. The bottom line is that anything that you're passionate about likely takes time to achieve, but it's only doable if you're able to stick with it. Again, it's a marathon not a sprint.

From my perspective on this topic, the importance of having patience with your goals all comes down to how much you really want what you're pushing towards. More than likely, if it's something that you're deeply passionate about, you'll continue to persevere and put in the effort to get where you're trying to be. If you're willing to toss in the towel when you don't quickly see the results you want, then you're probably not as passionate about your goal or goals as you may think. If you're the type of person that puts time limits and restrictions on your goals, you'll probably end up not succeeding in them. Going fast may be the desired way to get somewhere, but can also lead to a multitude of mistakes along the way. Regardless of what it may be, only you can decide when something isn't worth your time and effort any longer, so listening to others who may tell you when you need to give up on something is null and void. Regardless of your age or where you are in life, if you still have a passion for something, keep striving towards it. If and when you figure out that fire isn't there anymore, then maybe it's time to let it go, but make sure to do it on your own terms. So for anyone out there reading this, continue to be patient and long suffering towards achieving the things that give you meaning, and always be mindful that working towards a goal or goals is a marathon, not a sprint.

Well I'm going to go ahead and end this week's topic, so big thanks again to anyone that stopped through for another edition of 'Brad H.'s Perspective'. I hope that some meaning and understanding was gained through this, and even if there wasn't, I still appreciate your visiting. Summer is almost here (June 20), and it's starting to get warm outside. Just as a suggestion, try to get outdoors and enjoy the beauty outside this weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend and 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.

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.