tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-969705556037938332024-03-05T20:39:21.234-06:00Likely Fiction: Building A Better YouYou only get this singular life. Why settle for anything less than being the best you? Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-43466767861184163182021-05-28T11:40:00.003-05:002021-05-28T11:40:50.621-05:00Dallas Mavericks: Friday is Here and With It, Game 3. I've scoured the internet for bites or morsels of pro Mavs content in the wake of the Dallas Mavericks going up 2-0 on the L.A. Clippers, defeating them twice on their home court. While the results speak for themselves, the general narrative outside of my personal favorite <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/" target="_blank">Mavs Moneyball</a>, has been that the Clippers are fumbling their efforts and letting this series slip away from them.
<br>
<br>
Very few outlets are discussing the Dallas Mavericks and their hot start as the foundational reason for the Clippers short comings. Perhaps this is because the Clippers have been flailing since their 3-1 meltdown in the bubble. If you include the failure in last years bubble alongside the first two losses, the Clippers have lost 5 straight playoff games. While Kawhi and PG put up a combined 69 points, 18 boards, and 10 assists, it still wasn't enough to overcome the terrific shooting of the Mavericks squad.
<br>
<br>
Tim Hardaway Jr. shot 75% from 3 point range on Tuesday, making 6 of his 8 attempts. He made a key 3 point bucket in the end of the 4th to essentially ice the game and has been a major factor as far as why this series has swung in Dallas' favor. His efficiency on the 2nd most shot attempts on the Mavs side has been outstanding and will surely earn him interest from around the league come free agency this summer. Timmy's ability to match the moment and his maturity since first joining the Mavericks roster has been ever increasing as he has become a well established, critical cog in the Dallas Maverick Machine.
<br>
<br>
Not to be outdone in efficency, Kristaps Porzigis also contributed key buckets for the team while shooting 3 of 4 from the 3 point range. Our team's ability to knock down a consistent 3 is crucial to victory. But in this one off anecedotal case, our ability to knock down free throws was not. Mavericks made 13 of 24 free throws, good for a paltry 54% from the line. Additionally, Dallas had 11 turnovers, 7 from Luka alone. With the usage rate of Luka on this Mavericks offense at the top of the rest of the NBA, it is to be expected that he might have bad turnovers at times, especially when facing one of the supposed best defenses in the league. However, at times I think Luka has bad turnovers simply because he is a showboating performer at heart.
<br>
<br>
I've determined after 3 seasons of watching Luka, that he now has two states of impactful operation when on the court. Either Luka has a blast on the court, torching defenses and racking up assists while he smiles at you and laughs to the bank, or he gets angry. Both emotional states are devastating to a defensive unit such as the Clippers as try as they might, the Dallas Mavericks just keep coming.
<br>
<br>
Luka had 39 points on 5 for 13 from the 3 point line, along with 7 boards, 7 assists, a steal and a block. I think part of the reason that the Clippers have been behaving so nonchalant about being down 0-2 in the series, is they largely have been able to control Luka and restrict him in the 4th of these games. Granted, I use the word control loosely as he still finds a way to conduct the offense and enable his teammates to get the best looks available in a singular trip down the court. m.
<br>
<br>
He missed a handful of midrange and 3 point shots while scoring 2 layups and turning the ball over twice in the 4th quarter of game 2. His impact is still felt however as he draws so much defensive attention that it frees up his teammates to get high quality looks on which they have delivered. Josh Richardson has taken a step back as he has settled into an off the bench role, but his largest contributions have been at the end of games as the Mavs ensure that the ball is in his hands while the Clippers foul to stop the clock. He made the final 4 points in the game for the Mavericks as he drew back to back fouls in the closing seconds of the game. Whether or not the Josh Richardson for Seth Curry trade stands up in the grand scheme, at least Richardson is helping our team in crucial moments to ice the game and secure a win.
<br>
<br>
Coming into today's game, the Mavs have many advantages. They are shooting lights out. They have Rick Carlisle who thus far has coached circles around Ty Lue. They have a nearly full stadium of playoff starved people who are now feeling the same momentum and possiblity in their bones that we once felt in 2011. The crowd that will be blasting the Clippers with noise and making it challenging for them to execute. And they have Luka FUCKING Doncic. What more could you ask for when facing off against Playoff P and a version of Kawhi that is looking suprisingly mortal. On top of that, they have many mistakes from the previous two games that, if corrected, could stand to increase the probability of them securing a win tonight. The Clippers have quietly devolved into the "Paper Clips" as Brian Windhorst so aptly referenced from a now all but forgotten older time in basketball when the NBA Organization were dealing with a rhyming set of woes and existentialism.
<br>
<br>
The Dallas Mavericks have never been able to stop the Clippers from scoring. But they may not have to. I hope to see some big KP cuts tonight as he continues to play within his role and do just enough. If he continues to hit his 3's as well as succeed on the above the rim lob action then it will be yet another area where the Mavericks can open up the throttle on offense and apply pressure on the Clippers to keep up. I expect to see Luka snag a playoff triple double as he does anything and everything it takes to lock down this win. I won't even let the possiblity of a loss enter my mind as I see a lightning in the eyes of these Maverick players and an unrelenting energy that the Clippers can't hope to fight off. 3-0 would be devastating to the Clippers beyond what a mere 2-0 loss on your homecourt must feel like. Not to mention the further context of this being in the first round of the playoffs, while your L.A. counterpart you sought to duck in the playoff brackets, is thriving and pushing down the gas on a 2-1 lead over a less than bright, battered and bruised Suns team.
<br>
<br>
Yikes. I don't think any heads will necessarily roll if Clippers lose 4-0, but I can't imagine Steve is going to be especially pleased either.
<br>
<br>
I'm an eternally optimisic human being so I'm going to declare Mavs in 4. Previously I tweeted out Mavs in 5 but I was not prepared for the possibility that we would storm into L.A. and take two games from the start! Seeing the manner in which Luka has torn the Paper Clips to shreds, I expect him to play with such a fierce confidence that nothing will derail him from his goal. This Mavericks team is legit, and a much more refined and playoff ready team then that of Lebron's early dance in the Finals in 2007 against the Spurs. Step one is putting this series in the books and winning the next 2 played at home. Lets go Mavs! Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-29497191129348014952021-05-18T12:20:00.013-05:002021-05-18T12:47:45.613-05:00The Mavericks: Started from the bottom now we here. Anyone who follows the Mavs closely will recall the tweet fired out by ESPN when the Mavs were under .500 touting a picture of a visibly upset Luka whilst also pointing out that the Knicks owned the Mavs 21 first round draft pick. We were 9-14 on the day of that tweet.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHKWR13e1Vf4Xuai1duV0evdPXIzFLfj-3ZT8tkczLnM2jpqvdlykSzexANQJjW_hoPHg4HlpG7ZRir2J3z2JEXdjGUjQkbbVdlAegCb31WPji3I4c8ynxrTbYPTHNVNdrXYont-js65M/s515/Luka+meme.PNG" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinHKWR13e1Vf4Xuai1duV0evdPXIzFLfj-3ZT8tkczLnM2jpqvdlykSzexANQJjW_hoPHg4HlpG7ZRir2J3z2JEXdjGUjQkbbVdlAegCb31WPji3I4c8ynxrTbYPTHNVNdrXYont-js65M/s320/Luka+meme.PNG"/></a></div>
<br>
<br> Since then, the Mavs finished out their shortened season 42-30, meaning they went 33-16 after ESPN tried to make a meme out of our beloved Luka Magic. The season ended wildly with the Mavericks, Portland, and the Lakers all pushing to try and miss the play in. The Mavs have the 3 way tie breaker due to winning their division which put them at 5th in the western conference playoff standings, poised to repeat their playoff battle with the L.A. Clippers.
<br>
<br> Whether you thought the Mavs were better off playing Denver or the Clippers, the barrier to entry to get past round one in the Western Conference is steep. On the one hand, Denver has the all but confirmed MVP of the regular season in Jokic. His game has only transcended further as Denver lost their 2nd best player in Jamal Murray to a season ending torn ACL in his left knee. The Zach Lowe's of the world were deeming it the fatal blow to Denver. Essentially bringing the curtain down on their championship contention potential. But Denver has surprised everyone and stepped up their play despite losing their home grown 2nd star. Michael Porter Jr. has stepped up to fill the void as a scorer and overall this season without Murray in the lineup, Denver has gone 16-8.
<br>
<br> In looking at the Clippers roster, some of the key contributors from the 2020 playoff battle are now gone. Most notably, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. Lou's offensive abilities and innate ability to punish any team's second unit with starter caliber level play will be sorely missed against our Mavs squad. He averaged 27.1 minutes and 16 points per playoff game against us last year good for 3rd best scorer on the Clippers squad in our round one meeting.
Most will remember that Patrick Beverley was absent for all but one game in last year’s bubble match. His presence as a pesky defender who disrupts will be felt but Luka and Brunson will determine just how much of an impact Beverley will have.
<br>
<br> And digging even deeper into the memory banks will help us to recall that Paul George was not especially impactful on offense during our last run in with the L.A. in the bubble, only shooting at a 35.8% clip inside the 3 point line and a feeble 27.5% from 3 point range in the same span. He also led his team in that series with 16 turnovers.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXfNbUjlKHlRqpZKPqsP88reZACVrq36ZmeRQCJvCO9MZv4e9WA9-Z6lEHWVoO3ur1SuPqYU8q_HoB47IdbqwtrBhwariRK5Hvnh9vBLhoMRFKJvgUE4bnoC6mhFZVT2NQEaB-irBKiII/s768/playoff+P.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" height="320" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="714" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXfNbUjlKHlRqpZKPqsP88reZACVrq36ZmeRQCJvCO9MZv4e9WA9-Z6lEHWVoO3ur1SuPqYU8q_HoB47IdbqwtrBhwariRK5Hvnh9vBLhoMRFKJvgUE4bnoC6mhFZVT2NQEaB-irBKiII/s320/playoff+P.jpg"/></a></div>
<br>
<br> As optimistic as I tend to be when it comes to our beloved Dallas Mavericks, we have to anticipate that both PG and Beverley will be difference makers in round one. We can hope for the best but I'd go ahead and assume that defensively, this Clippers team is going to give us some trouble.
<br>
<br> However, let’s look at some of the facts on the ground for Dallas and why this year’s rendition of what may become an annual tradition with the Clippers, might fare more in our favor this year. For starters, our team makeup is going to be vastly different than the product we put on the floor last season.
<br>
<br> We will have KP for the entire series as long as he stays healthy. We didn't have Brunson, Willie Caulie Stein, or Dwight Powell on the court as they were all out with varying issues. Those 3 combined account for 21.8 points 11.8 rebounds per game this season. Brunson's playmaking has been nothing short of starter caliber point guard work on almost any other team. But with the depth of this Mavs squad, he has morphed into exactly what his team needed him to be, a 6th man of the year candidate rivaled by few in this league in his efficiency and effectiveness around the basket. His shooting numbers this year have climbed well above his career averages with Brunson putting up a 52.3 FG%, 40.5 FG3%, and 79.5 FT% putting his eFG% at 58.8%. While his stats of 12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 3.5 apg aren't eye popping, they are exactly what the Mavs have needed from him as a major contributor coming off the bench. His presence allows for Luka to rest when needed without disrupting the flow of our offensive scheme.
<br>
<br> Brunson is a fierce competitor with a team first attitude and an uncanny ability to get into the paint and score with finesse. Similarly to Brunson, Willie Caulie Stein and Dwight Powell both provide a burst of effort and energy that can be much needed for the Mavs when the team starts to falter or decay. They are all 3 players who have learned to live well within their roles and do what the team needs them to do. Having Powell as pick and roll threat will be massive for the Mavericks as Luka seeks to pick apart the constrictive defensive schemes of the Clippers. It will allow for more space for our shooters (ahem J.J. Reddick, Maxi Kleber, KP, THJ, and Dorian Finney-Smith). As if Luka doesn't already create enough space for these other guys to operate.
<br>
<br> The fun thing about our team is that they are a 3 level scoring team. On any given night, we can have multiple guys scoring in double digits and providing a competitive edge to our offensive approach. When Luka doesn't have gas in his tank or is off on his shooting, he can find other ways to be just as devastating on offense by finding the right man on any given play. Tim Hardaway Jr. has been making a consistent and ever powerful case that the Kristaps Porzingis trade should be renamed to the Timmy trade. Nothing against our very own Unicorn who has been quite effective offensively when active and healthy. But when looking at Tim's numbers on the season, he has been putting up straight fire. Starting in only 31 of the 70 games in which he played, he was putting up 28.9 points per 100 possession basis which is a career high for him. Though his actual per game averages only break down to 16.1 points per game, Tim's impact has been severely underrated this season.
<br>
<br> In fact, when compared to Joe Ingles who has been getting some heavy media play for 6th man of the year, it becomes even more obvious how much Timmy means to this team. TJH in 2021 averaged 16.6 points per game to Joe Ingles 12.1, while averaging fewer turnovers (0.9 to Joe's 1.7). Ingles has played better when it comes to his assists per game which stand at 4.7 to Tim's 1.8. But Tim is on a team with a bounty of playmaking ball handlers. What the Mavs ask of Tim, is to score in bunches when our team can't seem to buy a bucket. Shooters, shoot. And Tim, well he shoots a lot. In fact he took a total of 911 FGA in the 2021 season, making about .447% of them. The eFG% difference between Joe and Tim is quite dramatic as Ingles has a beautiful eFG% of .652 compared to Tim's .560 eFG% which is still nothing to sneeze at.
<br>
<br> At the end of the day, Joe Ingles will win this award because the media is rewarding the Jazz for having the strongest record in the West and they have a hard on for efficiency. I'm not going to argue that it's a bad choice, but I would counter with a slight tone of Dallas bias, that THJ is more instrumental or vital to the Mavs success than Ingles is to the Jazz. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 30-39 points on 4 occasions this season and over 40 points once. He scored 10-19 points 39 times this season and 20-29, a grand total of 13 times. Needless to say, he has had many high scoring games when the Mavs needed him to perform. His final 10 games in the regular season he has averaged 23 points per game which is about 7 points higher than his season ppg average. What does all this mean? Timmy is heating up at just the right time. All we can hope for now is that his entire family shows up to each of the playoff games as that has been a well-established trend within the Twitter circles that Timmy outperforms his averages by a long shot when his Dad, grandmother, or other immediate family make an appearance at.
<br>
<br> There are so many angles in which the Dallas Mavericks could make this a spooky series for the Clippers. I’m not going to dig too deep into Kristaps Porzingis because at the end of the day, he is a bit of a question mark in this series. I believe that the Mavs have been prudently cautious in allowing him to play in order to give his body the proper rest he needs to participate in a long winded playoff run. His numbers have been fantastic though he has suffered a bit more on the defensive end due to his lessening mobility in recovering from surgery in the offseason. The simple take is that when KP does well, the Mavs win basketball games. If we get a healthy, active and team orientated KP, then I expect the Mavericks to test the limits of what the Clippers are able to do defensively. The threat of KP’s elite shooting (47.6 FG%, 37.6 FG3%) is enough to create enormous space for the other 4 Mavs on the court to operate in. When he is hitting his shots, it alleviates pressure off of Luka and allows for more court space for his teammates. When Luka and KP utilize the pick and roll, it is an absolute nightmare for defenders who are forced to choose between a potential lob-threat, rim rolling center in KP who can just as easily pop out for a quick 3 point dagger. The choices that the Clippers coaching staff will be forced to make are not easy ones as they try and clamp down defensively on this multi headed monster that is the Dallas Mavericks offense.
<br>
<br> I haven't even begun to discuss the impact of our all-nba, all-star player Luka Doncic who has quietly established himself as a top 5 active NBA player in only his 3rd season in the NBA. What did Luka's contributions look like this season? Well if you were in a coma for the last year, then you should start by looking up the <a href="https://youtu.be/MJbq524-b6Q" target="_blank">"bang - banggggggg"</a> playoff game winner that Luka put down on the Clippers last season in the bubble. That alone is enough to have many die hard Clipper fans fearing the possibilities of a first round exit. That moment was one of what I'm sure will be many career defining moments for Luka on the NBAs largest stage. He is a natural performer who feels absolute comfort and readiness in the most meaningful minutes of any NBA game. He is the difference maker that so many teams crave and attempt to draft or trade for. In 66 starts this season, Doncic contributed to 40 wins with 26 double-doubles and 11 triple doubles.
<br>
<br> He averaged 27.7 points per game, 8 total rebounds, and 8.6 assists shooting at a 35% from 3 point range, beating out his career average of 33.1% from 3. He made 192 3 point shots this season and that is only increasing the space in which he can pick apart a team as he slices and dices his way into the lane. He is already a master at the pick and roll, consistently making the right decisions as defenses throw everything they can at Luka to try and trip him up. When he has a bad half of basketball, he quickly adjusts and finds new ways to get the best bucket each time down the court. When Luka is engaged and playing at his best (which IMO happens when he gets angry) it is terrifying what the Mavs are capable of.
<br>
<br> Luka shoots .708 eFG% when shooting at the rim and .507 from 3 to 10 feet with a % assisted of .18 and .051 respectively. Compare that to Giannis (2 time MVP winner) who shot .837% at the rim and .401 from 3 to 10 feet on .458 % and .376 % assisted. What does this show? It shows that Luka is damn near as good as Giannis at working in the lane and close to the basket, only he does so essentially unassisted. The dude can get buckets yall.
<br>
<br> In previous seasons, he had spent most of his time shooting 3's of the step back or post-shot bunny hop variety, or eating near the lane. However in the last year he has also added a beautiful mid-range shooting diet to his game, finding new and clever ways (including Dirk's well known one foot step back jumper from the Dirk logo no less) to destroy the will of opposing defenders. He is 5th in the league in scoring (6th in ppg at 27.7 per game), 12th in total defensive rebounds, 5th in total assists, 5th in assists per game, 6th in free throw attempts, and let’s just throw in the 2nd in turnovers for transparency sake.
<br>
<br> But listen guys, this kid plays and there isn't a single offensive stretch where he isn't intimately involved in the play which should be obvious when you consider that he is number 1 in the league in usage pct at 36.0. The scary thing for the league, is Doncic still has so much room for cleaning up his play, reducing turnovers, and continue to develop his impact on the defensive side of the ball. When the NBA starts to put Luka on the free throw line more in line with what they do for other well established super star talent, in combination with Luka making his free throws at a high clip, then the Mavs will be unstoppable. His inability to consistently make his free throws along with his unappealing arguments with the refs that earned him 15 techs this season, are both areas that can be fixed in time as he continues to mature as a player and learn how to navigate the complex relationships that exist between star players and NBA referees.
<br>
<br> He has said recently that he needs to work on <a href="https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1391553304031686661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1391553304031686661%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2Flists%2Fmavericks-cavaliers-luka-doncic-groin-meme-reaction" target="_blank">controlling his emotions</a> when interacting with the NBA officials and I'm sure that as he continues to grow in the game, these nit-picky problems will dissipate along with the critical voices who still try to discount how valuable Luka is to this Dallas Mavericks team.
<br>
<br> Luka, KP, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell are the likely starting squad for this Dallas Mavericks team during the playoffs. Josh Richardson has been moved to an off the bench role whether he likes it or not but will still serve as a key tool in our roster both from a defensive stand point or if we need a strong free throw shooter in a key moment. Maxi is still coming back off injury and will hopefully begin to round into form for what we need out of him on a game by game basis. Brunson fully understands his role and importance to the success of this team. DFS is typically gifted with the job of guarding the opposing team’s best player, and his late game shooting has been nothing if not clutch as he is often the open man that Luka finds as the double teams clamp down to try and force a bad play. KP is such an instrumental cog to our team and yet when he is out, we have found a way to continue to win. My hope is that he is 100% healthy and able to help us not just offensively, but become more of a presence on the defensive end. Anything is possible for this Mavericks team. We’ve proven time and time again that we should never be underestimated. From a losing record and an ESPN meme, to clinching the 5th seed in the Western Conference and winning our division. What will come next? I guess we’ll find out come this Saturday, May 22nd. See you then fellow MFFL!
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0Dallas, TX, USA32.7766642 -96.796987899999991-9.5121221894952583 -167.10948789999998 75.065450589495256 -26.484487899999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-80102030557004775212021-05-03T08:41:00.005-05:002021-05-03T08:41:58.735-05:00Welcome Back to Life: Likely Fiction Part IILong time no write! I've been on a hiatus as life has been extremely busy providing me with plenty of excuses to put off writing as I try to get a handle on the direction of my life for myself and my family. A few updates for those who may be curious:
1. I've been working from home now for 15 months (basically since March 2020 when the NBA has its abrupt shutdown).
2. During our time working from home, a little magic happened and my wife became pregnant with our 2nd daughter. She was born in February 2021 and is nearing the 3 month mark of her wonderful life. We call her smiley girl because she is always smiling and has been very attentive to make eye contact and interact since the day she was born.
3. With our youngest being around 3 months, and our oldest creeping up on becoming a 4 year old, we decided that we needed to get them both in daycare to try and bring back some normalization to our life. My oldest is extremely excited and my youngest is such a chill baby that I know she will see this as a new adventure for her to experience.
4. The wifey is having some struggles with going back to work and not spending 24/7 with her babies but she is a strong woman and has been mentally equipping herself to get back to the grind so we can continue to save towards the goals we have established as a family.
5. I've started writing a book! While I have been blatantly silent on this blog for quite some time, I am spending alot of my energy towards a fiction novel that I hope to start dropping previews on soon on my site. It is one of the ambitious projects I've ever pursued and will definitely be a multi year task to complete but it is something I've wanted to write for many years and finally found the words. Make sure and follow me on twitter at @Coltonblack15 for more updates in that arena as I am very active on that platform. I'll do my best to start sharing more on this blog and bring it back to life as it serves as a great place for me to speculate about my own internal battles and struggles and share in a very lucid, transparent way in order to better understand myself and my own journey. I hope that in being so honest and straight forward, that others might be inspired to converse about their own walks through life. Please feel free to comment on this blog as I'd be happy to communicate and hear from anyone who finds themselves reading my words.
So that pretty much catches you up on what is important in my life at this moment. I wanted to take a bit of time to reflect on the last 1.5 years as the world has been shaken to its core by COVID-19. My wife and I both made it a point to get our vaccines and have been feeling more comfortable living a normal life as we try to balance our own needs and desires with those of our family and friends who are eager to spend time with us. It can be challening to say no to hang out opportunities or family get togethers, but we are learning that our time is our own and the only way to secure our own life is to be willing to assert our power over our own time. Time is so fleeting and the years come and go with ease as we age. I'm 29 years old now and my wife is 30. Still in our prime right?! It feels as though we are and I want to soak in every second and ensure that I'm constantly pushing myself forward to be a better father, husband, and human being. The tough fact of life of parenthood is if you want your kids to not only hear you, but listen, then you've got to be willing to exemplify the lessons you teach them through your own life and how you choose to live it.
So we are working each day to be a little better at controlling our own anxiety and re-routing our thoughts to a place rooted in positivity and optimism. We are blessed to have wonderful jobs that pay decently and allow us to excel as individuals in areas of interest. I have moments where I fall off the proverbial horse and am not the model that I need to be for my girls, but at the end of the day, I remind myself that my parents weren't the picture of perfection either, and yet I still have an abundance of love in my heart for them and the memories that we made together through my childhood.
In the span of the past 15 months, I've spent more time building things as a way to expend energy in a health way. I started small, building a squirrel feeder for our backyard. As I learned more about wood working I took on bigger projects, such as our bookshelf in the living room that I built before lumber prices skyrocketed. And in the last 2 months, I've spent countless weekends working with a family friend who is a fantastically skilled laboror, on building a covered back porch patio. I don't know what it is about using your hands to construct something, but it gives me alot of life and I love it because it shows my oldest daughter what can be accomplished when one sticks to a plan and executes.
My hope now is to fall back into my healthy writing habit, and become more active on this blog again. Oh how I love to get my thoughts onto paper and contemplate the journey that I've found myself on. If you had asked 21 year old me if I'd have my own house, 2 kids, a beautiful wife and a strong, blossoming career by 30 then I'd probably would've chuckled at the idea. Yet here I am, working to fill the shoes of what I believe a Dad should be.
Life is hard and life is unfair. I think COVID-19 taught that lesson to us all in one way or another. I hope that you have been spared any injury or sickness during these tumultous times and I pray that we can continue to interact and learn from each other on this site!
I'll end with a quote from my favorite movie of all time, Interstellar: "We used to look up at the sky and wonder at our place in the stars... now we just look down and worry about our place in the dirt."
Never stop dreaming! Never stop staring up at the stars and allowing them to put your own worries and troubles into perspective. Never stop learning and never let anyone tell you that you aren't capable of what you feel possible in your very soul. Cheers and have a wonderful month of May!
Colton
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0Dallas, TX, USA32.7766642 -96.7969878999999914.4664303638211535 -131.95323789999998 61.086898036178845 -61.640737899999991tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-44799602168504963702020-03-09T13:07:00.000-05:002020-03-09T13:19:11.838-05:00Millennials Stand UP! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m getting so fucking burnt out when it comes to listening to the older generations berate and decry the Millennials of the world.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>I can’t be the only one who is sick and tired
of our generation being associated with so many negative tropes and attributes,
right? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As one of the few Millennials in a mostly conservative
office that trends a bit older, I often hear all sorts of negative stereotypes
being tied to my generation. Most of the time, I brush it off and ignore the
haters. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But time and time again it seems like the older generations
enjoy looking around at what is wrong with the world (which FYI,<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>they’ve had plenty of power and time to try
and fix), and associating it with Millennial’s as if it is OUR fault and OUR
fault alone for the state of American society. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This pisses me off. I’m not one to commonly utilize the
phrase but I can feel the utterances of “OK BOOMER” solidifying in my mouth. I
look around at my generation and see a generation that has faced the greatest
amount of financial uncertainty since the Great Depression, whilst also being
more productive, educated, and diverse than any generation that has come before
us. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We work hard. We go to college. We find efficiencies in
processes within the work place that have been tired and ineffective for a long
time. We find value in ourselves and command respect from our employers. We
aren’t willing to accept less than that value. We are mobile. We are connected.
We are socially aware. We want to make the world a better place for our
children than what it was for ourselves. We are creative. We believe in love
for all. We believe in the empowerment of women. We strive to be more
inclusive. We are looking to create an even playing field for all participants,
working to erode at the barriers created by Race, Color, Sexual Orientation, or
Religious Leanings. We are progressive. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We are not snowflakes. We are not morally inadequate. We are
definitely not what is <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wrong </b>with
American society. In fact, we are the solution. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So in the spirit of a new decade and potentially new
direction on the horizon of American culture, I want to break down some of the
trends that are popping up for the Millennial Generation and use that to kick
off a discussion about our place as a generation in the world. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Millennials are defined in many different ways but mostly, a
Millennial is an individual born from 1981 to 1996. In 2020, these are people
who are mostly ages 24 to 39. Before we get too bogged down in the details, I
wanted to look at an easy to point to example of the sorts of attitudes that
many Millennials end up encountering in the work place. One such negative
opinion can be found in <a href="https://www.inc.com/mayra-jimenez/whats-wrong-with-millennial-employees.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">this
article</span></a> penned by a self-proclaimed “Gen Xer”. The article is titled,
“What’s Wrong with My Millennial Employees”. I’ll give you a quick rundown of
her grievances with Millennials. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“They’re cocky”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“They take things for granted.”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“They think they’re exempt from rules.”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“They don’t follow through”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">They don’t want to pay their dues.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">All of these quotes from the article point to areas that
seem to want to define an entire generation based on anecdotal evidence. I also
think it is a serious misinterpretation of Millennials meant to empower the
individuals who consistently misalign Millennials with what they see wrong in
the world. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The author confuses positive attributes with negative ones. “They
don’t want to pay their dues.” I believe that most Millennials, especially
those who have graduated from college, have a stronger sense of self and
identity than older generations had coming into the work force. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With that better understanding of one’s identity, I also
believe that we as a generation have a stronger inclination of our own value,
within the context of a work place. Because we have a better understanding of
our value and self-worth, many of us are unwilling to sacrifice or to waste
away, slowly climbing the rings of the corporate ladder if a more viable path
to responsibility and self-sufficiency materializes along the way. Many of our
parents or grand-parents were more accustomed to the process of staying with a
single company for a long period of time and paying their dues. But if there is
a better path to success to be paved, why wait for someone else to pave it? Are
Millennials trailblazers? I’d argue yes. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Is it a negative to have a profound understanding of one’s
self worth? Perhaps it is a negative for small businesses that can’t afford to
pay a competitive salary and see more turnover because they are trying to
underpay an overqualified candidate. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But for the individuals who understand their own value at a
company and are willing to job hop until they find a position that aligns their
personal goals with their career goals, financial goals, etc, it is giving them
power. We are all a part of the gig economy which means that we are beholden to
no one. The job market is better than it has been ever in the history of our
country. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What does this afford Millennials? The power of choice.
Those choices can become even more compounded when you look at how many
industries have gone remote, allowing for individuals to work from home instead
of being subjugated to an office/cubicle lifestyle. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In a world of infinite potential avenues of online
interaction, choice matters a great deal to the population of Millennials who have
become expert navigators of the social media realm and in leveraging the internet
in order to become more educated, well rounded, and more aware of the
opportunities that exist for those who are willing to explore them. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Choice is one of our greatest tools and to ignore the power
of choice is to be blind to the power that Millennials can wield within
society. Beyond conceptual ideas and philosophical posturing on choice, let’s chomp
on some bite sized data. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In analyzing some info from Pew Social Trends, there are
some excellent data points to consider as we peer into the potential future
that Millennials may encounter. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve created a bullet point list of the highlights for quick
consumption and in my next article, I will look to dig deeper into those
points. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Millennial women, in line with statistics for
Generation X women, “are more likely to participate in the nation’s workforce
than prior generations.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Millennials are the “2<sup>nd</sup> largest
generation in the U.S. electorate” which will begin to have an impact on the
direction of politics within the United States.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Among Millennials, around four in ten (39%) of
those aged between 25 and 37 have a bachelor’s degree or higher”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">72% of Millennial Women are employed versus 40%
for the “Silent Generation” whose women began entering the work force around
1966. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Millennials are “more likely to be living at
home with their parents, and for longer stretches.”</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In 2018, “15% of Millennials were living in
their parents’ home which is double the share of early Boomers and Silents.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">According to Business Insider, “While
Millennials have benefited from a 67% rise in wages since 1970, […] this increase
hasn’t kept up with inflating living costs” in terms of rent prices, home
prices, college tuition costs as well as medical costs. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Nearly 45% of Millennials have student-loan
debt.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“As of 2019, student-loan debt reached a
national total of $1.5 trillion, according to Student Loan Here. Millennialsin
the graduating class of 2018 have an average student-loan debt of $29,800.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In general, the typical Millennial is getting
married and having kids later in life as compared to older generations. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ok so we’ve got a pretty substantial list of bullet points
that are all pieces to the puzzle of the general outlook on life for
Millennials. My goal for the next few articles will be to go through each one
and try to glean more information from these points and better understand what
is going on under the hood of the Millennial generation. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Why? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Because I’d like to work to brainstorm solutions for our
generation and how we can work together as a collective to improve our
situation for ourselves but also for our kids and the generations that are
coming after us. I’ll be chewing on the above information and will be back with
more analysis of these data points as we continue to look forward to ascertain
what the future really holds for the Millennials of the world! </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
To Be Continued... </div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-60742459820010234102020-01-27T12:46:00.000-06:002020-01-27T13:01:22.817-06:00a poem for Gianna and Kobe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Mamba Mentality</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Digging deep with an unparalleled drive to be,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The greatest the game has ever seen,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You’ve stood on each and every peak, screaming out,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Kobe!”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Inspiring a generation to be, </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Something greater than our own eyes could ever see,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Each time we took our shot at the bucket</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether it went or not, just keep shooting, fuck it. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Kobe!”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Shooters shoot, and no one embodied it more</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He gave it all in every game, early AM alarms were the only
kind for him, that rang. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Critics arise, side by side, with the fans who sang, never
before, a man so hated and adored.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He became the heartbeat of LA. I ask you this, what better
way to convey than</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Kobe!” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">More than a man, more than a game. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After January 26<sup>th</sup>, nothing can ever be the same.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A dad, a husband, a coach, a player</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">His sudden departure, we've lost the one of the best creators</span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">known by so many other names but none greater, than;</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Kobe!”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Tears stream down my face for a man who could never be
displaced.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">His mark on history is one that will never be erased. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The game of basketball for which his should be the face.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">No one will ever come close to taking that away and so we
all cry out,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Kobe!”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With bitterness inside and a pain so fresh and new,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We wave goodbye to the one of one, for you are the only one
who could ever be you. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What hurts the most is you had passed the torch, rightfully
so to an up and comer who could scorch,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Her opponents with moves passed down by her father, no one
could’ve been greater except perhaps, your daughter. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The most beautiful name,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Gianna!” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For you and for her, we will cry and we will mourn. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For the time that we had, we must be grateful, though sad. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Gianna and Kobe, so much alike it seemed.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The greatest gift for a father, to see your daughter with
such similar dreams. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">She too, was one of one, just like you. Unique, strong,
beautiful, and her dedication to the game, true. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We’re blessed with one last moment of you two, like father
like daughter we will always remember,</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Gianna and Kobe!” </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Rest in peace. </span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-37977080984204366912019-12-05T05:00:00.000-06:002020-03-09T12:46:52.967-05:00Congress Announces Articles of Impeachment for Trump; Looking Back on 2016 and Forward to 2020<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here we finally are. It’s early December of 2019 and the
Democrat Majority Leader and Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi has finally directed
the House of Republicans to file Articles of Impeachment against the President
of the United States, who in case you missed the last several years, is none
other than Donald Trump. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">To be clear, I am a Liberal-leaning Democrat born and raised
in the belly of Texas. I’ve had no love for Trump from the time he started
campaigning and onwards since he became president. I can admit that I’ve always
found him to be an entertaining figure in the celebrity culture and of course
saw him many times growing up while my Mom watched The Apprentice. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So I recognize that my party affiliation plays a part in my opinion
on the current President of our great Country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But the manner in which Trump has conducted himself for the
entirety of his Presidency has been unprofessional and unbecoming at every step
of his tenure in the once highly respected office. He conducts himself and his
administration not with poise, thought, or consideration but instead with unrepentant
behavior, ever shameless as he pitches more lies to the American media outlets
on the lawn of the White House. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He lied to his supporters in 2016 when he said that he was
going to get what I believe to be an unnecessary wall built on our southern
border and even went so far to claim that Mexico was going to pay for it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He lied to the American people when he said he’d put
American’s and America first. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He lies on a daily basis without hesitation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">His actions throughout his time as President have been
consistently gross, unbecoming of any individual in a leadership position, and
align well with the actions of a man who seems to consider himself before considering
anything or anyone else. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The outrage against Trump and all that he stands for started
quite early on in his presidency. In fact, on January 21, 2017, the day after
Trump was inaugurated into office, the largest protest to ever occur in a
single-day in the U.S., The Women’s March with some 4 million strong across the
country got out and protested Trump’s swearing in as the President. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Let me run a quick reel of lowlights for this administration
and then we can consider what all of that collectively points towards as far as
a solution for our Country as a whole in moving forward. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump issued a Travel Ban that specifically targeted
countries of Muslim majority populations which confirmed for many that this
President was ill-informed and making important decisions based on a foundation
of racism and hate towards the people outside of our Country. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The behavior was obvious prior to his election and even more
so once he came into office. Whether during his tirades such as the one in his
Campaign Launch Speech, where he casually stated, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their
best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people
that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re
bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume are
good people.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Once in office, many of the far-right or alt-right groups
that had been hiding in the shadows became more emboldened to take their
disgusting behavior to the streets and express their hatred and backwards
ideals to the public. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This shift in behavior was evident in August of 2017, when
there was a Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally by White Sumpremacists and
Nazi Sympathizers who were protesting the removal of Confederate statue of
Robert E. Lee, from Charlottesville’s Lee Park. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">On August 12<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>, one of the individuals who was
there in support of the Unite the Right rally, rammed his car into
counter-protestors, injuring 19 people and killing Heather Heyer. In response
to this awful event and the life lost that day, Trump “condemned hatred, bigotry,
and violence on many sides,” with many sides being the key word that most of
the media keyed in on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He later on tried to clean it up but of course tripped over
himself even further stating that there were “very fine people on both sides,”
which again lit a fuse in the liberal media machine as they tore to shreds his
thinly veiled attempt to create some moral equivalence between the Unite the
Right supporters and the counter protestors within the city. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump’s inability to come out and strongly reject white
supremacy in a clear and succinct way was more than worrisome and now, looking
back, was just one clue in the many that should have shown the American public
that this man was not fit for office. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nearly a year after the dust settled from Charlottesville,
another storm was kicking up at the southern border. Trump had made the
decision to implement a “zero-tolerance” policy on the border which as a direct
result, caused many children of asylum seeking parents to be separated from their
parents. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Instead of building the wall on the southern border and
having Mexico pay for it, as Trump had promised on the campaign trail, he
locked up children and separated them from their parents without any true
justification, other than to create a policy so awful and horrible, that it
would serve as a deterrent to future illegal immigrants or asylum seekers. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Despite our country being founded by immigrants and America
being touted for many generations as the “melting pot” of the world, our
President was firmly telling non-American’s that they were unwelcome,
untrusted, and had little chance of participating in the American dream. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While some of our great presidents such as JFK, were looking
within themselves to see how they could best serve America, Trump has spent a significant
portion of his time decrying the media, demonizing immigrants, alienating
non-Trump supporters, and discussing his favorite topic, himself. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump has taken so many actions that have eroded away at the
so called norms of the Presidency that it can be challenging to keep up. In
fact, almost every action that this president takes is either for his own
benefit, or for the benefit of someone around him who he seems to want to
please. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The giant tax cut that Trump pushed through the Legislative
branches while he still had a congressional majority? Disproportionately
benefited the very wealthy while doing nothing to recoup the lost tax revenue.
The tax relief for the middle class? Temporary and built to fall off in the
2020’s. The tax relief for corporations? Indefinite with no expiration. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump was ready to tear down the Affordable Care Act or
Obamacare as it is more commonly known, without a ready or even close to
competent replacement plan and would have succeeded, had John McCain not voted
no in the Senate to pass that legislation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the last few weeks Trump has announced a change in food
stamp policies that will kick 700,000 people off of the food stamp program
established to help American’s in poverty and struggling. In other words, Trump
is punishing the lower income American’s while reducing financial obligations
via Taxes for the richest American’s and corporations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Beyond taxes and healthcare, Trump’s foreign policy has been
a nightmare. He has an understaffed State Department with rampant turnover in
the top positions within his administration. He has started a trade war with
China, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;">praised our
enemies, and undercut the confidence of our allies all in the span of a few
years, yanking the US</span></span> out of numerous key trade agreements and destabilizing
our traditional support of our international allies. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In very short order, America has gone from the undeniable
leader in the international community, to the literal laughing stock of the
leaders within NATO. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Beyond policy decisions, take a look at Trump’s day to day behavior.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump’s unusual adoration of the Russian leader, Vladimir
Putin? In the Obama years being pro-Russia would have lost you an election. Now
the entire GOP has embraced the talking points that Trump pushes out after
fully capitulating on July 16, 2018. That was the day in which Trump held a
press conference with Vlad in Helsinki. In that presser, Trump stated:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I have great confidence in my intelligence people, but I will
tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial
today.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It was a sad day for our country as our President recognized
the most powerful and robust intelligence community in existence on Earth, but
in the same breath expressed doubts about their findings and instead sided with
one of the most corrupt and malicious leaders in modern times. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Not to be outdone by his own seeming affection for Putin,
Trump would later provide lavish praise for an equally awful and deadly
dictator. None other than the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He spent time at
a campaign rally praising Kim,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I was really being tough and so was he,” Trump said. “And
we would go back and forth. And then we fell in love. No really. He wrote me
beautiful letters.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The joking tones aside, Trump has a clear obsession with
power and an even clearer admiration of those with the ability to exercise
their power without regard for rule of law. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Which bring us back full circle to where we are today. Congress
has announced their intention to file Articles of Impeachment against Trump
because he wielded the leverage of 400 million dollars in aid to Ukraine as a
weapon, demanding through formal and informal channels that Ukraine announce an
investigation into the Biden’s in order for Ukraine to receive a formal White
House meeting and the 400 million in upheld aid. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While Trump, Foxnews, and other bumbling idiots such as
Devin Nunes and “Gym” Jordan have all been touting the same lines of defense,
it has been made clear through key witness testimony that Trump wanted an
investigation into the Biden’s and would not release 400 million in defense aid
until he got what he wanted. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This isn’t based on hearsay, this has been confirmed by key
individuals who served under the Trump administration and felt obligated to
speak out in the midst of such utter disregard for rule of law. Trump’s stooges
have also touted Ukraine as potentially being behind the election interference
which undercuts what intelligence community has underlined over and over, as
the FBI has definitively stated that Russia was behind the election
interference. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Ukraine interference that Trump is referring to, is
unsurprisingly a hoax, a debunked theory which has no basis in reality. His thinly
veiled statements saying that he was only interested in fighting corruption, is
a bad faith statement that bears no reflection of the reality of this
administrations actions throughout the entirety of Trump’s presidency. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Let’s not forget that Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort,
key advisors such as Roger Stone, his personal attorney in Michael Cohen, and
many others from the Trump campaign staff were convicted by the United States
for lying to the FBI amongst other charges that easily fall under the tent of
corruption and are currently or will soon be serving time in Federal Prison. The
Russian hoax? Not so much a hoax as many people believe to this day, in fact,
were it not for Attorney General William Barr’s blatant partisan behavior and
utilizing his Attorney General role to act as the personal attorney of Trump,
impeachment may have already gone through in relation to the Mueller
investigation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Beyond all that he has done wrong and all that he continues
to do wrong, the fact of the matter is this: Trump is and has always been unfit
for office. He is corrupt, apathetic, and lies nearly every time he opens his
mouth. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve been asked by Republicans and Conservatives alike in
the recent months, “why do you hate Trump so much?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It’s not out of hate for Trump that I push for his
impeachment. It’s out of a love for America. It’s out of a love for our
Constitution. It’s my patriotism for this great nation that convicts me to
speak out against Trump. I want to see our constitution upheld and I want to
see our governmental bodies function as they were intended by our founding fathers.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump is a symptom but he is not the disease. We have to
stop treating politics as if it is a sports team, and start putting people into
power who are the best and brightest of us. Otherwise Trump will be the beginning,
not the end of unjust politics that circumvent the norms of our government and
seek to upend those structures, abandoning those norms and instead seeking to
consolidate power. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trump has shown a bright light on the darkest patches of
American history and illuminated all of the rot that still remains from our
countries imperfect past. He has stirred up hatred, distrust, bad faith actors,
and is unwilling to do any work at all that could potentially bring our country
together. He has highlighted the divisions and closed the doors on potential
unity or compromise. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He is a wolf, among us without even the decency to dress up
and pretend to be a sheep within the herd. Instead he touts his nature as a
tool, a weapon, an attribute of power to be respected. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">All I see is an old, tired man who has been lost from the
moment he walked into the doors of the White House. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The reality of the situation still stands that Republican
Party has the majority in the Senate. They hold the power to convict or not in
trial that is sure to occur in the Senate once the Congressional body passes the
Articles of Impeachment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Unless pressure is applied by all sides of the American
public, it is doubtful that Trump will be removed from office. However, voting
in 2020 is still by and large the best avenue that we as the voters have of
removing him from power.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Showing up in 2020 is our best shot at resetting the clock
and mending the wounds that Trump has opened up in our great nation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I hope to see you at the voting booth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-78633456732495491612019-09-20T05:00:00.000-05:002019-09-20T16:03:36.188-05:00How To Reduce Anxiety<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
How To Reduce Anxiety</h2>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I used to struggle mightily with social and generalized
anxiety. There were times when I didn’t want to get out of bed for fear of the
social interactions that I’d be required to have in my day to day movements
through life. I’d start to withdraw within myself and remove any possibility of
social interaction by hiding inside of my apartment. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My anxiety had taken full grip of my life and instead of
addressing it, I kept putting off my mental health and continued to spiral into
a negative headspace that left me unable to go to class, despondent in my
relationship with my now wife, and apathetic to the world around me. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It took me bottoming out from a mental health perspective to
finally seek out the help that I needed in order to address the anxiety that I
had allowed to become a well-established, long-term resident in my mind. I know
that so many others out in the world face the same social and generalized
anxiety that I have faced and ultimately overcome in my life. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So I’d like to share some of what helped me to get past my
own anxiety and start living a fear-free, positive life. </span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
How to Reduce
Anxiety: Recognize the Triggers</h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The first step to addressing any problem is to develop the
self-awareness to realize that it is indeed a real problem in your life.
Anxiety happens on a spectrum of intensity and sometimes it can feel as light
as a stomach ache and in other circumstances, it can bring about spontaneous
bouts of panic and unease. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So like any problem you have to recognize how detrimental
your own anxiety has become in your life and work to identify what your
triggers are. Taking the time to evaluate the internal process that occurs when
anxiety creeps up to try to pinpoint what it is that is causing it, is an
important first step. That knowledge is necessary to start combatting those
anxious feelings. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For me, I had a generalized anxiety that often materialized
in a wide variety of social settings, though most often when it came to social
interactions that were wrapped in an obligation or responsibility. I had
started to sluff off on my school work in college, for example, and so any time
I had unexpected encounters with professors whose class I had perhaps skipped,
or not turned in my school work for, I’d start to feel the anxiety creeping
into my mind. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It got so bad at times that I couldn’t even go to the
customer help desk at Walmart to return an item (begging my wife to do it for
me). It was in this season that I started to recognize just how much my anxiety
was crippling me from being able to live a normal life. I knew that it needed
to be addressed but I wasn’t sure what to do. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Recognition is the first step but in recognizing what it is
that triggers your anxiety, I think it’s important to consider that you shouldn’t
simply avoid what triggers it. If anything, you should take a hard look at what
that trigger is, and if it makes logical sense that you allow it to have such
an impact on your life. This will be important as we get deeper into the steps
to reduce anxiety. </span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
How to Reduce
Anxiety: Take Action, Get Healthy</h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sounds a bit general doesn’t it? What do I mean when I say
the simple line; Take action, get healthy? Well, let me ask you a question. Do
you have a regular sleep schedule? Are you taking care of yourself physically? Do
you exercise at all throughout the week? What do your eating habits look like?
Is it fast food on the regular or whole foods? Are you binge drinking or
smoking on a near daily basis? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">These are some of the valid questions that you need to look
in the mirror and ask yourself. If you aren’t getting a regular schedule of
sleep then you are going to be tired. A tired mind over a prolonged period of
time is weaker and more susceptible to fear or anxiety. So that to me is step
number one in the push to “Take Action, Get Healthy”</span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
Get More Sleep</h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Studies show that sleep plays a crucial role in your overall
health as a person. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute “<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Sleep
plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting
enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health,
physical health, quality of life, and safety.” </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">For most people the healthy dose of sleep that you should
aim for on a night to night basis is 7-8 hours. I think this simple fix is
often an overlooked area when it comes to addressing mental anxiety. When you
are tired and groggy, your state of mind is not in peak condition and you
become more susceptible to doubt, fear, negativity, and that creeping feeling
of anxiety as you aren’t at full capacity to handle the curve balls of life.
Just as our phones need a proper recharge in the evening so that they are ready
for a full day of use and activity, our body needs to recharge as well. </span></span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Start
Exercising</span></h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The interesting thing about the different actions that I’m
describing as part of the way to “take action, get healthy” is that they are
all interconnected. Exercise is an important element of breaking out of the
chains of anxiety because it gets your endorphins going, allows you to burn off
excess fat and energy, improves your overall physical health, and also allows
you to get better sleep as you will inevitably sleep more if you’ve physically
exerted yourself via some form of exercise. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I understand how hard it can be to find motivation to
work out, run, play a sport, or even go on a walk when you feel plagued by
anxiety, but breaking out of your own comfort zone and going for a walk in the neighborhood
each evening could be a great way to start some new habits that will breathe
life into a more positive mindset. </span></span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Evaluate
Your Consumption Habits</span></h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This one is going to be absolutely vital in addressing
your propensity to be overcome by anxiety but addressing it is doubly important
as it hits on multiple facets of why you may be feeling anxiety. Looking at
your own consumption habits when it comes to food, alcohol, or any other
substances that may be altering your state of mind, is so key to addressing
your anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Too many times to count, I’ve spoken with friends who are
feeling high levels of stress and anxiety on a daily basis and not only are
they not sleeping and not exercising, but they are also not eating right,
drinking alcohol on a regular basis, and/or consuming mind altering substances.
I understand that many people utilize Cannabis as a means to cope with their
anxiety and calm down their senses. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But I also believe that doing so, alongside drinking or
eating unhealthily on a regular basis, can be a strong root cause for the
anxiety itself. As you start to grow more dependent on any of those type of
consumption habits, you create an internal dynamic where you feel compelled to
do so in order to stave off anxiety. Unfortunately doing so is only applying a
band aid solution. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Clarity of mind is so important in working to address
your anxiety. If you are clouding your thoughts and drowning out anxiety with
alcohol or smoking, then you aren’t truly dealing with the issue. You are only
temporarily ignoring it and by doing it in this manner, you are creating a
vicious cycle of unhealthy behavior. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Your sleep will suffer as your body works through the
night to eliminate the toxins from your body. Your wallet will suffer as you
spend more and more money on alcohol or drugs to numb the pain, developing a
psychological addition to this coping mechanism instead of addressing the
foundational causes of it. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Your relationships will suffer as the people around you
recognize the signs of deteritaion but are unsure how to address it with you
without causing you pain or insecurity. If you are at this place in your life
then I really urge you to evaluate your day to day actions.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">How long have you been in this rut? How long have you
been using this band aid approach to address something that stems much deeper?
How long have you been putting off your physical and mental health in order to
prioritize a short lived escape that never fully addresses the underlining
problem? </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">We all have these seasons in our life that feel difficult
to navigate and I urge you to take a hard look at your own behavior. You <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">cannot </b>try and mount that process of
working on yourself and addressing habits that may be hurting you more than
helping you, on your own. Find friends, family members, a significant other who
can help keep you accountable and encourage you to reduce your intake and
consumption of these substances so that you can allow your mind some time to be
clear headed.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you take that step forward and give your mind and body
a break, you’d be surprised how that can allow for you to better analyze your
mental state and better understand what has been trigging your anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It’s never easy to break a habit especially when you feel
as though smoking or drinking is actually helping you to solve an internal
issue. I’ve seen it in friends and family too many times to count and with all
of the personal experience that I have in this particular area, I have learned
the same lesson over and over. Utilizing drugs or alcohol to cover up your
anxiety only serves to disguise the hurts and pains you are feeling. Until you
give yourself the gift of a clear mind, you will find it difficult to ever
truly address the anxiety that you are feeling. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I urge you to evaluate your consumption habits as getting
a clear mind will lead to be a more coherent through process, the potential for
better sleep, and a clarity that will allow for you to better evaluate the root
causes of your anxiety and start developing a plan of action to truly address
it. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">How to
Reduce Anxiety: Start Living Positively</span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There is no one way to fix your own anxiety as every
single person has a different set of circumstances that has led them to a place
where their anxiety has become a more dominating force in their mindset. As
weird as it might be to consider, I do believe that a little bit of anxiety in
healthy doses can be a good thing for example, feeling somewhat anxious before
a big test might be your minds way of conveying that you need to hit the books
harder and study more. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">How would you relieve the anxiety in a situation like
that? Probably by studying more until your confidence levels were boosted by
the fact that you put in the proper amount of time in class, on school work,
and in the books to prepare for the test. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The problem is when we let anxiety become THE dominating
force in our life and effect our daily walk through the world. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I think if you’ve addressed some of the above discussed
issues in order to stave off anxiety then the next step in my mind is to take
control of your thoughts, and start living positively. With every interaction
and every event that occurs in our life, we have an active choice that we get
to make as far as how we will respond in any given situation. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Only you have the control over your own thoughts as they
race through your mind. You can choose to empower certain trains of thought or
to shut them down and redirect your mind. Which brings me to the next point in
how to reduce anxiety. </span></span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Take
Control Over Your Thoughts</span></h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The people who are living in a state of fear, anxiety, or
negativity are not that way by nature. You’ve established behaviors in your
life that are conditioned responses to any given scenario. Your thoughts are
not an automatic system of which you have no active say or control in. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In fact, you have an immense amount of power inside your
own mind, should you choose to utilize it for the greater good of you. When I
speak of the idea of controlling your thoughts, I don’t mean to say that you
should work to NOT think about a specific thing, feeling, or issue. In fact, research
from Harvard University Psychologist Daniel Wegner shows that the more you try
to not think about something, the higher the chance that your mind will come
back to that topic or issue. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Instead of avoiding a negative thought or trying to
suppress it, I advocate that you redirect your time and energy into something
productive or positive that you enjoy in your life. If I’m obsessing about that
promotion at work that still hasn’t happened for me and allowing it to summon
up a cloud that is following me into the evening after I leave work, I often
will try and redirect my thoughts and focus onto my daughter. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Her smile, her laughter, her playful spirit are the only
cure I need to take my mind off of something that I have no control over (when
that promotion will materialize), and allows me to instead soak in a moment in
time with my loved ones that I will forever cherish. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The hardest thing to do when it comes to anxiety, is
recognizing when a thought is taking place that will lead you down the path to
feeling anxious. But if you can start to work harder to identify these root
causes and sidestep them by redirecting your thoughts to something that is
beneficial, positive, productive or useful for your mental health, then you can
start to build a new healthier habit. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">My wife has had issues of negativity, doubt, and stress
in the past with most of the things that create those feelings, being people or
things that she has little control over. We’ve been working as a family to
remind each other what we can and cannot control, and remind each other that
worrying about what we have no control over, is wasting your time and your
energy. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve seen a drastic reduction over the years in the power
that my wife gives to external issues, stresses, and anxieties and in turn, an
even more drastic increase in the positivity that is flowing through her each
and every year. As she realized just how much power she has over her own
thoughts, a beautiful shift began to take place. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve had a similar experience with my own thoughts
particularly when it comes to the feelings of anxiety that used to plague me in
simple social interactions. I recognized that the anxiety was of little use to
me and it was inhibiting normal day stuff that I used to be able to do without
worry. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Identifying the anxiety, its root causes, addressing how
I allowed it to affect me, and redirecting my thoughts allowed me to focus on
areas in my life that gave me positive vibes, uplifting feelings, and restored
the power into my own hands. </span></span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Reject
Negative Self Talk, Embrace Positivity in Your Life</span></h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In line with the idea of taking back the power of your
thoughts I think you also have to reject the negative self-talk that so many of
use indulge over extended periods of time. You as a human have to be your number
one advocate through life. It <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can’t</i>
be your best friend, your spouse, your siblings, your parents, your boss, your
kids, your coach, or any other influential person in your life. It has to be
YOU! </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">At the end of the day, no one knows you as well as you do
yourself. So why do you talk badly about yourself? Why do you make
self-deprecating jokes? Why do you consider yourself last when you compare your
own life to the ones around you being lived out by the people you care about? </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You don’t have to be super confident in your own
abilities to understand that your own internal dialogue can go a long way in
either positively impacting or negatively impacting who you are as a person. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">You can place the blame on anxiety but sometimes I think
we use anxiety as the crutch for why we aren’t evaluating our own internal
behavior with more critical eyes. The anxiety is an emotional reaction to some
sort of stimuli, whether it be internal or external. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">More often than not, I’d argue that anxiety materializes
based off of an internal conversation that you are having with yourself. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I’m not
going to be able to talk to this cashier at Walmart so I’ll just not return the
item that was faulty.” </span></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I can’t
see the professor outside of class he might ask me why I missed the last
lecture.” </span></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I can’t
ask that question to my boss or he might think I’m an idiot.” </span></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In each of those examples, I was telling myself what I
couldn’t do or projecting a negative outcome for something that hadn’t happened
yet. I KNOW that we all do this to a degree and this is such a big root cause
of our internal struggle with anxiety! </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve done it a million times in my life but I wasn’t
recognizing that I was doing it for the longest time, so I wasn’t making the
change necessary to stop those kind of negative self-talk moments in their tracks,
and thus, my anxiety was overwhelming. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I finally realized and became of aware of these
internal musings that were actually dragging me into the mud of anxious
feelings, I was a bit shocked. What am I saying to myself? Why am I letting
myself become fearful about something that isn’t even real? </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was literally creating imaginary situations in my own
head and in those entirely fictional accounts, I was telling myself that I’d
LOSE! How crazy is that?!</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">And yet, I fear that too many people in our world are
doing exactly the same thing multiple times a day without even recognizing that
they are doing it. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Consider your thoughts and do your best to catch yourself
in the act if you’ve been speaking negatively over your own life or situations
you come across in it. If you instead start speaking life into your situation,
your fears, your anxiety, and are doing your best to serve as a conduit for
positivity, then you will start to feel that shift in your internal monologue. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">There is no room for anxiety when you start filling
yourself up with positive energy, pushing out the negative self-talk, and
replacing it with self-encouragement that will eventually lead you to
realization of your best you. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Embracing the positive aspects of life and taking the
time to consider them and hold them close in your mind, instead of allowing
negativity, fear, doubt, and anxiety to fill that space, will have a tremendous
impact on your mental health if you choose to live in that manner over a longer
stretch of time. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Conditioned emotional responses turn into habits and
habits over the long term turn into your personality traits. So by working to
recondition your mind and start living with a more positive mindset, you will
see a dramatic swing in the right direction. </span></span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Utilize Meditation,
Yoga, or Prayer</span></h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">So you’ve been working to take control over your
thoughts, to reject negative self-talk and in its place, encourage yourself and
speak positively over your own direction, and now you are looking for ways to
continue down that path of reducing your internal anxiety and becoming a more
free person, ready to interact with the world and live in a more fluid manner. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I think an excellent resource to try and continue to
shape your own thought patterns and continue to work on reducing anxiety, is to
practice the act of meditation, yoga, prayer, or a combination of all of these. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I especially like meditation and yoga because the idea
behind it is to quiet your mind. It can be difficult to make the time and
effort to do so, but spending the concerted effort to actually still your mind
and just breathe to meditate or focus your mind on your movements in Yoga, can
be so effective to help you put anxiety into perspective. Often I’ve considered
how silly my anxieties have been at time and questioned why I ever allowed
myself to be so overcome by that feeling. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It all traces back to me not caring for my body, my mind,
not getting proper sleep, and not taking control of my thoughts. Reducing
anxiety isn’t easy but it is possible for anyone to do if they are finally fed
up enough with the power it has taken from them. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you are religious or not, prayer is also a great
way to put your problems into perspective. The act of praying for someone else’s
circumstances, hurts, worries, loss of job, loss of a loved one, etc. is yet
another method of considering how small your anxiety really is when compared to
the losses or issues that others may be facing. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The smaller you can make that anxiety in your mind and in
comparison to some of the tangible hardships others face, the greater amount of
power you can give back to yourself as you take that power back from anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Utilizing meditation, yoga, or prayer are all valid ways
to actively decrease or reduce your anxiety and continue to learn how to
control your thought process to re-empower you in your own life. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">How to
Reduce Anxiety: Consider Therapy</span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">While I’m listing this option at the bottom of the
article, I don’t feel as though this is a last resort option. In fact for some people
this might be the best first step to take. Discussing your anxiety and working
to understand the roots of it with a professional is a fantastic way to start
addressing your anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">As I’ve been <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/first-therapy-session.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">going
to Therapy</span></a>, it has served me well in identifying some of the problem areas
and behaviors in my life and allowed me a better insight into why I was so
anxious in my early 20’s and unable to shake that cloud over my life. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know that it isn’t an option for everyone as it does
cost money but consider the cost of therapy as an investment into your mental
health and long term success on this planet. Navigating your own thoughts is no
easy feat and having a good therapist to bounce your issues, questions, hurts,
and history off of will help you to establish a roadmap to successfully
navigating and ultimately overcoming your anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I used to have a lot of fear/anxiety associated with
going to a therapist but after finally finding the right one, it’s become one
of the most effective tools on my journey to be a better person and to have a
greater control over my anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is a long road approach that bears much fruit if you
are committed to going consistently and being open to the suggestions of your
therapist. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">How to
Reduce Anxiety: Consider Medication</span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The final option that I believe you should consider in
reducing your anxiety is to take prescribed medication. I hesitate to be an
advocate for prescription pills as a means to control an emotional state but I
have to admit as someone who has taken anti-anxiety medication in the past, it
can be useful in that it teaches you that your anxiety can be controlled. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">However I also want to caution readers that medication is
not for everyone as it does have varying levels of side effects other than the
intended use of reducing your anxiety. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Ultimately, I stopped taking my medication because though
it helped with reducing my anxiety, it also made me more apathetic and numb in
general on a day to day basis. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I felt emotionally disconnected from my spouse and my
actions, and began to recognize that I wasn’t behaving like myself. </span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">do think for some it can serve as either a short term
solution to teach you how to control your anxiety, or a long term solution for
those who feel comfortable and themselves on the meds. But I would really
emphasize that I think all other options on this list of how to reduce anxiety
should be explored prior to taking the step of getting on medication. </span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’d be really interested to hear any of the reader’s
responses, reactions, or personal experiences with any of the above methods of
reducing anxiety and hope that we can all work to be our best selves from a
mental and physical standpoint. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you
enjoy reading Likelyfiction then please take the time to subscribe to the blog
for updates as more articles are released, share it with your friends and
family, and comment below so we can continue the discussion. Also check out my
recent post about the “<a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/how-to-be-better-person.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">4
Ways to be a Better Person</span></a>” which as described in the title is 4 concise
and useful tips on how you can work to be a better human in this crazy world we
call Earth. </span></span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Likelyfiction.com is a
participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate
advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising
fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.</span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;">Resources:</span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"> “<a href="https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/sleep-deprivation-and-deficiency"><span style="color: #0563c1;">National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute</span></a>”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200401/mind-control-unwanted-thoughts"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Psychology
Today “Mind Control Unwanted Thoughts”</span></a> </span></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-28245995625175767912019-09-18T05:00:00.000-05:002019-09-18T14:45:37.629-05:004 Ways to be a Better Person<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
How to Become Better?
A Very Human Question:</h2>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve been chewing on this question for a while which is “How
do I become a better person?” It’s a bit of a loaded question is it not? There
are a seemingly limitless amount of facets to the individual human being all of
which contribute to the overall personality and trajectory of a singular life
within this world. Taking the time for this type of self-reflection opens the
door to thoughts for consideration;</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We are all unique in some aspect of ourselves but with the
caveat of also carrying with us overlapping commonalities that ultimately serve
to unite us as human beings. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We all feel the pain of grief as someone we know or love
passes. We all experience the gift of life at one point or another through
having our own children or being close to someone who has a child. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As parents, we all want to see our child succeed in the
world and do our best to equip them in preparation for the hard stoic face that
reality can present at times. Some of us are united through a religion. Others
through a love of music or sports. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
The complexity of the human experience seems as infinite in
its scope as the universe itself and yet this ever changing species can at
times pull together to accomplish previously unimaginable feats, such as putting a man on the Moon. </div>
</span><br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
Ever
Changing Human Condition, Looking to the Future:</h3>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The condition of humans across the Earth has evolved over
the long expanse of time and those of us lucky enough to exist in the modern
era, especially in so called “first world countries” such as America have experienced
potential and accesses to opportunity that very few in the past had within
their grasp. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We are all individually contributors to a much larger
composite that stretches, contorts, and finally settles into the over-arching
identity of man-kind. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">No one man determines the definition of man-kind. But could
the sustained and collaborative efforts of a vast population of individuals
reshape the identity of what humans could potentially do with their time on
this Earth? </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is where that question comes back into play of “How to
be a better person”. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Given the opportunity to change the world for the better, if
the larger mass of humans on this planet were contemplating that question with
a firm conviction to than act in a manner to pursue the answer with fiery
passion, how different could our world be for the better? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
It brings to mind the beautiful thoughts contained in the
song “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Imagine</i>” by John Lennon. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i>“Imagine all the people, living life in peace. You may say
that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us and
the world will be as one.” </i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07FDMZ25Y&asins=B07FDMZ25Y&linkId=c1dd6ab373d6e17d768472f647ed9816&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
I’m certain that many back when that song was released and
even today consider that idea as pure idealism, not fit for a harsh world that
too often chews you up and spits you out as you fall precipitously from the
clouds and come down hard on the pavement of reality. But I find it rather
inspiring. Lennon was looking ahead towards the future and picturing the
possibilities of life if humans would interact in a more unified and positive
manner towards one another.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
The idea of us all coming together as humans, united by a
core belief that we have to be better in order to make the world a better place
isn’t silly or devoid of possibility. It is firmly within our grasp if we so
choose to reach out and assert it as the reality that we desire, with a
willingness to pursue such a vision. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
What does it really mean to be a “better human”? Is it
measurable? Is it a list of do’s and do not’s? Is it practical, effortless, and
simple or do you have to be extraordinarily involved, focused, and diligent in
your pursuit? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
So many questions and so little time! Let’s start with the first method in my list of <i>4 ways to be a better human. </i></div>
</span><br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
Working to be
Selfless in Order to be a Better Person</h3>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the era of overwhelming connectivity and ease of access,
it is easier than ever to be so focused on comparing yourself with the people
who you know in some way or another. I listened to a great sermon recently
where the pastor discussed how so often our thoughts are trained on social
media and comparing others “highlight reels with OUR blooper reels.” </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It’s true as so many post their best versions of themselves
and broadcast them to the rest of the world. Behind the curtain those same
people they may actually be struggling with issues outside of the purview of
friends, and family. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The truth is we all have our struggles, hurts, and
difficulties in life and we’d all be better off if we stopped living a
comparative life, and started trying to be more selfless in our approach to the
world. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If we all reached out a helping hand and heart, to try and
add something positive into the world around us (without keeping score or doing
it with a specific expectation) then I believe the world would be a kinder and
accepting place. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Deep down we all have the desire to be “better” than we are,
whether in attempt to be a better spouse, parent, employee, or human in
general.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
How often do you reflect on your past? In <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/first-therapy-session.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">attending
therapy</span></a>, working to have <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/top-5-new-healthy-hobby.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">healthier
hobbies</span></a>/habits and cutting back on a lot of the <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/using-your-time-effectively.html"><span style="color: #0563c1;">wasted
time in my life</span></a>, I’ve been looking forward at where I’m trying to arrive
later in my life. All the while also looking back in an attempt evaluate my
past and analyze the path I’ve been on to get where I am now. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I think we often are so occupied with the busy-ness of the
present day activity in our life that we don’t make the proper amount of time
to look back in our own personal history to better understand how different
moments in our life were pivotal points that led us down a successful path. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I believe that if we all work harder to set ourselves aside
for a moment a few times a week or month and work to try and be more helpful to
the people in need around us it would have tremendous positive effects. Not
only would we be helping to meet a need in someone else’s life, but we’d also
be helping ourselves by allowing for mental and spiritual growth. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Because let’s be honest; doesn’t it feel good, to feel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good</i>? Giving back to the community,
volunteering for your child’s PTA function, whatever that looks like in your
own life. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Take the time to try and exercise your selflessness this
week and that is most certainly going to help open the door towards you
evolving into a better person. Moving on to step 2 in my list of <i>4 ways to be a better person! </i></div>
</span><br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
Reconnect with the
Real World to be a Better Person</h3>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Being in a long term relationship is hard if you didn’t
already know. You are taking two unique creatures with their own
individualistic pursuits and ideals about life, their own rituals to get
through each day, and their own idea of cleanliness and throwing them into a
long term shared experience to either thrive or decay. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I don’t think relationships are ever an easy rite of passage
as so many of us are unwilling to give up our own outlook on how life should be
lived and curve or bend to our partner to allow for a more mutually beneficial
experience. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Even harder, is the fact that we now are not only aware that
there are “plenty of fish in the sea” but we have applications designed around
promoting and enabling a hook up mentality where you can just grab a date on
Tinder based on a mutual attraction confirmed via swipe, and after the short
lived experience is over, get back into the application to search for a new
match and continue the cycle. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m concerned about these trends in our society as we allow
technology to continue further and further down the path of becoming an
alienation tool. I mean this in the sense that social media, television,
streaming content, etc is all setup so that you can consume and “enjoy” life
from a distance. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
You don’t have to go hang out at your best friend’s house,
you can just like their post and comment back and forth. Speak on the phone?
Why would you do that when you can text? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
So many of the social barriers that used to exist that I believe
were positive for growth and learning as an adult, are being removed or bridged
over in order to avoid any sort of positive or negative confrontation and allow
for users to seamlessly consume whatever their heart desires online without
speaking with a single, real life human. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Is it healthy for our society that we are leaning more and
more on advanced tech to navigate the social world? I’d say it is not, at least
if we want to be able to pull together as a people and make the world a better
place. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Now can the internet and all the new manner of online social
connectivity also serve as a tool of good and be useful to long term goals that
are constructive for our species? Yes (<i>but only after I retweet this meme of a
cat wearing a batman costume on my fancy, soon to be "old" iPhone X!) </i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07P6Y8L3F&asins=B07P6Y8L3F&linkId=3915f2ee7e89da11940ad7780a79e93e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
It is important that in looking to better ourselves as
humans in this crazy world that we put in extra time, effort, and hard work
reconnecting with the “real world” around us.</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Don’t just share a post on Facebook or upvote a post on
reddit. If you want to start making some real change in our society, put down
the phone and try to go to an actual location where you can make a difference. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
This action goes hand in hand with the first idea of
pursuing selflessness as it is combining the execution of an important trait
alongside the action of getting out in the world and putting that skillset to
use! </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I’ll give you an example from my life and a situation that
happened a few years back. A nearby town in my local area was struck by a
rather devastating Tornado (Texas being within the boundaries of the so called
Tornado Alley is no joke guys). </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
As we watched the news and tracked the beast of a storm we
were quite concerned. Sharing news on social media, commenting on people’s
posts to make sure they were okay as they lived in that area, etc etc. But
after the tornado took its toll, and the next day came about, we realized that
we wanted to do more and this was a local community in need. But what could we
do? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
How could we work to help in such a mess of damage and
wreckage that was left after the Tornado ravaged neighborhoods within the town?
As dog-owners ourselves, we decided that it might behoove us to go to the town
dog shelter and volunteer for a while as our manner of aid. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
There were so many people pouring in to help not just at the
shelter but across the town, that authorities were actually turning people away
as the outpouring of aid was clogging up the town and making it more difficult
for workers to clear the destroyed properties. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
We didn’t do anything insane as we were both pretty broke at
that point in time but we wanted to help and the best way for us to do so, was
to walk dogs that were either dropped off at the shelter recently or picked up
in neighborhoods that were damaged or destroyed by the storm. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Loving on those dogs and taking them for small walks while
their holding areas were cleaned was the best way that we knew how to help at
that point in time. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Was it much? Not at all. But we felt some peace afterwards
for doing something to try and share some love within a hurting community. We
were pleased with ourselves for breaking out of our shell, not just sharing or
liking a post on social media but going out and working towards a tangible act
to try and help in a way that we felt we could contribute.<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
We all have to be better about working to reconnect with the
real world and allow ourselves to at times, take on that servant mentality
where we give to others without expectation of praise or reward, but simply to
help others who are needing a hand up in life. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I know that it can be easy to fall back on the excuse of
saying, “Well we don’t have time to get involved to that level.” But the truth
is we all have the same amount of time in each day to get accomplish what we
prioritize. Whether it be prioritizing watching Netflix and chilling, going out
to eat, or scrolling through your social media feed until you get tired. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One tool that my wife
and I have been utilizing in order to create more space in our evening schedule
to be productive and find windows of time to participate in the real world, has
been to leaning more heavily on our <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WRCFJ96/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07WRCFJ96&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=2eeae3b439cb9f2cdc131beab864bf4f"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Pressure
Cooker</span></a>.</i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It allows us the
ability to quickly get a delicious meal prepped and cooked in a compressed time
frame so that we aren’t sacrificing our own physical health by eating junk or
fast food, but also aren’t spending our entire evening cooking and cleaning up
afterwards. </i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I think sometimes in this giant world of online connectivity
we make the assumption that someone else will pick up the slack but fail to
realize that we are that “someone else” that others in dire need are counting
on. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
We have to stop allowing assumptions to take the lead as
that means that there are people in need out there who aren’t having their
needs met due to the rising inaction of disassociated humans. We have to make
it a stronger and more direct priority to reconnect with the real world and
find our own unique ways to help out the ones in need. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Acting selflessly, more often, and taking action to
reconnect with the people in need in the real world are two valid steps in your
effort to become a better person. What are some of the areas of need in your
own local community that you think you could step up to serve and address as a
volunteer or individual contributor? Which brings me to the next method in my list of <i>4 ways to be a better person. </i></div>
</span><br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
Aim To Be More
Forgiving & Less Defensive to be a Better Person</h3>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Picking back up on the idea of relationships, not just
romantic ones but friendships, familial relationships, and even our
relationships with co-workers, I think it is important to emphasize that we all
need to be more forgiving to the ones around us. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You know how every single one of us grew up going to school
and at one time or another experienced or witnessed someone getting bullied? As
an adult I often wonder what underlining hurts/pains/realities were behind the
scenes in that bully’s life to make them act out in the way that they did. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The truth is we never know what’s going on in the background
of someone else’s life. Whether it is a hard home life, a bad medical report,
disagreement or even divorce within a marriage, financial ruin or overwhelming
debt. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So many things can go wrong in a single life and at a rather
unexpected and high velocity rate of occurrence. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
So we all have to be better to forgive one another and not
only to be more forgiving, but to be less defensive in our approach to life. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Whenever I was having troubles with finances in my life and
my spouse would bring it up, I’d get very defensive, shying away from the
conversation and even sometimes resorting to anger in my tone as I’d respond.
What did this accomplish? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
For starters, it pushed my wife
away and in the same breath, alienated me. It disallowed any possibility that
the area that I was struggling in could be addressed because I cut off much
needed communication and conditioned my wife to feel as though any time that
particular element was brought up, it would lead to confrontation. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
So it became a snowball effect of
negative activity and negative consequences. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
While I think that many of us grow
up in harsh environments or are brought up with negative associations about
certain topics such as personal finance, I’ve continued to find that the more
open, honest, and communicative you are with your wife, partner, best friend, or
whoever it is in your life that you care about most, the better off you will be
as you walk together in life and into whatever the future may hold. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
If we expand that thought past not
just our loved ones but out into the real world and try to be more open,
truthful, loving, kind, compassionate, and ready to communicate with a heavy
emphasis on those positive qualities, then surely we will have more positive
interactions with the other humans who have made Earth their home. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I think sometimes we are so ready
to get in an argument over silly, non-impactful areas of discussion that we are
closing the door to the possibility of constructive, game changing conversation
that could bring us together with people from all walks of life in order to
produce a more coherent and well established vision for the direction of humans
across the planet. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
The overlap of positive qualities
really starts to become evident and gain some steam when you add it all up. If
you are looking to be more selfless, trying to reconnect with the real world
around you, approaching conversations and relationships with more forgiveness
in your heart and a less defensive attitude, how could you not start to morph
into a better person? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
It sounds rather easy when I type
it all out but the truth is we are in a world of distractions and we live in a
world where the individuals in power often contribute to the seeding of
discontent, to creating the illusion of one side versus the other. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
If you can shy away from being
drawn into the social media fights, the combative comments that derive from
that crazy relative that you’re never going to convince anyways, whatever it
may look like for your life, and redirect your time and energy into something
more fruitful, you will feel the positive effects of that decision over the
long term. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Even when we disagree with others
about politics, money, religion, etc. we all need to work to be better people
to each other and find a middle ground of commonality to stand on instead of
each of us resorting to flee to our own isolated islands of pride and contempt. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Which brings me to my final point in my list of the <i>4 ways to be a better person.</i> </div>
</span><br />
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Be Kind and Be Respectful to be a Better Person</h3>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know, I know these varying
approaches to being a better person are starting to stack up. But doesn’t it
make sense that in order to work to be a better person, you’d need to start
acting with more kindness?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If we all started treating others
with respect not based on their authority over you or their position in life,
but just based on the fact that they are a fellow human who deserves to be
treated as such, I think it’s safe to say that the world would be transformed
for the better. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I understand that it isn’t easy
but when you start to give out the gift of kindness and respect to those around
you that you interact with on a day to day basis, you’d be surprised to see
that they may start to reciprocate. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It isn’t some bizarre magic or
math equation that makes this so, it’s simply human nature. When I take the
time to talk to someone new in the office and find that they too are a dad, a
hard worker, and do the best they can to take care of their family, it’s logical
that I start to build up common ground with them and develop a more friendly
relationship. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Even further if I made a gesture
of kindness and generosity in order to allow them to feel more welcomed into
the new environment, for example offering to buy them lunch in their first
week, that is going to establish a strong connection between us that allows for
future positive interactions and a continued open channel of mutual respect and
kindness. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
If you took the time to try and
understand the people around you and get a greater glimpse into their movements
through life you might start to better appreciate those who you interact with
and treat them with more of the kindness and respect that they deserve simply
for existing as a human being. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
I’ve had to work hard to stop
looking at relationships in the work place, in church, in my parent circles, or
in my friendships as transactional and start appreciating them purely for the
interaction and perspective that they can provide. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Life shouldn’t be transactional!
It should be overflowing with kindness, joy, compassion, love, forgiveness, and
generosity! If you are only ever looking at an individual relationship and
asking what they’ve done for you lately, then you clearly need to reshape your
thought process. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Relationships can be much like a
garden in that if you are willing to put in the time and effort to feed and
water them, maintaining them throughout the seasons, they can bear fruit. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
But sometimes you have to
understand that the process or gardening aspect itself can be the reward as it
isn’t always about what fruit or reward you get in the end of it all. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Not every relational experience
and interaction is going to end with a bounty that is reflective of your labor.
It just won’t happen. Haven’t you ever had a plant that implemented every trick
in the book to maintain, water, and ensure it was properly taken care of, only
for it to die? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
This exists within the confines of
relationships as well. Some people you will look to pour time, energy,
thoughtfulness, compassion, love and so many other positive things and they
still will not look to return that sentiment. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Identify your own allocation of
these precious resources and if you see that you are heavily handed in
expending them on individuals who are uninterested in returning that love, and
positive energy to you, then perhaps that should be evident of a toxic
relationship. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Don’t get confused however, in
believing that all relationships should have a, “I did this for you, now you do
this for me,” chain of behavior. That is the opposite end of a spectrum and
approaching any sort of relationship with that sort of thinking will be bad for
you and for the people you are interacting with. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
People are quick to catch on if
they believe that you are only ever interacting with them because you “have an
angle” or they perceive you as trying to benefit from that interaction somehow.
Ensure that you have pure intentions when pursuing a friendship or relationship
because motives matter when you are looking to be a better person. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Being a better person means having
good intentions when you are looking to improve a friendship or relationship.
If it is only a transaction based friendship where each of you is keeping track
of what you’ve done for one another over time, it will falter and fade away and
you will continue to see your friends fall back from spending time with you. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Transactional thinking will only
bring you down as those type of relationships are empty and not rooted in
attributes that will lead to a long lasting, healthy relationship. Acting in
that way surely will not lead you to being a better person. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
It is key to remember too, that
you’ll never have a full cup if you are relying on someone else to fill it. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
It’s your responsibility to fill
your own cup (be happy) and then to do what you can to help others achieve that
same level of fullness, not because you will get something out of that
interaction, but because it’s the right thing to do! </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Adding on to this idea, you must
take the time to consider the people that you are working to impress, befriend,
and build long term relationships with. Are these people going to help you in
your path to being a better person or are they going to hinder you? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Consider the type of person that you
want to attract into your life and then go out there and work to build up those
relationships as they will be immensely influential in the trajectory of your
own direction. Have you heard of the idea that you are the average of the 5
people you spend the most time with? Consider that thought and do the math! </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Would you be happy to be the average of the 5 people you spend most of
your time with or would you feel as though you are only scratching the surface
of your potential? I love the book, “How To Win Friends & Influence People”
as it walks you through the pursuit of being your best you, and how to actually
achieve it. </i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It has helped guide some of the most successful people both in a
business and in their personal lives and is must read material if you’ve been
searching for a text that will give you that concrete foundation to
establishing a new, better, stronger, and more successful you. </i></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0006IU7JK&asins=B0006IU7JK&linkId=e2fe76274e29bd5bd78b343e9ea0feb8&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Listen Carefully, Speak When You Have Something to Say</b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
In line with that thought, this is
why it is also so key for you to listen intently to those around you especially
if they’ve come to you with a struggle or pain that they are dealing with.
Consider your interactions with your friends, family, or significant others and
evaluate how the conversation goes. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Do you find yourself venting for
90% of the talk and then listening very little to the hurts, hardships, or
weekly struggles that they are facing? I’ve had many a friend who would listen
for a moment, pause without response, and then redirect the conversation back
to whatever topic they were solely focused on. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Don’t be that friend! Listen with
your full attention so that the people in your life know that they can bounce
things off of you with the expectation that you’ll provide a REAL response. How
many times have you see people sharing kind sentiments on your social media
post but then fail to see any of those people materialize in real life when you
face an actual struggle? </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
This underlines again why it is so
important to get out in the real world and develop actual offline
relationships!</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Being a better person means
listening well, talking when you have something to say, and being available
when the people in your life that you love are in need. It’s never easy and you
will be hard pressed to find others who are willing to commit their time, ears,
and heart ALL the time when you are in need yourself. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
But by taking that step of
reaching out of your comfort zone, being kind, being respectful, listening with
intention and love, and speaking up when you have something on your heart, I
believe you will transform into a better person. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
Living a purposeful life where you
are introspective, question yourself about your own behaviors in friendships
and relationships, and look towards the future in asking yourself how you will
be a better person, a better human, is undeniably important to society as a whole. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
But on a smaller scale it’s wildly
important for your local circle of friends, family, and loved ones. That
self-reflection will allow for you to grow and become a better version of you,
which is exactly the point of this entire blog. </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
By working to be more selfless in
your behavior, reconnecting with the real world, trying to be more forgiving
and less defensive, interacting with kindness and respect, and listening more
to the people in your life while better guarding your words and speaking with intention,
you will most assuredly become a better human being.<br />
<br />
I hope this write-up of the 4 ways to be a better person has been helpful for you and given you some practical things to implement as well as my personal insight into my own life in trying to utilize these methods. If you enjoy reading at <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/">Likelyfiction</a>, please share my site with your friends, family, or enemies (just kidding guys), comment on the post to continue the discussion with me online, or subscribe to receive the latest posts as I release them!<br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br /></div>
<br />
</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-66379804120241228682019-09-12T05:00:00.000-05:002019-09-26T08:06:35.126-05:00How To Motivate Yourself<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
How to Motivate Yourself</h2>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We all have a variety of goals, aspirations, dreams,
objectives, wants, needs, desires, etc. Whatever that looks like for you, at
the end of the day reaching the final destination for your dreams isn’t so much
about establishing what they are, but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining
the motivation</i> in the pursuit of those goals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Too many times to count, I’ve
set out with the grandest expectations for a direction I was headed in life but
as I traveled down a particular road, I found myself <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">losing the motivation</i> to continue on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Today I want to discuss <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how to motivate yourself</i> whether you are
pursuing weight loss, eating better, keeping a clean house, breaking bad
habits, or building up new ones. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You can fill in the blank with whatever it is
that you are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">struggling to stay motivated</i>
towards as the means to keep up that motivation is often the same across the
board for many different objectives. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">How many of us have made promises to ourselves each time a
new year rolls around that we are going to achieve a specific target only to
falter shortly there-after and relapse back to our old habits? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve made goals
of reading more books, losing weight, cooking more at home and eating out less,
drinking less alcohol, only to go back on my own promises to myself and step
back into an unhealthy behavior. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When considering the failed attempts we’ve all made at times
to achieve a personal pursuit it probably feels a bit impossible to stick with
a new habit or goal. But for those of us who have strived to be better and
succeeded we know that it just isn’t the case. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The means to accomplishing your
aspirations and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining strong
motivation</i> in your pursuits is not managed through some one time feat of
productivity or energy. Instead it looks much more like an ocean tide that slowly
but surely wears away at a shoreline. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Which brings me to the overarching manner
to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining your motivation</i> in
whatever pursuit you have in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">’ve broken into down into three primary
areas to focus on in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">keeping those
motivation levels strong</i> of which there are a couple of overlapping
mechanisms to ensure that you can <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stay
highly motivated</i> to pursue your goals far into the future. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b>The three primary methods are:</b></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;"> <i>
</i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Establish a long-term goal</i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Establish the foundation of ‘why’ for which you
are pursuing that goal</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "symbol"; margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Involve people or mechanisms in your goal that will
help to keep you accountable in that pursuit</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sounds simple enough, right? In truth it is and it isn’t. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maintaining motivatio</i>n isn’t a clear cut
path as there will be hills and valleys throughout the duration of your
journey. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now let’s dig a bit deeper into each method to better
understand how they will help you to unlock your <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ability to motivate yourself</i> and keep on trekking after the goals
you’ve established in life. </span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
Establish a Long-Term
Goal</h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When it comes to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining
motivation</i> for yourself in any pursuit, the starting point is with the
original plan or establishing the long term goal for yourself. My current long
term goal is to write 10 blog posts a month, for the next 9 months or 90 total
posts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So far I’ve stayed with that goal in the short term but I know that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining strong conviction</i> in my
pursuit, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">keeping myself motivated</i>
in that pursuit will be the tough part as the months pass. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So with a long term
goal established of 90 posts in 9 months, I have my over-arching template
established for what I need to achieve. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When you consider that many blog posts and then determine
that I want to average at least 1800 words per post, it starts to feel a bit
overwhelming does it not? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> mean 90 posts multiplied by 1800 words is 162,000
words in a 9 month period of time. Now that I write that out, it starts to
weigh on me as considering the totality of the task that I’ve assigned myself,
it feels very improbable that I could reach that height. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Can I keep up my
motivation over 9 flipping months to write that much? Not if I am constantly
focused on the bigger goal as a whole. That amount seems too much, too fast,
and some might call it unsustainable. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But wait a second it isn’t a bad thing to
be setting some extreme long term goals to pursue, right? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Of course not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We
need to set some crazy goals in our life to push after otherwise we will always
be achieving lesser than the potential that is inside of us all. What if I fail
to reach that final objective in the time frame that I’ve established? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That’s
okay too, as the entire point of setting up an extreme objective is that even
if you fall a bit short in the end, you will be far better off than where you
originally started. If I end up only creating 65 or 75 posts in that period of
time, then I’ll aim to finish the full 90 within 12 months. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Pivoting your goal
in order to maintain your ability to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">keep
yourself motivated</i> is perfectly acceptable and nothing to get down on
yourself about. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=171993939X&asins=171993939X&linkId=2f517b89678d6350254e56364be98754&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The one thing we can’t do is to allow negativity, doubt, or
fear to shadow our pursuit. Those type of thoughts are not productive when you
take on such a challenge and we as a humans have to start taking power over
those thoughts and redirecting them into something that is more productive. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It
isn’t easy to do but we need to adjust our thought process to disallow those
negative thoughts from creeping into our mind throughout the process. This is
huge and vital when you are working on the heavy handed task of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">motivating yourself in pursuit of that long
term goal</i>.</span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
Create Smaller Goals Within The Long Term Goal</h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Do not forget that you can’t accomplish the entirety of that
objective in a singular effort. You HAVE to divide it out into easier to digest
portions to <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/facing-burnout-in-midst-of-following.html">avoid burnout (see my post that deep dives this topic even further)</a> and maintain the healthy motivational levels that you
need to conquer any task. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Just by looking forward in my own life and by stating the
overall goal, I’ve already taken a great step in reaching it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By further
dividing it into smaller goals and milestones to reach the in that pursuit, the
goal begins to feel more attainable in the short term and thus easier to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintain my motivation</i> towards. I’m
reminded of the question: </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“How do you eat an
elephant?” </span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One bite at a time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If that elephant is your goal to drop 50
lbs. over the course of the next year, you’d never consider the idea of losing
that 50 lbs. in the course of a few weeks. It would be impossible and there is
nothing you could do to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">motivate yourself
to try</i> and pursue something to that extreme. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But if you broke it down to 4
pounds a month over the course of a year, it starts to feel much more
attainable. You have to mentally prepare yourself for the long journey by
creating an environment to experience small, yet tangible successes throughout
the pursuit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Those little victories will begin to snowball over time too as you
begin to witness the fruits of your own labor. Sure you may not notice much change
if you hit that first month milestone of having lost 4 pounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But by month 2
or 3, when it is now creeping past 10 pounds or more that you’ve lost, you’ll
start to feel the positive effects of your diligence and this opens the door
for strengthened resolve and that oh so sweet realization that: </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I really CAN do this.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Another important element of breaking the larger goal into
smaller milestones to in chasing your particular achievement, is that you can
establish these check points, if you will, as places within your path that you
are able to celebrate the progress you’ve achieved. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whenever I have a
particular savings goal for my family where we are aiming to save $X amount of
money by a certain time of the year, we will often pair that goal with some
kind of reward that is activated once we hit that financial milestone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Maybe
it’s going out on a really nice dinner for a celebratory date or buying that
sick ass Game of Thrones version of Catan that you’ve been eying for the last 8
months.
(Yes this exists and yes I do own it). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The reward can be anything that you
consider a bit of a splurge as long as the reward itself isn’t derailing you
from your overall established goal. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B07746H7R2&asins=B07746H7R2&linkId=f36450f9c3af9d1824bdb4a5e768015f&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Creating that incentive for yourself to reach the smaller
goals within the larger achievement that you are after will only lend further
power to your ability to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">motivate
yourself in that pursuit</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It takes the hard work and effort that you are
applying and transforms it in your mind into something more akin to a game,
hopefully with the intention of making that pursuit more fun. Because let’s be
honest, isn’t it easier to strive for something if you feel like you’ve won in
the end? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you are trying to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">motivate
yourself</i> to work-out more, to lose weight, to get a better handle on your
homework, to keep a cleaner place, to save a specific amount of money in an
emergency fund, or any other objective of the millions of potential ways to
better yourself as a human, establishing smaller goals within the larger one,
celebrating those milestones as you pass them, and trying to have fun with it
all will help tremendously in that effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That’s why this element is so key to
your success in working on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how to
motivate yourself</i> and keep that motivation over the long term. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Keeping all
of this information in mind, I’d now like to pivot to the next step in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">maintaining that motivation</i> for whatever
your particular long term goal is and that brings me to the next element.</span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
Establish a
Foundation of “WHY”</h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So many of us are quick to come up with a goal that we want
to achieve but the problem with pursuing any goal is that if you don’t have a
real conviction as far as why you are trying to accomplish something, it very
rarely ever comes to pass in your life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is the primary reason for it being
so emphatically important to take a step back, consider your goals, and ensure
that you have a strong foundation for the “why” that you are doing this. We all
have our own means and underlining reasoning for our pursuit of any goal. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It could be that it is your passion. It could be based in a
promise that you made to someone else like telling your grandmother, “I promise
I will graduate college” (which is something that I actually said to my
grandmother as she was battling cancer, a battle she ultimately lost just
before I turned 17). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Perhaps it’s a promise you made to yourself. Or perhaps
it’s something you are in pursuit of because you want to be better for your
family, your kids, or your spouse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whatever your reason is for establishing a
long term goal and looking to achieve it, you have to be absolutely solid in
your reasoning for the initial pursuit. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As you get further and further into the journey of reaching
a long term goal, you will find that your motivation will wane at times. I’m
sure that’s why you are reading this post right at this moment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is key that
when those motivation levels start to falter, you remind yourself of the why.
You think back to day 1 in your journey and the pivotal moment in your life
that pushed you into making the decision to pursue this goal, and revisit your
foundation. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That foundation will be your rock in the trying times. As your will
power weakens and your motivation beings to dry up, it will be the little patch
of paradise in the dessert with a flowing fountain of revitalization for your
spirit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As you get deeper into your pursuit I believe that the foundation of
why will only grow as you take stock of just how far you’ve come and stronger
conviction in your road to fulfillment materializes. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When someone asks me why I’m doing Keto, I don’t respond
with:</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Well I have a strong
objection to bread, beer, pasta, and pretty much anything that is delicious and
full of carbs, so I decided to cut it completely out.” </span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I definitely don’t respond with the simple but equally awful
answer of, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Good question, I
don’t really know.”</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My answer and the foundation of why for my goal of
maintaining the Keto diet for a longer term period is that I am looking to be
healthier and more active so that I can have the energy to play with my
daughter and be a more involved, productive, and loving Dad. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For me, that is
the ultimate foundation to stand on. My 2 year old daughter laughing and
playing with me and asking me to take her to the park, is my daily dose of
encouragement in my pursuit of being healthy and fit, allowing me to maintain
strong conviction and motivation in my pursuit of that longer term goal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Much
like in the film Inception, where each character would carry a unique token to differentiate
the real world from the dream world, you as an individual must have a strong
foundation of why for the pursuit of your goal.
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Without that foundation I can guarantee you that you will
not find long term success in maintaining the motivation that you require to
push through the short term obstacles and onto the realization of your bigger
picture dream. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Trust me from personal experience, if I didn’t have a firm why
for the goal, then I promise you I would have quit in that first week when I
first started feeling the ill effects of the appropriately coined, “Keto Flu.” </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So now you’ve taken some time to consider the reasons that
you are trying to pursue this long term goal and hopefully are securing a solid
foundation of “why”. What next? Done deal, shut down the internet tab and go on
your merry way? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Not quite. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In line with your effort in establishing that
foundation you also need to consider the obstacles that are bound to
materialize in the future of your pursuit of a goal as you are working to keep
your motivation levels up. </span></div>
<h4 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
Consider Future Obstacles</h4>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you aren’t thinking ahead to the issues you will face in
going after a long term goal then it will become much more challenging to keep
that motivation intact when adversity rears its ugly head at you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One of my
favorite NBA athletes of the modern era was Kobe Bryant. He has discussed many
times in the past how he would mentally prepare for the championship games,
imagining the game through and through and picturing himself hitting the game
winner in a close match. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">He knew well that in order to reach the ultimate
victory of an NBA championship (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of which
he got 5</i>), he’d have to be fully prepared from a physical and mental
standpoint. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I think in the same way we have to utilize our own
imaginations and consider the future and what it will look like as we travel
down the road of a passion, dream, or goal in our life in an attempt to reach
it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you already know how you are going to respond in a negative situation,
then it helps tremendously in effectively navigating through it and coming out
on the other side with your motivation intact. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Motivation levels are never
going to stay at their highest point for the entire duration of your gradual
climb to that final peak of the accomplishment you are seeking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">However,
working to mentally prepare for those hardships, those stop gaps, and those
days where you just feel apathetic about everything is going to go a long way
in allowing you to maintain healthy levels of energy when you find yourself
asking: </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“How can I motivate
myself anymore?”</span></i></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In line with the mental aspect of keeping up your
motivational levels I also think positive self-talk is absolutely key. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether
you do it in the bathroom when you are standing in front of a mirror getting
ready, or in the car on your commute to work, speaking positive things over
yourself and your goals does have real power to help you start to change your
thoughts for the better. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This is something that I often employ in a variety of ways.
It doesn’t just have to be verbalized, you can even just think positively and
contemplate on your trajectory and how you are working to reach it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You could
write it down on a piece of paper or a sticky note and put it in obvious places
that you see throughout your day. I do this with a little prayer that I like to
silently speak over my wife. It’s taped to my cubicle wall and is something
that I don’t say every single day, but that I do try to read and pray when I
see it and am reminded of my awesome partner in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We also employ this
strategy at home as we always create a list of goals/accomplishments that we
have for the current year. Having that taped on our fridge helps us to reach
those goals and it always feels so good to be able to put a check next to a
line item on that list as the end of the year approaches. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We even save our list
from years past and file it<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>a way so
that we can look back and see how our goals have changed over time and recall
what all we’ve been able to do throughout the years to reach our aspirations. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve learned that so many of the ways that you can adopt
when you are looking to figure out how to continue to motivate yourself, are
simple in nature and are usually small and repetitive. Why is that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> I imagine
that it is because those small repetitions, small victories, and small actions
over time start to turn into new habits which in turn develops you as a person
over time and allows for you to unlock those empowering motivation levels that
you have been seeking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We’ve all heard the quote, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Nor was any successful person. Nor any person who set out with a goal with an
inevitable attitude that led to the accomplishment of said goal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It takes time,
passion, and effort compounded over time to produce the end result that you
seek. But potentially most important of all in your journey of establishing a
long term goal, developing a strong foundation of the “why”, and maintaining
motivation throughout that journey, is my final point and tool for you to lean
on in that process. </span></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: center;">
Seeking Out
Accountability to Maintain Motivation</h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We are all individuals and so each person’s individual
journey will be shaped in a large variety of ways. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But at the end of the day we
all need someone or something to help keep us accountable in our pursuit. Which
is why I consider it so vital to your individual success that you find some
sort of mechanism to hold yourself accountable. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It could be an accountability buddy who you speak to on a
regular basis about your personal goals who can encourage you to stay on task
and continue down the trek you’ve set off on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It could be a group of people who
are pursuing similar objectives (like a weight loss class where you have “classmates”
that are actively pushing towards losing weight as a collective and building
one another up as individual efforts start to feel weakened). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Personally, I
stay involved in a basketball men’s league as the games we play help to
encourage me to work out and practice basketball so that I can be a positive contributor
to our team. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In combination with your foundation of why, having a strong
team behind you of individuals who are either pursuing a similar goal or simply
want to see you succeed in your effort is such a beneficial force to have in
your corner. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Even better if at all possible, try to identify someone who has
already reached the heights that you are trying to climb to, whether in your
personal life or professional work place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Befriend those people and try to
establish a mentor, mentee relationship. I can’t understate how important and
helpful it can be to have someone on your side that hasn’t already navigated
the difficult maze of pursuing a dream, goal, or passion and came out on the
other side successfully.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you can’t find someone within your circle then start
looking to listen to podcasts created by people who have accomplished what you
are trying to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">There are so many reliable resources available thanks to the
internet that it is becoming more and more challenging to come up with a valid
excuse for why you can’t accomplish something in your life. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My wife made a valid point to me too in discussion on this topic that there are individuals out there who aren't social in nature or may not enjoy a traditional accountability buddy sort of setup. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Something that she has done for herself in better understanding how to stay motivated was to take a personality test, specifically the Myers Briggs personality test. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I've linked similar content below if you are interested in finding out more about your own personality type. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As a working woman who handles a lot of personalities and individuals, her taking this test and developing a stronger insight into her own functionality and personality as a human allowed her to better access and understand how to properly motivate herself and others within her job function. </span><br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0979216834&asins=0979216834&linkId=87f5e53ecbcad1f9ff2300a9b6643853&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> <span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As she discussed the results of her test with me it was almost scary how accurate it was to her traits and manner of thought as a human. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That insight has been crucial to my wife's mannerisms in the work place and establishing routines that keep her motivated as she continues to excel in her career. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Obtaining that level of insight for yourself may also help you in discovering your best path to motivating yourself in pursuit of your goals or dreams. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> If you try to
incorporate these three pillars of creating a long term goal, establishing a
strong foundation of why, and then inviting mechanisms of accountability into
your life then I know you will have the power and finesse to maintain strong
motivation levels. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You’ll be able to stop asking yourself “how can I motivate
myself” and start serving as a beacon of motivation and encouragement to others
who are still trying to figure it out. I wish you well in your pursuit and know
that you can get out there and accomplish major things in this beautiful world
that we find ourselves in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>If you are hungry for more content to guide you in your pursuit of becoming a better you, check out my post about "<a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/top-5-new-healthy-hobby.html">5 New Healthy Hobbies</a>" to add to your weekly routine in pursuit of becoming stronger from a mental and physical perspective. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i></i><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Do me a favor too if you like this content and subscribe and
share! Appreciate the support as I walk this path towards self-improvement and
bring you all along for the ride. </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i></i><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri"; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-38534851381432423022019-09-09T05:00:00.000-05:002019-09-24T10:18:37.096-05:00Facing Burnout In The Midst of Following Your Dreams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Do you ever find yourself facing burnout in the midst of chasing a goal that is slowly starting to feel like a <i>lofty pursui</i>t? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It happens to the very best of us even if we start out with major ambitions and a body full of energy and drive! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was listening to <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400201659/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400201659&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=3153ca4aaf35ed01f3a5ca9afb442813" rel="nofollow">Rachel Hollis</a>’ podcast RISE the other day
and she featured a guest named Ken Coleman who is a part of the Dave Ramsey
network. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve never listened to him speak before but I thoroughly enjoyed the
discussion and thought that he had a lot of good points in relation to pursuing
your dreams as an entrepreneur or in pursuit of your best life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What I found
most compelling was his discussion around burnout or what he calls “buildup on
the heart.” <i>He is extremely charismatic as a speaker and referenced his book, linked below "The Proximity Principle" as his go-to strategy for identifying a career that you are passionate about and putting yourself in a position to go and get the career or success that you desire.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you call it "buildup on the heart or my preferred terminology, “burnout” I think that either effectively describes what many of us often feel. I began to chew on this idea
of burnout but more in relation of pursuing our dreams, our best selves through
life, and in achieving success in life. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0978562038&asins=0978562038&linkId=5173e543db7d0df4a90b7cf68a83acf2&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This of course made me want to do a post about the idea of
burnout in those seemingly <i>lofty pursuits</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So let’s take a deep dive in analyzing what exactly our
dreams and aspirations are and why at some point in life we may start to feel
this weight of burnout in pursuing them. Is it a fact of life that we will all
feel it at one point or another in that pursuit? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">A major point that Ken Coleman mentioned in relation to
feeling burnout in what at times may feel like a<i> lofty pursuit</i> through life was that sometimes we like our job
but we don’t love it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In some respects this idea feels obvious but it is also a
bit disheartening for me to consider when I put it into a broader contextual
sense from a generational perspective.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My generation, the ever talked about Millennials,
were let down in a sense because we really were told our entire lives that we
could do whatever we want in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I firmly believed in that idea but as I got
into college and found myself unsure of my own identity, direction, and overall
purpose, my belief started to fade. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While I still think that dreaming big is a
real possibility and I do believe that people can pursue whatever dream is in
their heart, reality can be a bit harsher for some in that many sort of fall
into their career or fall into the place that they are in whether they “like”
it or not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That doesn't quite feel like the original dreams we were told to try and live out now does it? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I was little I didn’t dream up the exact life that I’m
currently living. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This isn’t to say that I dislike my current life because my
truth is that I love the life that I’ve found myself living. Sure I wish I
could have avoided some of the pitfalls that I trapped myself in as I learned
what living really is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But each fall and subsequent rise back up has taught me
lessons about myself and about pursuing a better way to living life and
achieving what I want in this life.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Back when I was just a teenager, I can’t say that I was as
thoughtful about my life. I didn’t exactly consider the weight of my decisions
as I was growing up. I didn’t fully appreciate how each decision would have a
subtle impact on the trajectory of my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I definitely was not aware enough
to understand that my dreams or aspirations would be impacted positively or
negatively by the small choices I made as I grew up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Looking back on my life so
far and the career path that I’ve found myself in, my journey wasn’t a linear movement
from point A to point Z. With each year that passes and each decision that I
make, my life has developed into what it is today. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Is that a bad or unusual thing? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I don’t
think it is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you're like me, you may feel as though you've been half asleep for your entire life and
not until recently did you finally wake up. It was only after my daughter was born that I began to realize just how impactful my
thoughts and decisions can be on my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know that I’ve experienced burnout
before in my past. I’m betting that we all have at some point. For me, the
strongest period of burnout had to be towards the end of my college experience. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=198481706X&asins=198481706X&linkId=2f7fe22c9da799c19508d310900ebdbc&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I consider that version of myself that was feeling burnout,
I remember being anxious, tired, and ready to quit. My goals had fallen from potentially accomplishable and became the daunting <i>lofty pursuits</i> that I had feared they would become. Graduating college? Me? Yeah right. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now that I’m older I don’t
feel much connection with who that person was. It was me, for sure, but why did
I allow myself to become so distraught? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">College is supposed to be the fun time,
the place in your life to be worry free and figure yourself out. Perhaps the
problem was that I had too much fun? Maybe I spent too much time living "in the moment" without taking care of myself mentally or physically until my body got fed up and my mind grew weary. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I got along fine for a while in school but
in pursuit of the dream that was in my heart at that point (to get a college
degree) burnout started to creep in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My grades suffered, my relationships
suffered, and I sort of shut down. Am I the only one who has experienced this
feeling of being so overwhelmed, so much burnout, that you lose sight of your
dreams and end up calling it quits? </span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What happened between the dreams of my youth and the
realities of adulthood? What was driving my fear of failure? What happened
between 18 year old me that was full of hope, strong aspiration, and immense passion
fast forwarded to 21 year old me that could barely show up to his classes,
driven by anxiety and too afraid to try for fear of failing? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m still kind of
figuring it all out if I’m being truthful. I’m older now, soon to be 28 years
old and I think back to my head space during those times and really question
why I was so disconnected. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Burnout doesn’t quite do justice to the feeling of
“lesser than” that overtook my thoughts. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In trying to analyze those pieces of my life, I am looking
to prevent myself from falling back into those mental locations of
self-destructive tendencies and build a shield around my own mental state. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am
striving now with a relentless energy to be a better human, to maintain
positivity in rough circumstances, and to not allow myself to get to a point of
being so thin in life that I allow burnout to creep back in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Look back at my recent post recounting my <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/first-therapy-session.html">first experience with Therapy </a>and you will see that it takes more than self awareness. Most of us need someone to help guide us in the right direction especially in these pivotal moments where burnout starts to re-materialize in your life's pursuit. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Having that extra help is what disallows a realistic goal from fading into the daunting <i>lofty pursuit </i>that has haunted my past. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0393709051&asins=0393709051&linkId=ddc0e1e16bb6ba2118516a28f79a8dfa&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">These days I’m <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/dreamers-keep-on-dreaming.html">dreaming big again</a> because I want to be the
model for my child. I can’t tell her to dream big if I’m not taking the steps
in my own daily walk to show her that I can live out what I’m preaching to her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">How many of us had a dream in our youth that we’ve long since forgotten or
given up on? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Maybe it’s time that we either dust off that old dream or start
planting the seeds in our own mind for a new one to take its place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know that
depending where you are at in your walk to being the best you, considering a
new dream may feel too distant of an option. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Perhaps a better starting point
would be to contemplate on your dreams of old and what has changed since you
first had them. I'm finding more and more that when I spend the time to reflect, to write, to consider my past and the decisions that I've made for good and for bad, that recounting those times is extremely beneficial to my path forward. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our past can be a point of contention that disallows us to move forward or it can be leveraged as motivation for us to be better and more equipped to tackle our future with the inspiration and drive needed to succeed. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I can’t speak for my readers but when I was young, my dreams
were <i>lofty</i>! I’d be the next Michael Jordan, or an Astronaut, or even a world
class Cellist. So many different cool ideas and possibilities existed in my
mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I can remember spending an incalculable amount of late evenings shooting
the basketball in my backyard, certain that I’d one day be on the level of a
MJ. I bet that a lot of you had similarly <i>lofty dreams</i> that you may now look
back on and consider them unrealistic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It reminds me of that phrase (forgive me
as I may be butchering this) but it goes something along the lines of “shoot
for the moon and you will land among the stars.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In other words, we often will
fail to reach our initial dreams or goals but in pursuit of those aspirations
we may end up in a much better place than when we originally took off towards
those goals. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve grown to really enjoy and develop a passion for my job
and my line of work but I’m not certain I’d say that “I love it.” Heck, when I
got into my university, I would have never pin pointed my current job as the
destination from that starting point. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Is it possible that means there is something wrong
with me? Why aren’t I pursuing my biggest dreams and aspirations as a human to
be a well-known, highly regarded musician or to fly to the moon? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For starters,
those dreams may have been a teensy bit out of the realm of possibility. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I also
think I’ve realized over time that more often than not, as we grow older, our
wild, fantastical dreams sort of subside and in their wake, materializes more
realistic, achievable goals. Is that a terrible admission that means I am a failure? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I would argue a very strong and resounding, NO! </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It's a beautiful occurrence that we all evolve over time and often grow into different people
than we thought we were back in our younger years. Some people grab a singular
dream and relentlessly chase it their entire life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But most of us adapt as we
grow up and our dreams, ideas of success, aspirations all start to shift over
time to better fit the situation that we find ourselves in. Of course I’d still
love to be a player in the NBA but the math for that goal just didn’t add up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Does that mean I should stop dreaming altogether and live an unambitious life?
Absolutely not! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Dream big and dream often. But also recognize that it’s not a
bad thing to sometimes set our sights on realistic goals within our grasp. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In consideration of the idea of burnout creeping up on us in
pursuit of our dreams or goals in life, I think setting realistic goals becomes
even more important. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you are an artist and your dream is to sell 2 million
copies of an album but thus far, you’ve only sold 100, then burnout might hit
you hard and fast. Why? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Because without the infrastructure in place to support
that outcome, you are going to be feeling defeated and down about the fact that
you have so far to go. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I think you have to reset your expectations and start
out with small, achievable goals first so that you can build up your
confidence. Checkpoint one should have been that 100 albums sale. Then 1000.
Then 5000 and so on and so on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I first started created Likely Fiction, I
was happy to get 10 page views in a single day. If I had gotten 150 views in a
month then that was saying something. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Over time, my dreams for this site have
shifted and grown more aspirational as I rack up small victories on my path to
my big ideas for where this may go. As we get older we have to consider that
our dreams will change and we need to be comfortable with that being normal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sure I wanted to be Michael Jordan as a kid, but now I’m older and my
priorities have shifted dramatically (in a superbly positive way).</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">For example, now I dream more about being the best Dad that
I can and creating special moments and memories with my daughter so that she
can grow up and look back on her childhood with the same fondness that I do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">An
achievable dream or goal that I've developed recently is to one day be able to afford Dallas Mavericks
season tickets so that she and I can attend games together and develop a
tradition of watching the team. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While I’m not in a place where I can afford
that now, I have already started the tradition of her watching with me during
season on our TV at home. She has a cute Luka Doncic jersey that is way too big
for her and she loves wearing it because it matches Daddy’s. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So in one respect,
I’m already on a path to living out that goal of mine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In pursuit of those sort
of goals, I’m finding that I don’t have time to allow burnout to creep into my
life anymore. I can’t afford it!! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Life is too precious and to allow some idea
of being tired, or distraught, or negative to dictate my trajectory and how I’m
going to live my life, <i>feels plain wrong</i><b>.</b> I actively choose on a daily basis, to reject this notion of burnout and
when I feel ready to come up with an excuse or reason why I can’t, I consider
what I’m trying to accomplish and why I’m trying to do it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Remind yourself of
where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to be when you start
feeling that burnout approaching your field of vision. Whether you believe me
or not, we could all reject it out of our lives and live uninhibited by it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We
could collectively dispose of our negativity and fear, to be replaced with
positivity, joy, and pure energy to pursue the goals in our heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> It isn’t
easy. <i>It really is not.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But that doesn’t mean you have to give up before
stepping up to the starting line. It only takes one day of working hard at a goal
and feeling the power in those growing pains, before you are hungry for a day
2. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So what are you waiting for? What’s holding you back? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Really consider that
for a moment because if you identify that anchor (you could call it burnout,
negativity, fear, stress, etc.) and you cut it out of your life, that in and of
itself will start to bring you closer to being the best you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That will open the
door for you to start dreaming again. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’d like for you to consider your dreams of old. Which ones
did you have as a young person that you have now forgotten, that have evolved,
or that you have now replaced with new ideas and aspirations of what the future
may hold? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Make some time to really stew on that question. I know that so many
of us get caught up in our day to day grind and routine that actually setting
aside a moment to imagine what we desire to accomplish in life feels like it
should be a task for the distant future. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">However, I encourage you to take the
time to look around at your past, your present, and try to project forward into
the future and imagine what exactly you would like to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Having a vision for where you are going, what you are trying to accomplish, and establish a strong foundation for WHY you are doing it all, is so vital. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Remember that movie Field of Dreams? That classic line, "if you build it, they will come?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the same vein of intention, if you build out your vision for your life in your mind, then I firmly believe that the success and life that you seek out will materialize and will become your reality. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B000I9S668&asins=B000I9S668&linkId=de79e71796b5ac77a33d490515f1dc49&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Harking back to that idea of burnout, whether in pursuit of
being a better you, in your job, or in chasing your dreams, remember that you
have the power over your own life. Your <span id="goog_2092067969"></span><a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/perception-is-reality.html">perception creates your reality</a>.<span id="goog_2092067970"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Burnout is just another word that only has meaning if you allow it to in your
personal situation. So make the active choice to redirect those negative
thoughts and instead of wasting energy on them, find a way to productively use
your mind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Put thought into where you want to be! Dream a little and then start
pouring in the time to ignite that dream so that instead of burning out you
become so passionate in your pursuit of your goals that you are literally on
fire. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That fire will be a beacon to others who see that you are someone that is
taking big strides in life and in that you can serve as a light to encourage
others around you. I absolutely believe this to be true. Chase those dreams and
leave burnout behind for good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I<i>f you enjoyed this post and are looking for more foundational ideas to start living your best life, check out my article on <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/top-5-new-healthy-hobby.html">5 New Healthy Hobbies </a>to pursue in becoming your best you. I believe that not only is important to work hard in your pursuits in life but to also manage your mental and physical health throughout that process and I think these healthy hobbies will be just the thing you need to continue down a positive path! </i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you are loving my site, Likely Fiction then please do me a favor and subscribe so that you receive updates each time a new post is published, share with your friends and family, and comment below so we can continue the conversation online. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.</span><b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></i></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-775014115790963992019-09-05T05:00:00.000-05:002019-09-26T12:43:40.829-05:00Top 5 New Healthy Hobby<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<h2 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
Top 5 <i>New HEALTHY Hobbies</i> for YOU: </span></h2>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Have you found yourself looking for a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">new hobby</i>? How about new hobbies that would be good for your mental health? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I have always been one to have creative interests and
enjoy trying out a new hobby from time to time to see if it would stick. I
imagine a lot of you reading this have probably said before that you don’t have
time for one. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have you ever thought
about how much time we waste just binging out on Netflix or scrolling through
our social media feed? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Lately I’ve been catching myself when I start to say, “I
don’t have time for that” and reminding myself how much time in the past week I
wasted watching re-runs of The Office. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Yes we are all busy in our day to day
movements through life but instead of coming up with excuses while you can’t do
something fun or productive for yourself, lets figure out what the best <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">new healthy hobby </i>for you might be. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I
want to emphasize healthy because I want to help you find hobbies that are
working to develop you in some aspect, primarily in line with my blog,
something that helps you develop on a mental or physical level. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I
truly believe that addressing those areas of our lives and trying to find ways
to build them up in a positive and productive manner, will help to create
immense positive pressure that allows for us to live our best life and experience
what the universe has to offer to us. With that being said let’s get to my
list! </span></span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
PLAY A SPORT as a <i>Healthy New Hobby</i>: </span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all need those moments of Netflix and chill binge modes
for decompression in our lives to be sure, but I have been evaluating my own
time usage lately and have become more intent on <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/using-your-time-effectively.html">utilizing that time effectively</a> and part of my pursuit in doing so includes adopting new hobbies that I think I might enjoy and revisiting some of my
older ones that I’ve allowed to gather dust. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So with that in mind my first new
healthy hobby of choice is to<i> play a sport</i>! </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favorite sport hands down is basketball but I’m also a 6’5”
guy so I imagine that plays into why I favor the sport. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Beyond my own height
advantages, I love playing the game because it has very little overhead at all
associated with it. Start looking around your local town or city and I
guarantee you there are tons of well maintained, public access parks that have basketball goals and courts busy with other people who have a love for the game. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you're lucky you may even have a recreation center or YMCA in your area where can play indoors for a small monthly fee. It doesn’t
take you having the fitness of LeBron James to be able to play basketball but
taking the time to put in the extra work to maintain or build up your cardio will
surely help. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The sport has changed a lot over the years and now shooting 3’s is
all the rage for most of the kids coming up who play the sport (<i>God that sentence makes me sound and feel so OLD</i>). </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With so many
elements to the game (defense, ball handling, passing, shooting, footwork,
post-game, free throws) you will find yourself with plenty to work on and
develop as you dive deeper into this as a <i>new healthy hobby</i>. While I would recommend
getting a good indoor/outdoor ball</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B00SOKFHFG&asins=B00SOKFHFG&linkId=e0c00eb892950335582eb633c30298be&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and a nice pair of Basketball Shoes. I recently picked up some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D9MTCD5/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07D9MTCD5&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=9ee651169ce44a360cdc3e22f9ddc82f">Dame 5's </a>that have that minty color to them and while I'm not super pumped about how b-ball shoes are now easily $110+ per pair, I will admit that they have better grip, more comfort, and more support than ever before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">These bad boys not only look amazing
but allow for harder cuts and give me that extra step that you need when you’re on the court running to get back on defense during transition. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">My 2</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><sup>nd</sup> favorite sport to spend time on that is
also very little in the way of overhead costs in order to start playing, is
Disc Golf! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you like the idea of playing golf but don’t want to have to pay
the exorbitant costs associated with it, as well as lugging around a giant bag
full of clubs, than Disc Golf is an extremely solid compromise. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">T</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">he rules are
exactly the same as far as how you score the game except instead of hitting
golf balls with clubs, you are throwing discs or Frisbees into baskets. <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>Much like basketball if you do a quick search
on the ol’ google machine you’ll see that at most of your favorite local parks
there are 9 or 18 hole disc golf courses built into the parks you love. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Adopting disc golf as your new hobby is a great choice as it gives you a reason
to step outside and enjoy the outdoors, is a valid source of exercise, and is
easier on people who aren’t super athletic but want to play something
competitive. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LZ1PONE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01LZ1PONE&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=d2d759e6de06209073054470000686c2" rel="nofollow">starter kits for Disc Golf</a> aren't too expensive and you probably would want to grab a bag as well to carry the discs in while you play. I’d definitely recommend
utilizing one of these until you get more of a handle on how to throw. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The one
issue with playing Disc Golf for your new hobby is that if you have a bad
throw, it can often be difficult to find your disc in the trees or brush surrounding
the park you are playing at. So I recommend going with the starter kit first,
learning the ropes a bit and then down the road you can consider buying more advanced
discs that are optimized to your throw style and preferences. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My weakness in the
Disc Golf game is my ability to drive on the first throw of a hole. So I prefer
a more reliable mid-range disc as I use that to make up for
my less than fantastic driving ability. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Typical courses have Par 3 holes with
the occasional Par 4 or Par 5 thrown in on the longer distance holes. The other
great thing about this hobby choice is you can play solo or in a group setting
depending on what you are wanting to do. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sometimes play alone to get some
practice in and then have a small group of guys that I play with 1-2 times a
month for fun. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
LEARN AN INSTRUMENT as a <i>Healthy New Hobby</i>: </span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve got be up front on this one guys: I have an extreme bias
towards this category. Why? I’ve been playing instruments for 17+ years. I came
up learning cello through grade school all the way tohigh school, taught
myself guitar, ukulele, and piano and love to sing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not to mention that I spent 3 years in college studying for a Guitar Performance Major within to get my Liberal Studies degree. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So that heavily shaped me
over my years and of course one of my first recommendations when it comes to
taking on a new hobby is to find yourself a good, local teacher and start
taking some lessons on your instrument of choice. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While learning an instrument
is a long term commitment, I believe that is a great healthy hobby to explore
as it can help you to become a more well-rounded person, help you to conger up
that creative spark that I think we all need to exercise, and is just straight up
fun (especially as your skills and interest grow). </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The two instruments that I think are the best to start
learning music on and sharpening your skills on are the piano and guitar.
Why? For piano I think it is the easiest to get rolling on but one of the more
difficult instruments to master. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Visually, looking at a piano and its keys, it
just makes sense. You can almost immediately start learning little basic tunes
and so as a beginner, it can be an extremely rewarding experience from the get
go. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To compare, guitar can be more challenging as you have to put in the
practice time just to develop the calluses needed on your fingers to continue
playing. I’ve often had students complain of their fingers hurting to which I remind
them that the more they practice, the less it will start to hurt and in turn,
the easier it will become to continue practicing and learning. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While both a
guitar and piano can be on the more expensive side as far as taking this up as
a new hobby and getting going full speed, there are ways to do so on a budget
as well. Pianos are heavy, hard to move, and bulky. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because of this, you can
often find a decent piano that someone in your area may be trying to offload
for “free” as long as you have the capacity to move it out for them. If you’ve
got the time/vehicle/manpower to do so, then this is the best way to pick up a
piano and get rolling with your new found hobby! </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As far as a guitar is concerned, I’ve found that some of my
favorite acoustic guitars were only $200-300 and came with a mature, full and
well-rounded sound. But if you are looking to go cheap in this arena to test
out if you’ll fully embrace the new hobby, I’d search around on Facebook groups
to see if anyone is trying to offload a decent used guitar for $50-100 dollars. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Otherwise go after a new starter guitar. My personal favorite acoustic guitar without getting too costly (in terms of quality guitars) is the Taylor Academy Series Acoustic Electric. This guitar has exceptional quality of sound and tone for relative low cost. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most Taylor guitars will run you over $1300 as they are known to be the best when it comes to the aesthetic and the rich sound that you will produce. This guitar is a great value and I've been kicking butt with mine for 3 years now. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had always wanted to get this quality of guitar and it was worth the money as its lifted my sound as a musician and encourages me to play more often because it is truly more fun and better sounding. </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span><br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you get your guitar and are then trying to find the best
material to study with (whether you decide to have a teacher or be self-taught)
I’d definitely recommend this super affordable book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0634065408/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0634065408&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=b48d020060ce8ac0da5be052615ca883" rel="nofollow">"Teach Yourself To Play Guitar"</a> that walks you through your first step as a new and budding guitarist as it provides all
of the basic tools and practice regiments that you will need to build up your
foundation and become the next Steve Vai or Jimmy Hendrix.</span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
COOK SOME FOOOOOOOOOOODD as a <i style="font-weight: normal;">Healthy New Hobby</i>: </span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Do I have any Ratatouille fans in the building tonight</i>?
Personally that is one of if not my absolute favorite animation out there. I
love the quote of the critic Anton Ego at the end of the film that states, “Not
everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere.”
I</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ts pure inspiration for those of us who are looking to become empowered in
pursuing a <i>new healthy hobby</i> is it not? In the same vein you may have told yourself in
the past that you are no good at cooking. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But guess what? Anyone can cook! Like
any other hobby/habit/or pursuit, you’ve got to put in a little bit of time
practicing. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wife and I tried Blue Apron several years back and were
delighted to find that they made it extremely easy to prep, cook, and eat delicious
meals that we would have never made ourselves without that service. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
experience impressed upon me the idea that I had a stronger capacity and
ability to cook than I realized, I just needed to do the prep work prior to making
a meal to navigate it successfully and end the experience, full and satisfied. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But
you don’t need to spend a bunch of money on someone else buying the ingredients
for you and shipping it to your place. Just do a little research online finding
well rated recipes, and then get to work! </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We’ve made a strong push working to eat Keto for the last 6
weeks and have been cooking more in those last few weeks than we ever have. We
are saving money on eating out, eating healthier and losing weight, and we are
spending more time in the kitchen as a family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is rewarding as we get better
at the recipes, learn new ones, and are figuring out what we really like on a week
to week basis. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’d say this hobby is a great one to adopt as it brings your
family together, helps you work on your physical health, and is a solid way to decompress
at the end of the day as you are staying active at home and working towards a
positive end goal (your delicious meal)! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We can’t all be great chefs in
everything we cook but if you take the time and do the research, you can find
some meals that you will be great at making. The final reason that I love this
as a healthy hobby is that it creates a tradition of family time and bonding
with your kids. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our daughter is only 2 but she loves to bake and help daddy
stir/mix recipes in the kitchen. We are allocating more time to involve her and
she grows up with this very normal and healthy hobby as a fixture of our lifestyle.
That’s a WIN WIN in my book. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what are you waiting for? Pick up the wooden
spoon or spatula and get in the kitchen! </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1623158087&asins=1623158087&linkId=42be0bfb0e5a69f7e25be4af70f7de9e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
START READING REGULARLY as a <i>Healthy New Hobby</i>: </span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This healthy hobby suggestion is where I struggle the most
guys. Not because I don’t enjoy reading (I absolutely enjoy reading and have
always been an avid consumer of books even as a young kid) but because I just
don’t make the time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Books are the ultimate escape for your mind in such a busy
and demanding world. We are constantly bombarded by texts, notifications,
social media likes, comments, engagement, as well as all the issues we have to
stay on top of with our family, friends, kids, and work life! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It can be
nauseating to really sit down and consider everything that we as functioning
humans in modern society are expected to handle on a day to day basis. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Considering all of this it makes reading even more important to adopt into your
weekly routine. Whether you decide to read fiction, non-fiction, financial planning,
self-improvement, scientific or short story, taking the time to read an actual
book can be a life saver to allow yourself the mental break that so many of us
put off. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting lost in a good book, wrapped up in a cozy blanket, under the
warm light of a lamp on a rainy day is my #dreamlife. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pulling my head out of
the day to day chaos and enveloping it in a good read is such a therapeutic way
to allow my stresses melt away and re-direct my thoughts towards something positive,
fun, compelling, and engaging. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I believe that you can’t just say “well I read likelyfiction,
reddit, or scroll through (fill in your blank)” to get my daily reading in. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You
need to disconnect and actually dive into a REAL book that can pull your mind
away from the busy-ness of online activity and obligations. I understand that
some of you may not enjoy reading. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But give it another try! My wife swore up
and down that she just wasn’t a big fan of casual reading for herself. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But she
started checking out books directed towards women like Rachel Hollis' book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400201659/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400201659&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=85b600b12de71e6383f4208365e23cbf" rel="nofollow">"Girl, Wash Your Face"</a> and all of a sudden, I’d catch her spending extra time in the
tub, on the lounge chair, or in bed before cutting out the lights for sleep,
reading her newest book and contemplating the ideas within. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a
constructive hobby for her to take on and has shaped how she decompresses and
operates on a week to week basis. It is an extremely healthy habit that we
should all strive to add into our lives and is a great way to model to your
kids and teach them how to positively utilize their time!<i> </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>For those of you who aren't old school and enjoy reading on a tablet or phone I definitely would look at utilizing Kindle's Unlimited service as an option to pursue your new healthy hobby. </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>They are a great resource with an insane amount of books and Amazon even allows for a free trial in your first month to allow you to test the waters before paying any money. </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<div align="center">
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are trying to figure out which books you should start
I always enjoy finding a good series to work my way through over time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mainly
because I always find myself hungry for more after finishing a single book or
not wanting the book to be over. By reading a full series, I get more of that
satisfaction of continuing onwards with a book after I get to the final page. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My favorite series when I’m geeking out are Game of Thrones, a wide variety of
Star Wars collections, a vast collection of Halo themed books from a variety of
authors, and of course the classic that never stops giving, Lord Of The Rings. </span></span></div>
<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
START WRITING as a <i>Healthy New Hobby</i>: </span></h3>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wanted to finish this article strong with one of my
favorite <i>new healthy hobbies</i> that I think anyone can and should explore as a
way to work on themselves. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Writing! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you are a pen and paper kind of gal
or enjoy hearing the sounds of your keyboard as you furiously type away,
writing is an excellent hobby to take on to work on yourself in a manner of
ways. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In fact, writing is one of the primary tools that I utilize to keep
myself on track with my own pursuit of self-improvement as sitting down and doing
so helps to remind me why I am working so hard at becoming the best version of
me. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It forces me to collect my thoughts, organize them, and create a mental
explanation of what I am attempting to do, why I’m doing it, and express it in
a form that others can easily digest. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This near daily reminder of my direction
and the foundation that I’m trying to build up for myself and my family of positive
habits, new healthy hobbies, and well utilized time throughout my week is making
all the difference. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know you may be thinking: </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“<i>Can writing really be that beneficial or helpful</i>?” <span style="margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The short answer is yes. Getting those creative juices
flowing is so wonderful for your brain and I don’t think you have to write
about personal mountains you are trying to climb in your life for it to be an
effective, healthy hobby. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You could do creative writing where you try to write
to a specific prompt, much like we all probably did back in high school for our
English classes. You could try to write poems or short stories! You could even
write a screenplay. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So many fun options that allow your brain to escape the day
to day stresses and worries that we all contend with and refocus on something
more constructive, imaginative, and enjoyable. WE don’t have to be kids to use
our imagination. We only need to make time and have fun with it. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you enjoy writing but aren’t sure what you should write
about then go over to the sub reddit <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/">/r/writingprompts</a> and check it out for
some fun<span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>ideas. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">People are constantly
posting new prompt ideas and make writing to that prompt a competition for
other users to have fun with. One of their latest, highly upvoted prompts from
today is </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“<i>You are the most evil wizard in the land. Teams of people go on
quests to find and kill you everyday. You disguise yourself as a regular
wizard, and lead on of these teams in a quest to your home, because being an
evil wizard is lonely business, and you just want some friends.” </i></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sound goofy? Perhaps. But it’s a fun community and just one
avenue where writing can become an extremely fun, interactive, and <i>healthy
hobby</i> to add into your weekly routine. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have suggestions for other fun <i>new healthy hobbies
</i>that you’ve adopted in your life and would like to share with the likelyfiction
community, share below via comment so we can all learn and grow together! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Otherwise please subscribe to the site and share with your friends so we can keep
the conversation going and growing! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>If you enjoyed reading this article then keep on reading more of the great content that we have at likelyfiction. I recently wrote a "fun piece" just discussing my picks for <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/top-10-podcasts-for-2019.html" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Top 10 Podcasts of 2019</a> as I am an avid podcast consumer and fan across a wide variety of genres, interests, and topics. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-17004553442453611432019-09-03T08:40:00.000-05:002019-09-26T08:42:37.542-05:00Stay The Course! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just finished listening to an excellent podcast by
Gretchen Rubin where she and her sister discuss the idea of staying the course
with the good habits you are trying to adopt into your life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That idea
registered with me as someone who is in that active pursuit mode of working to
clean up how I’m utilizing my time and look ahead to identify where I want to
be and what I need to change in order to make that path my reality. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But I am a mere mortal, much as we are and I know how easy
it can be to “fall off the wagon” in pursuit of being better especially when we
are trying to introduce a new, healthy habit that brings with it unique
challenges and barriers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For example, I’m starting back in my 5 on 5 basketball
men’s league about midway through September in the upcoming month. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I love
playing basketball and look forward to when our league is “in season”, adding
that habit back into the mix complicates life in a myriad of ways. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It means that I need to start running about 2
weeks prior to season start so that I have a solid foundation of cardio and
endurance to get me through our 40 minute games. (guess what guys, I’m coming
up on a week until b-ball season and I haven’t run at all! YIKES.) Now I have
done a lot of exercise in the form of long walks, chasing my daughter, being
mobile but no actual running to build endurance. #prayforme </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It means less time during the week for me to
work on writing, spending time with my daughter and wife, and one less evening
to accomplish tasks at home. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">It means I’ve got to save the $45 dollars
required to participate in the league which means I better cut back on the
Chipotle for the next couple of weeks and stash that extra cash. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt "Times New Roman"; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Finally, and most importantly it has an impact
on my family as they have to adjust their own schedules and expectations,
knowing that I won’t be available on that single day each week which means more
work for my wife with my daughter, and less daddy time for my little girl. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can see how even the simplest of changes in our day to day
habits or routines can have a bunch of smaller ripple effects on our family and
close friends. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would argue that because of this impact however big or small
it may be, this makes it just that more difficult to adopt new habits and
healthy routines, as you will probably face resistance not just at the internal
level within yourself, but externally from those around you who are having to
adjust to the “new you.” </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1451639619&asins=1451639619&linkId=1ad7a7ba85d3946e6d7b0c445daaa71d&show_border=false&link_opens_in_new_window=false&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>In high school I had an excellent English teacher who
assigned us the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. As a teenager I
didn’t allow that book to shape me as much as I should have but going back and
re-reading it now as an adult, it is a great map to plot out how you are going
to adjust your habits in order to instill stronger potential for success in
your life. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i></i><i></i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Heck now they’ve even got one specific to families as well, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307440850/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307440850&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=34b134a418aa33e7fd78ba1690e959da" rel="nofollow">“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families”</a>. Both of these books are great resources
if you are really trying to take a hard look at your own behavior and adjust it
to better yourself and your family. </i></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These small resistances can often make the difference
between someone that is able to keep pushing and pursue their new habit or
someone who gives up, throws in the towel, and reverts back to their former
behavior. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How many times have you started something with the best of intentions
only to drop out of the routine with 2-3 weeks and do your best to forget the
perceived failure? </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve done it too many times to even list! My struggle since
I’ve gotten out of high school has been weight fluctuation. Without the
structure of organized sports and a discipline instilling coach to stand over
my shoulder, I was terrible about consistently working out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’m a 6’5” giant
dude so of course I’ve always been able to eat vast quantities of food. You
know how most people have a “freshman 15”? Yeah mine was the freshman forty!
Seriously I am not even exaggerating, I went from 195 to 235 in the span of
less than 2 semesters. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After that first year, I would yo-yo back and forth between
210 and 240 and have continued to do so throughout my later 20’s.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am just now
in a place where I’ve gotten the weight off and am working hard to maintain it.
Keto has been tremendous in my effort to pursue a healthier lifestyle and feel
more lively, energetic, and able to play with my daughter in the evenings, not
allowing my work day to serve as an excuse as to why I can’t do something. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why is it so hard for human beings to stay on course when it
comes to tasks that are designed to help us be better at life? Doesn’t it often
feel like we are just destined to fail? I think that’s why a lot of people stop
trying to pursue healthier habits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They have these small failures that rack up
over time and eventually just resign to being the “way they are” with no hope
to change and work on self-development. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the same way it can feel defeating to have these small
losses rack up if you flip that on its head and start trying to rack up some
small wins, that too can be just as powerful but in a positive way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First step on your way to building new habits is to make yourself an achievable/realistic goal. It can seriously be anything at all but you have to be willing to work at it consistently every single day. Maybe it is to brush your teeth 3 times a day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps it will just be to stay on top of the dishes every day and not allow them to stack up. I like setting goals that I will read something for at least 20 minutes every day as that gives me time (maybe during my lunch break) that I'm setting aside for me to clear my head and get away from the day to day stresses. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whatever your goal looks like, don't allow yourself wiggle room. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you can stay consistent for 7 days, then keep going and aim for 14. Before you know it you might be at day 30 and that new goal/action might start feeling more habitual and easy to do as its become a more regular part of your routine. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0385348630&asins=0385348630&linkId=96c93235a2b0363f2c805e994f021f23&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another interesting tid-bit that Gretchen Rubin explained on her podcast was how we all give ourselves these "loop holes" to opt out of the new habit we are working on. For example,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I've done really well on my Keto diet so I deserve to eat some of these loaded French fries and carb out for a day".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fallacy in that false choice. Why is recognizing that you are doing well in pursuit of a healthy habit an enablement of that bad behavior you are trying to break away from? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The truth? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It isn't but we've designed these little loop holes for ourselves where we exercise some mental gymnastics and fall off the wagon. Don't get caught in that trap!! Keep your promises to yourself and keep working hard on your habits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you've made the determination to start down a path of healthier decisions and actions to build up your life, then remember that initial conviction and keep on pursuing it! I really want to spend this time to encourage you because taking the time to write this blog is in and of itself, a self-encouraging action for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It helps keep my thoughts focused on why I am pursuing growth and self-development and allows me to continue and maintain that much needed consistency in that pursuit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No one habit was created in a single day of good decisions. It is a long, arduous road filled with many loop holes, false choices, and mental barriers that are self-created and self-defeating. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But if you can remember your foundation of "why" you are taking these actions and remind yourself of the end game that you had in mind when starting down this journey, then I know you can find success in your pursuit! You just have to stay the course!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you enjoyed reading this article then keep on reading more of the great content that we have at likelyfiction. I recently wrote a "fun piece" just discussing my picks for <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/top-10-podcasts-for-2019.html">Top 10 Podcasts of 2019</a> as I am an avid podcast consumer and fan across a wide variety of genres, interests, and topics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please subscribe to our site, share it with your friends, and comment on this post so that we can continue to have a conversation about these areas of self-improvement and building habits!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span><b></b><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-69333263045383148562019-08-31T15:26:00.000-05:002019-09-26T08:51:40.568-05:00Top 10 Podcasts For 2019 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2019 has been
a heck of a year for me in terms of self-development, trying to work on being
the best dad and husband I can be, and increasing my productivity and
effectiveness in the work place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">If you are anything at all like me you enjoy listening to
music (</span><i style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">hopefully via</i><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/dmusic/promotions/AmazonMusicUnlimited?ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1483579440886&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=ae3e4c9afeb889b41796f0a9b23dddd9" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Amazon Music Unlimited<span style="color: #b01100; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">)</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> or podcasts throughout the work day to help the time pass. </span></span></span><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So in the spirit of the quickly approaching Fall season I’ve
decided to put together a fun list of my Top 10 Podcasts for 2019. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m not
restricting my choices to any subset or specific genre and I expect that not
every podcast on this list will be a good fit for all readers. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I know that
there is a wide enough variety in topics and interests being covered in the
below list that you will find at least a few that you absolutely love! So let’s
get to it. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">1</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“The Watch” with Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan </span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">This Watch covers all ranges of pop
culture from television, to movies, art, and music. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Andy Greenwald and Chris
Ryan, the traditional hosts of the pod, are both well read, intelligent
consumers of all things in popular culture and add deft commentary and
reflection on all of the most popular shows that have become the bread and
butter of American consumerism. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Each pod covers different segments of material for example, I’ve heard them discuss new “Star Wars” trailers, the Marvel universe at large,
Black Mirror episodes, Game of Thrones finales, and more over my time listening
to the pod. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Even more interesting beyond your normal show reviews is the fact
that Andy Greenwald is no longer just an aspiring writer, but is a show runner
for his own television project that he has been greenlighted on. So we as the
listener are getting exposure to his pursuit of success in the TV industry and
learning about the process as he does, which I find very entertaining and intriguing. </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Chris Ryan loves to cover a wide variety of topics and with these two being old
friends from their teenage years, they make for a great pair who are very
conversational and light hearted in their discussions. With all that in
consideration, The Watch receive spot number one on my Top 10 Podcasts for 2019! </span></span></span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The other watch that is number one in my heart? None other than<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> my ultimate wish list </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HDHLPBM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07HDHLPBM&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=ec5824278831c955d37aea8d8eed5a6e" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Apple Watch Series 4 in SPACE GREY</a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> that I seriously want so badly but am trying to wait until Christmas to get. Amazon Prime makes the temptation even greater guys but I digress. Lets get on to number 2 on this list! </span></span></span></span></span></i></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><i></i><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">2.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“The Bill Simmons Podcast” with Bill Simmons </span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This podcast features the “Podfather” as he
is so termed by Jalen Rose on another popular podcast in the sports pod world. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is fitting as Bill Simmons, previously known as the "Sports Guy" has been an active writer/blogger from the early
days of the internet and was one of the first to transition to heavy podcast
content. His rise to fame and success through ESPN and in writing the bible of NBA fans around, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345520106/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345520106&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=0701bde6004c1091e43b6cfc7f0e3d4e" rel="nofollow">"The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy"</a>, has landed him as one of the most well known podcasters and sports tangent people in that subsection of culture. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While most might link him with sports coverage as a whole, including
the NBA, NFL, and MLB among other sports, he actually goes far beyond just
covering that arena and often has a variety of guests on his show from actors,
writers, directors, politicians, and everything in between. One of my favorite
pods was his interview with Matt Damon as they discussed the many facets of his
career trajectory and highlighted some of the fun and interesting moments along
the way. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He is always ready to throw down hot takes and every once in a while
will bring out his favorite alter ego, “conspiracy Bill” to discuss and
evaluate what he really thinks is going on behind the scenes in any given
controversial moment. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you love sports, pop-culture, and listening to
successful creative power houses discuss their lives, routines, and struggles,
then this podcast is 1000% the right place for you to park your ears. While it
was a tough choice to make, it ultimately lands the Bill Simmons pod at the
number 2 spot in my Top 10 Podcasts for 2019. </span></span><br />
<i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you still aren't satisfied with the amount of Bill Simmons in your life I also recommend his heralded baseball piece (one which I'm sure the avid Red Sox fan would love), <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933060727/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1933060727&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=ed9e1c8ee7df978f170d1a7602298974" rel="nofollow">"Now I Can Die In Peace: How the Sports Guy Found Salvation Thanks to The World Champions (Twice!!) Red Sox" </a>which is as funny as the title is long. Perfect pick me up for anyone who enjoys Bill and baseball in one lethal combo. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">3.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Masters In Business” with Barry Ritholtz</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Are you looking to become wise in the ways
of the Financial world, stock markets, bond markets, hedge funds, private
equity, and everything in between? Then look no further than Masters In
Business. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Barry Ritholtz is an extremely well read host who brings in the best of the best
in the financial sector to discuss their failures, successes, what they wish
they would have known when they were coming up in the finance world, and what
their favorite books are, all packed into a single hour of content, more or
less. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He isn’t just providing a platform for these people to speak their peace
or sell their product/firm/strategy. He is an active, intelligent host who can
talk with authority on all subjects within the financial landscape and he does
so in a witty, charming, and educational way that helps the listener learn
while also feel like they are a vital part of the conversation. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you have any
specific areas of finance that you are trying to learn whether it be personal
finance, 401k and index funds, or broader business orientated topics, you will
find what you seek by digging into the steep archive of pods that Masters In
Business brings to the table. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I personally utilized this podcast to teach
myself about the financial markets and better understand how much of an impact
they have on us as regular people in a variety of ways so that I could leverage
that information to make more sensible decisions in my own investments, pursuit
of owning a home, and working to pay off debts so that my wife and I can one
day comfortably retire. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This deep pool of knowledge is worth tapping into and
there is no better pod than this to achieve the spot of number 3 in my Top 10
Podcasts for 2019. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<i>An avid reader himself, Barry Ritholtz dropped his own book in the aftermath of the financial crisis that examines the environment and players that had a heavy hand in the crisis that shook the American economy to its core, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470596325/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470596325&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=3f5454d7271473f13ec491b34df904ba" rel="nofollow">"Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy".</a> </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>I definitely recommend it for anyone looking to chew on more financial food for thought. </i></span></span></span></div>
<i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">4.</span></span></span><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Ed Mylett Show” with Ed Mylett</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This podcast is the perfect pod for anyone
who is looking to grow themselves, learn about success in entrepreneurial
pursuit, or just hear really compelling and inspiring stories. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Its host, Ed
Mylett is a wildly successful self-made man who is positive, encouraging, and
pushes his listeners to #MAXOUT their potential, a phrase pulled straight from the title of his highly rated book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GV9KCS6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07GV9KCS6&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=4502400984464a962359850d07dbb50a" rel="nofollow"><i>"#MAXOUT Your Life". </i></a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">H</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">e is a big proponent for physical
health as he is very much into weight lifting/body building but he is far more
interested in providing a platform for people with powerful stories of success
against all odds. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He has served as a mentor for popular authors/podcasters such
as Rachel Hollis and regularly hosts social media “influencers” who share their
journey and successes. He typically hosts his pod from his home by the ocean
and the sound of that water hitting the shore is a signature noise that can be
heard in the backdrop of the pod. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He speaks with power and authority on growth,
self-development, and learning to be a little better, every, single, day. I
personally favor him and his work as a man, as I look at someone with such a
radical trajectory and dream of learning from his experiences and journey to
shape my own path. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His greatest asset (his incredibly deep, radio/pod friendly
voice) gives way to a real sensitivity, patience, and compassion as he will
often host guests with stories of gut wrenching pains, struggles, and battles
through life that are ultimately overcome. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His pod has been an inspiration for
my own writing and pursuit of blogging, and THAT is why I have selected it for
the number 4 spot in my Top 10 Podcasts for 2019. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">5.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="margin: 0px;"> </span>“RISE
Podcast” with Rachel Hollis</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How many women in America today are looking
to take on the world with eyes towards strong success despite the many
barriers, walls, and glass ceilings that have been built up around them in that
pursuit? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Too many women today are still being held down by stereotypes, sexist
sociological structures, and pressures and responsibilities pushed on them by
the outdated standards of society. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rachel Hollis and her podcast, “RISE”
absolutely shatters all of those misconceptions about the role of a woman. She
is a self-made all-star who started her career as a hostess for large,
Hollywood esque parties in LA, and slowly developed into an author
(self-publishing to get her start), podcaster, and major, major social media
influencer. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She is light, funny, accessible, and has experienced success that
few can even dream of. All while raising several children, speaking all across
the country, vlogging with her wonderful and successful in his own right
husband, and pursuing her best life. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Listening to her discuss her approach to
life really does make you feel as though YOU can live that life too and YOU can
accomplish your own victories in life. True to its name, after listening to
this pod you will probably want to RISE up and go accomplish something for
yourself. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She often discusses how she does not break promises to herself
anymore and I’ve found this to be one of my most heralded idea to grab onto
when I don’t feel like going out for exercise, sticking to keto, or taking the
extra time to write a blog post. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Her pod is pure inspiration and is an absolute
necessity for anyone, woman or man, who is in active pursuit of being better
and is looking for a good model who has made it there and lived to tell the tale!
This is exactly why I have RISE as the number 5 spot on the list of the Top 10 Podcasts
for 2019. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Alongside her blog, live streams, business conferences, and podcast, Rachel Hollis has 2 excellent books (both of which I have read with my wife) that were fun, fresh, and very enjoyable to read as a couple looking to strengthen our own bond and extend my understanding as a man of how women experience the world. </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400209609/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400209609&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=6c4dbbf7c7aeae0c4422bda2da08574a" rel="nofollow">"Girl Stop Apologizing"</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400201659/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400201659&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=2a216ea64d0bd26f46a9c447bd553978" rel="nofollow">"Girl, Wash Your Face"</a> are fantastic gifts for any mom, sister, wife, or daughter looking to grow themselves and help them keep their self made promises. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><i></i><b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">6.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Happier” with Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth
Craft</span></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <i> I thoroughly enjoy the podcast “Happier” that
is hosted primarily by Gretchen Rubin and often involves her younger sister,
Elizabeth Craft. Gretchen is a very successful author with a New York Times Bestseller in "Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life" and to be honest, her podcast content and tone are perfectly in sync with this book.</i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0385348630&asins=0385348630&linkId=96c93235a2b0363f2c805e994f021f23&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The sister duo serve as a well-balanced team that are witty, well
read, and extremely intelligent. Their thoughtfulness shines through as they
visit interesting ideas and questions from readers, explore the work of
ancient, old, modern, and more recent philosophy, and laugh about the struggles
of day to day living while trying to live a balanced and happy life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Typically
these pods run anywhere from 20-40 minutes and every now and again, they will
drop quick little bite sized tidbits for the listener to consume on the go or
in their work time. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I laughed as they recently featured a small bit on how to “stop
hitting the snooze” and offered up the extremely practical suggestion of going
to your alarm app, and disabling the ability to “hit the snooze.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With
practical and yet useful information for the very basic, day to day challenges
that we all face at one time or another, I see this pod as being perfect for
spot number 6 on the list of The Top 10 Podcasts for 2019! </span></span></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">7.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Binge Mode” with Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of all of the podcasts so far presented on
my personal list of what I consider to be the top 10 pods for 2019, this pod
has to be considered the most unique and stands in its own category as a pod. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The
team of Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion, both writers and content creators
for the pop-culture site, “The Ringer” have created a niche beyond reproach
within the podcast universe. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The manner in which they have been dissecting “Game
of Thrones” over the years is un-comparable. Utilizing scripts that they have
written after each episode, they walk you through the experience of each
moment, recapturing the beauty of consuming the show as an avid watcher, but
through the lens of two mega fans whose breadth of knowledge and foundation of
interest, knows no bounds. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While the manner in which they present their podcast
may be unusual for some, it has led to the pair receiving major recognition for
their efforts and style with “Time” awarding it with the “Best Podcast” title.
Why is it so far down the list of my pods, you may be wondering? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Well, you will
have to listen to their dissection and decide for yourself! For me while the
podcast is quite incredible in its complexity and attention to detail, I’ve found
in my own listening journey that I prefer a more conversation podcast over
something that is well written and/or scripted. However, that is but a small,
personal leaning and I still believe this pod to be one of the absolute best in
its own right. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They don’t just stop the coverage and dissection at Game of
Thrones, they’ve also covered Star Wars, Harry Potter, and other popular shows
and film. If you are a film junkie who cares to know the histories and origins
of the families in shows like Game of Thrones, then this IS the pod for you.
That is why I’ve ranked it at spot number 7 on the Top 10 Podcasts for 2019. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i></i><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>If you are trying to gain the knowledge of Mallory and Jason then the 2nd best way outside of listening to their pod would of course be to buy the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HU125EK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01HU125EK&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=57a55d9e1a2a6e4d30592dcb29320b84" rel="nofollow">entire series of Game of Thrones books</a>! Amazon Prime has them hot off the press and ready to read. </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Careful though because when I finally got around to reading these behemoths of literature, I could literally not stop reading them. I finished the entire series in a single summer and every waking free moment was spent with my head buried in these books. </i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>I cannot overstate just how fantastic they are and for those of you who have seen the show but still haven't read the series, NOW IS THE TIME to get lost in them!! TRUST. </i></span></span></span></span></div>
<i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">8.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Pod Save America” with Jon Favreau, Dan
Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We all need a little politics in our life
right? RIGHT? Joking aside, I do my best to stay informed and try as I can to
consume information responsibly, especially when it comes to the area of
politics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While this podcast definitely leans pretty heavily to the “left” as
far as their political grounding, they do well to provide accurate, fact based
information as well as fair, honest, and open assessments of what is going on
in American politics today. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All of these men who all are on the pod at some
point or another, were former aides for Obama and have real experience in
campaigning, writing, and jockeying within the political realm. Tommy Vietor is
especially classed in matters that stretch far beyond the borders of our own
country, weighing in on world affairs and how our own politics at home impacts
the countries of the world. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dan Pfeiffer is a regular contributor across
multiple media outlets and has a wide array of knowledge and useful thoughts on
how the current administration handles immigration, education, healthcare, and
so much more. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jon Lovett provides a breath of fresh air and downright hilarious
antics to break through the sometimes dry and administrative jetlag that can
set in when you are discussing not so compelling topics like new tax laws. He
is a well-known and deservedly respected member of the gay community and so
brings a real, honest, and thought provoking perspective that gives a powerful
yet funny voice to a community of people who are looking to have the same
recognition and right to pursue happiness as the rest of us. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His wit, humor, and
bravado provide that extra bit of personality and laugh out loud funny moments
that any podcast could dream of having. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Finally, Jon Favreau who feels much
like the heart and soul of this team of political misfits, provides calm and
quiet analysis with well selected words, choice insight, and a sincerity that
you can feel through the airwaves. These guys started their journey with the
podcast “Keepin’ it 1600” a subtle but funny reference to the address of the White
House in which they used to serve, and have now officially “Made it” with a
massive following of loyal fans who are looking for an honest assessment in a
dishonest world. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not only do they host a fantastic pod but they are now also
touring live across the country, hosting large crowds and putting on live shows
to the delight of listeners across America. With that, I give them the award of
spot number 8 on The Top 10 Podcasts for 2019. </span></span></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">9.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“The Woj Pod” with Adrian Wojnarowski</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you haven’t heard of the “Woj Bombs”
that have been dropping now for a few years on Twitter during every NBA season
and free agency period, then where have you been? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This man, Adrian Wojnarowski,
is the most powerful journalist in the NBA business. If you hear a rumor,
tweet, or bit of news that is coming from him, then you know that it is as good
as the word of God. His podcast hosts some of the most prolific agents,
executives, GMs, and players from the NBA. Everyone in that business wants to
sit down with Woj and discuss the game. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At first look, his receding hair line
and black rimmed glasses may not seem all that intense, but this dude knows his
stuff and hears whispers from offices around the league on the level of Lord
Varys from Game of Thrones. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His insight into the inner workings of the teams
around the league are unparalleled and his access to the highest levels of
authority and ownership are without competition. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He is a great follow on
twitter for those who are looking to stay in the know on the daily happenings
within the NBA and for even more in depth knowledge on the game itself, he is a
fantastic host on his pod. This is why “The Woj Pod” is number 8 on The Top 10
Podcasts for 2019. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 48px; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">10.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“House of Carbs” with Joe House</span></span></span></b></div>
<b></b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px 48px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We all need a little slice of heaven every
now and then and Joe House is the perfect chef to serve it up to us. This guy
is hilarious and an absolute champ when it comes to consumption of delicious food. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He does not discriminate when it comes to food and is willing to share his
personal favorites from across the country as he travels in his pursuits of
perfecting the art of culinary consumption. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He brings on some of his favorite
foodies and friends who have enriching dining experiences to share and provides
them the perfect place to do so! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Calling his listeners his “taste buds” he will
pull you in and keep you coming back for more as they go through their week to
week favorite spots to pull up a chair, pour a drink, and get their eat on. I
continue coming back for more because he is a truly funny guy who can skip from
topic to topic with ease and a realness that is hard to find in the over
saturated market of podcasts. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You can also find him guest hosting on many of “The
Ringer” site pods and he always comes with eating utensils in hand, ready to
throw down more delicious content for the listener. With that, Joe House and “House
of Carbs” round out the final spot in The Top 10 Podcasts of 2019! </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you enjoyed this piece and have some of your own favorite
podcasts that you believe should have made it into the list, comment so that I
can share in its awesomeness and find more excellent pods to consume myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Do us
a favor here at Likelyfiction.com and share this post as well as subscribe for
more awesome content in my pursuit of being the best version of me! </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0px 0px 10.66px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you are looking for more great content to check out, come
read my piece <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/right-to-fly.html">“Right To Fly”</a> which discusses how we all need to get out of the
holes we’ve dug ourselves in throughout life, and start looking to the clouds,
pursuing our dreams, and activating our right to fly! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></span></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-41904803368253421392019-08-29T06:00:00.000-05:002019-09-24T09:59:50.063-05:00Using Your Time Effectively<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">How often do you stop to take a moment and evaluate how effectively you have been <i>using your time</i>? We all have the same 24 hours in a day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Hard to fathom that someone like Bill Gates has that same <i>period of time </i>to accomplish what he does in a single day that us mere mortals are allotted, but its true. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I recently started evaluating my own <i>time usage</i> and it has led to some eye opening realizations that I need to better structure how I'm using the hours of each day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">With that in mind, <span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’ve been working on myself with full effort and
sincerity. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One simple addition to my week to week habits has been that <span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am reading more books! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">My wife and I just started an excellent book by Rachel Hollis, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400209609/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1400209609&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=42abdceb34d2e25f60ea54675513e62e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Girl Stop Apologizing</a>!" </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Naturally we got our copy from Amazon as we've become accustomed to the ease and convenience of their site versus wondering to the store (quite relevant to the effective time usage discussion!) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">While Rachel Hollis' book is definitely more directed at women, its still been a good window into how women process events in their lives and is giving my wife and I more food for thought in our own relationship. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Alongside that we've been listening to self-help, motivational
podcasts that have served to provide encouragement in our journey, eating healthier at home by pursuing a longer term Keto lifestyle to drop
weight and feel better, attending therapy on a scheduled and routine basis, and
writing, writing, WRITING! </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QH9NAr4UHo3yR7EAL6_S0SBRihtpx4NeQMQS5YHT1xgjLZI9MQ3LBFC_tLM3njqzJy6x-FGriMAV47KvFP-xNiw0Al0dfjJ92S45xi-NmD9ayz0UQ_eCcnv2ope_uO53pA0cisj9jdOr/s1600/cut+out+the+fat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><img alt="Effective Time Usage" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7QH9NAr4UHo3yR7EAL6_S0SBRihtpx4NeQMQS5YHT1xgjLZI9MQ3LBFC_tLM3njqzJy6x-FGriMAV47KvFP-xNiw0Al0dfjJ92S45xi-NmD9ayz0UQ_eCcnv2ope_uO53pA0cisj9jdOr/s320/cut+out+the+fat.jpg" title="Effective Time Usage" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/round-wall-clock-2182727/" target="_blank">Steve Johnson</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Not only have I been implementing the above strategies but I’ve
been working to analyze just how ineffectively I was previously <i>spending my
time</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It wasn’t so much just the “phone time” but the Netflix, HBO, Hulu,
Amazon Prime time. Hours and hours a week that wasn’t wasted per say, but also
wasn’t being constructively utilized in a way that was either building up me, my wife or my daughter. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By cutting out some of the “fat” in my<i> time usage</i> and
focusing on more practical <i>utilization of that time</i>, I’ve seen so much positive
change in a short 2 month period. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Keto is opening the door for less time eating
out and junk food, and more time cooking delicious, whole food meals with my
family. My daughter is only 2 but she loves to pull up a step stool to our
kitchen island, and help mommy and daddy mix together recipes for baked goods. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We’ve made Keto brownies, Keto pizza, blue cheese burgers wrapped in romaine
lettuce, turkey hot dogs cut up with banana peppers and pickles, tuna salad,
chicken thighs and on and on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We eat more vegetables now that I’ve probably
been eating over the last 2 years of my life. My favorites are zucchini,
cucumbers, spinach leaves, and green olives. Also tons and tons of CHEESE! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When
I realized just how much delicious meats and cheese I could eat on Keto, I was
sold. It isn’t always easy as there are times that I definitely crave carb rich
Beer, pasta, bread, and non-keto sweets. But by targeting that one arena within
our multi-faceted, busy life we are reaping near immediate awards <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and I don’t even mean in regards to the
weight loss.</i> </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1628602570&asins=1628602570&linkId=415c3672fe72495e10cd5e77a662c4bc&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The time spent as a
family</b>, cooking together and then eating at our dinner table having
discussions, joking with our daughter, and not being consumed with the
television or phones has been fantastic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was so proud of a moment I had last
night with my daughter as I was trying to get her settled down while I got
together the ingredients for our meal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">auto-piloted</i>
over to the TV, and asked her what show she wanted to watch while I started on
dinner. She said “no daddy” and pointed at our record player in the living
room.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Yes you heard me right! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My daughter said no to the TV time, and asked instead to
listen to a vinyl record (just typing that sentence makes me proud as an avid
music consumer and creative spirit). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Our <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NQL8Z16/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00NQL8Z16&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=c5fc7c5bd86b7272f8e4cc8c5f22b06c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">record player</a> is that older vintage looking style but with the awesome features of a modernly built one and we absolutely love it! She then proceeded to dance around
the living room and eventually settled down and started playing with her toys
while we cycled through 3 different artists and their albums. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Here are the links to our albums of choice by <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BJEBMC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001BJEBMC&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=a65a4aab125c2c17874fc020aaab541f" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Supremes</a>,
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001R4MEZM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001R4MEZM&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=8ee1b929d570652df9b4f267d4b4969d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wilco</a>, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041KVZ1I/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0041KVZ1I&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=a6e22000d9392ce99a156e88c1578751" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Beatles</a>. I'm an Abbey Road kind of guy. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It was a truly wonderful evening and I felt like my wife, my
daughter, and I got everything that we could possibly get out of it. Doesn’t it
feel good when you go to sleep knowing you got every ounce of enjoyment humanly
possible out of your week night? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now I know that there will be nights when we have low
energy, don’t feel like cooking or going on a walk through the neighborhood. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If
I’m being real those nights have often outnumbered the productive evenings to a
large degree. But that is something that we are now trying to address as a
family in order to develop more positive habits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By making the effort to have a
few of these productive evenings sprinkled into our week, we are getting more
connected as a family and creating healthier habits that I hope will continue
to serve my daughter and her own life choices far into the future. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br />
</span><br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1628603135&asins=1628603135&linkId=ad26b21a4dfaa9fc4f4e6d5fb0d9cd2b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">How are you utilizing your spare hours in the evening after
work? It doesn’t matter if you are single, in a relationship, married, have no
kids or have a ton of kids! The manner in which you spend your free time
outside of work can make such a huge difference in the overall direction of
your life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Perhaps you are like my wife and I where both of you are working
full time. Seems like there are less and less families that have the means or
discipline to be a single income family. For the ones out there that are
pulling it off; I sincerely commend you! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I have to jump off track for one paragraph and give a
special shout out to the stay at home moms of the world! Your job is harder
than anything I could ever do up at the office and it’s not even close. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When my
wife stayed home with our daughter for the first 12 weeks of her life on
maternity leave, it gave me a small window of insight into how incredibly hard
that task can be. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m happy to see that culturally within our society, stay at
home moms are deservedly getting more and more credit for how tough their day
to day life actually is. I hope that recognition and awareness continues to
grow and grow. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But with our family dynamic, both my spouse and I have to
work to make ends meet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is what it is and instead of using that as an excuse
to walk in the door, kick off our shoes, and collapse on the couch into a Netflix
binge, we are trying to see our spare time in the evenings as brief
opportunities to work on ourselves, our goals, and our familial bond. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">What I am learning through this growing experience is that
the more consistent we are in<i> utilizing our time effectively</i>, the more
enriching our time spent becomes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am growing every single day as a human in
areas that have been too oft neglected and set to the way side. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m becoming a
more loving father and husband. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am less stressed and more patient. I am
setting down the phone and pouring out the blocks to play with my little girl. Sounds
simple right? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">From a practical standpoint, it really is and that is exactly why
I want to encourage you to try and take similar steps in your own life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Every decision that we make as human beings has an effect on
the ones we love who are in our lives. Every single one! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That’s no exaggeration
because I am telling you, all of these small decisions that we are making each
morning and evening as a family, are compounding into better habits, healthier
mindsets, and a greater energy to live our best life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Instead of wasting our
time complaining about what is WRONG in our life, we are re-directing our mind
and focus on how much is going RIGHT! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Isn’t it kind of crazy that we have the freedom of choice on
how we direct our thoughts and even with that freedom, so many people lock themselves
inside a daily routine of negativity and stress? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">How do I know? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Because my wife
and I spent so much time doing it!!! I kid you not we would spend a stupid
amount of time and energy worrying about things that we had no control over.
Did worrying and stressing accomplish a single task or make us better people?
HELL NO!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Instead it left us feeling distracted, powerless, and
defeated. It blows my mind that each time we would get in those ruts of
negative thought patterns and negative self-talk, we were making the decision
to cripple ourselves by continuing down that path. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Realizing that you have the
power to train your thoughts and work on how you respond to life’s curve balls
is such a powerful realization. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The realization does not equal
transformation</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The transformation comes much later after you spend
critical time each day working on how you are going to allow yourself to think,
speak, and act. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I really enjoy the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0564070971/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0564070971&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=03befa2f6261add7b0279b40be698d67" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Good News Translation</a> of Proverbs 18:21
which says; <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“What you say can preserve
life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words.”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It is absolutely true! What are you speaking over yourself
and your family on a daily basis? I get on to my wife all the time because she
will claim over herself, “I have a terrible memory.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I will give her an eyebrows raised look and say “No, you
have a fantastic memory!!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Why? Because I believe in the power of words over our lives
and the trajectory of our experience on this Earth. Do I think words or vision
boards are magical and will turn me into a ga-zillionaire? No. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But I believe if
we are speaking life into our day to day experiences, then that positivity will
have the power of drawing other positive people into our lives and over time
that energy will convert or manifest into something positive and powerful for
us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It becomes a feedback loop of positivity, encouragement, and allows you to
build up habits that will put you on a crash course with success and growth. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the same way negative self-talk and complaining will lock
you in a prison of your own creation, preventing you from being open to new experiences,
people, and opportunities to excel in your passions and dreams. How different
do you think your life could be if instead of saying:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I’m not good enough”</i>
or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“I always fall short of my goals”</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You start declaring <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">powerful
</b>and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">re-affirming</b> words over your
life, like:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I am going to work on becoming the best me” or “I will keep
the promises I make to myself”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It starts with words that eventually turn into action, that
action turns into habits, and those habits eventually transform your
personality traits and learned behaviors. If you don’t believe me then I suggest
you analyze several areas of your life over the next week to see how you are
doing on a day to day level. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Look at:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">How are you spending
your time in the evenings when you get off work? </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">What are you saying to
yourself and others about YOU and your own capabilities? </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">What you are claiming
over your life or situation throughout the week? </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3WfdNh29Urjy2O2wBgVy8NoqVR4GLXwEv5cJ5M9S2tATJK2YIq2so5RioDPs0Ok6GHPPlKoUSBymFtLFR0zjp1_t67d-Cq4gNRzmves5veCbUjNXXq2HZlBlmPMCh-rIjRpfBSCzd89Y-/s1600/cut+out+the+fat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">What are you eating? </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>How open are you to
changing your routines to buil</i><i>d in more time to work on your aspirations? </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">These aren’t insane questions or life changing, radical
actions. These are small and simple ways that you can evaluate your weekly
movements through life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Answer those questions and then take a hard look at
your answers. Is there room for improvement? Are you looking for ways to grow
and get more productive in your daily life? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Evaluating these question and
looking into these simple areas might be a great starting point for you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Working to become a better version of the human that you are
does not happen overnight or with a single decision. It is taking small steps
that are easily accomplished and maintaining consistency in adding those small
changes and steps to your daily routine. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Keeping those little promises to
yourself over a long period of time and slowly adding to the list of what
promises you are going to keep, is what will lead to real, sustainable change
in who you are as a person. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">That is why I write. That is why I <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1628602880/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1628602880&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=63703ddfd6701f7549980c6d5631d175" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">keto</a>. That is why I wake
up 1.5 hours before I need to get ready for work so that my wife and I can read
Rachel Hollis' book together and talk about it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It’s why I’ve started <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/first-therapy-session.html">going to therapy</a>! I
know that changing myself won’t be accomplished through any one action or
change in behavior, but instead through many different avenues that
collectively add up to something greater in my life. </span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1400209609&asins=1400209609&linkId=aa80333810b373181899cb6796ca69bb&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I hope this post has encouraged you to start down your own
journey of positive change and growth or has served as motivation to keep going
on the path you’ve already started down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you ever have any questions or want
to engage more on this topic feel free to comment on this post and I swear to
you I will respond in a timely manner. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>To date, I have garnered a single
comment on my posts so I’m looking forward to when some of the visitors to <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/">likelyfiction.com</a> start hitting me up to discuss these topics further so that
we can all learn together! </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Do me a favor too if you like this content and subscribe and
share! I appreciate the support as I walk this path towards self-improvement and
bring you all along for the ride. </i></span><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><o:p></o:p></span><i></i><br /></div>
<br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-50617390338058343342019-08-27T08:40:00.004-05:002019-09-26T12:08:36.582-05:00First Therapy Session<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the last month I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching
and trying to figure out the best approaches to start rebuilding myself and
working towards the goal of becoming a better me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Sometimes that kind of
sentence can feel really cheesy or insincere as I type it out but it is the
truth. I’ve had many reasons to consider doing so in the past but in the spirit
of working to become a better me, I made the decision to start <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">going to therapy.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxABg4fLl2HCEfddGzyx0gjRT0i_F5msN-0rEVnQriAHY4nBvmI8tf_Grk8dCMF2lRAXBfiDuloJ9Ay6VoWKRyGxXGCM3imZ252-IFYSd2YM64OtOR4hXcIbu_XB3hNDuoEA0BNQS0w1wN/s1600/water.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Therapy Appointment" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxABg4fLl2HCEfddGzyx0gjRT0i_F5msN-0rEVnQriAHY4nBvmI8tf_Grk8dCMF2lRAXBfiDuloJ9Ay6VoWKRyGxXGCM3imZ252-IFYSd2YM64OtOR4hXcIbu_XB3hNDuoEA0BNQS0w1wN/s320/water.jpg" title="Seeing a Therapist" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/water-of-life-66346/" target="_blank">Samad Deldar</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As a 27 year old male, the idea of therapy was a bit much
for me to swallow, especially since the suggestion to test it out, came from my
loving wife with a true sincerity and desire to help me work out some of my
internal struggles. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the first couple of discussions that we had about going
to a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">therapy session</i>, I felt rather
uncomfortable with the rudimentary act of having those discussions. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m not
sure if it was just a general discomfort with the notion that I might “need
help” and couldn’t solve everything on my own or a greater fear that there are
underlining issues in my background that I didn’t want to have to revisit in
order to better understand myself and my tendencies through life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After some teetering between what I should or shouldn’t do,
I ultimately decided that testing out the waters of what therapy could be for
me would be the best move forward and my wife helped me to schedule a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">therapy appointment</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While I wasn’t
super eager for the first opportunity to see a therapist, I was curious as to
what to expect for my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">first therapy
session</i>. I</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">’ve never been to anything like this before in my life so my
expectations were all over the place. Everything was new to me in this arena
and to be frank, I was a little anxious to face what was to come. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Perhaps I’m underselling it a bit. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0956596258&asins=0956596258&linkId=b76e3d165403c1af959624cf224ae043&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VERY</b>
anxious as I thought about having intense discussions with someone “objective”,
unveiling all of my major character flaws, unraveling my past to try and
highlight issues that may or may not exist, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I definitely started to make
the idea of therapy and what a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">therapy
session</i> would look like, feel larger and scarier than it actually was. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Moving to the actual date of my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">therapy appointment</i>, I arrived about 20 minutes before the session
was scheduled to start. After fiddling on my phone for 15 minutes or so, the
person I was scheduled to see, arrived and let me into their office. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While the
office wasn’t fully what I was expecting, I bought into the experience and
tried to allow myself the ability to let my walls down and speak honestly with
this person. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">As an oceanic sized volume of words began to flow out of me,
I would watch the facial reactions/movements of the therapist and then spend
large amounts of time staring at the floor, unwilling to make eye contact any
longer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While the therapist did do well to sort of guide the conversation, I
felt myself starting to restrict my responses, as some of the things I stated
during my emotional word vomit, seemed to solicit curious facial expressions
and responses from the therapist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Am I crazy or did his
eyes just get really big and wide when I was just talking about that insecurity</i>?
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Beyond that, I’m an extremely analytical human being. I’m
not overtly political but I pick up easily on when someone is making a
suggestive remark when it comes to politics, of which this therapist did twice
in our session. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Knowing that my own political leanings were in direct contrast them I became even more withdrawn and less likely to share my feelings/thoughts in a transparent manner. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After what seemed like very little time at all, the session
was over. I was more than a bit surprised that there was no “wrapping up” or
debrief at the end of the session. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In fact the therapist pretty much cut the
session off mid-sentence looking down at his watch and immediately moving to
the action of setting up our next sessions. I also walked out thinking,
“shouldn’t I be getting some kind of homework, or something?” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I had a flash of thoughts run through my mind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">First off: Wasn’t therapy supposed to be sort of, I don’t
know, therapeutic? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Were my expectations in what a therapy session was supposed
to be, out of line with reality? Why did I actually kind of feel like shit
after that first session? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Was it my negative association with the issues we
discussed that were making me feel so bad or did that therapy session not go
the way that one should go? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My head was reeling and I was second guessing myself. I
talked with my wife on my drive back home and really tried to piece together
the full picture of events as I revisited that session in my mind. It sure
didn’t seem to be what I was expecting. And the worst part? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I had already
scheduled several more sessions with this individual because of my annoying inability
to express my dis-satisfaction when the therapist suggested we go ahead and get
some future sessions on the books. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now I was really wondering… Should I see it
through with this person to see if things develop in a way that is more
conducive to me working through the tough issues but at the same time, walking
away feeling more whole? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">My first instinct was to search the internet for other’s
experiences with their first therapy session. I checked reddit, I checked
forums, I checked google. It was a mixed bag. Nobody could give me a clear
answer but one person did make a statement that helped me in my decision
process. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“If this therapist is
already making you feel uncomfortable with sharing, then that should be a red
flag that you need to continue your search.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After much deliberation and discussion with my wife, we
decided to cancel the other appointments and continue searching.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I can’t say that my first therapy session was BAD. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
individual did guide the conversation in a way that highlighted some
information I hadn’t previously considered. But it didn’t feel like it was the
right direction or individual for me. It was tough to come to this decision
because it’s not like therapy is free. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By admitting that I need to continue my
search I was also recognizing that my first session was a bit of a sunk cost.
Sure, I guess it was worth the money to at least go through the experience and
test the waters for therapy as a whole but it was tough for me to not look at
the money spent with that first individual as a bit of a waste, at least in my
eyes. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know that’s not technically true because it was still a valid first
step for me to take. But it was a bit disheartening that I had put myself out
there, shared a lot of personal information about myself, and would now have to
do it all over again with someone new.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you are at this point in your own search I want to really
encourage you: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Don’t give up! </b>When
you are first looking to find a great therapist that fits your needs, I know it
can become incredibly frustrating and discouraging when the first therapist doesn’t
work out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">However, don’t let that be your excuse to stop the search. Keep
looking and I assure you, when you find that right fit, it will be worth the
waiting, searching, frustration, and discomfort. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">**Back to your
regularly scheduled program**</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I have to give a special shout out to my wife as she took a
lot of the feedback I had with the first therapist and really tried to search
far and wide to find a better fit. S</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">he has a special knack to show just how
much she cares through her incredible patience as well as her energy and drive,
of which she put on full display as she feverishly hunted for a new therapist
that might be a better fit for me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After about a week of searching through a list of “network
approved” therapist that we could actually afford, she came to me with a list
of 4 individuals. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We got that list reduced down to 2 based on the profile of
those therapists, and finally settled on the next person who I’d go to a
therapy session with, based on the fact that they could do Saturday morning
sessions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This was vital for me because I was so fearful to have to
explain to my work why exactly I would need to come in late on a bi-weekly
basis. Should I have been? No, I think therapy is a normal need that many of us
have and as I talk, write, and discuss it more often, it is becoming less and
less “taboo” for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I’m not sure how many people feel a similar fear or
anxiety when it comes to deciding that they need to go to therapy but want to
keep in on the down low to avoid judgement or assumptions. I imagine I can’t be
the only one who feels that way. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am working to not feel so weird about the
fact that I am making a conscious decision to go therapy because it really isn’t
that unusual. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">According to a </span><a href="https://www.barna.com/research/americans-feel-good-counseling/https:/www.barna.com/research/americans-feel-good-counseling/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">study
done by Barna Group</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";">, “four in 10 American adults (42%) have seen a
[therapist] at some point in their lives.” Interestingly enough it seems that
Millennials and Gen X are more interested overall in going to therapy than the
older generations. </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">At least “one-fifth of Millennials and 16% of Gen X are
currently engaged in Therapy.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So just looking at these numbers which are pulled from the study
listed above back from 2018, it is clear that a near majority of people are
actively interested or were previously interested in talking to a therapist. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It
isn’t uncommon or unusual, it is just a normal part of seeking to live a
better, more purposeful life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By writing about it in this blog I am making an active
choice to try and dispel some of the internally perceived weirdness and choose
to instead exercise or activate the positive feelings associated with the decision
to schedule a therapy session. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am choosing to work on myself and to address
issues that I’ve long ignored. That shouldn’t be something that I feel compelled
to hide. It should be something that I consider as a sign of strength, that I’m
looking to develop myself and get more in touch with why I am the way that I am.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I now believe that any one person’s decision to start seeing
a therapist should be taken as a sign of awareness and maturity. Working to
address our flaws, weaknesses, short-falls is in fact a strength and a positive
sign that one is growing as a human. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So if you find yourself in a similar
position as me and are thinking that therapy might be right for you, be encouraged
that you’ve come to this conclusion! I understand the impulse to get down on
yourself and allow negativity to cloud your horizon. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But working to find the
right therapist for you can really be so beneficial and help you navigate a
path that is going to lead you to finding the best version of you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When I finally got on the schedule with the 2<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">nd</span></sup>
therapist I was still feeling a bit skeptical. After such a bad first showing
with therapist number 1, I wasn’t entirely sure if scheduling another therapy
appointment was going to be right for me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Maybe I was better off finding
alternative ways to discuss my issues and solve my stresses. Maybe therapy just
wasn’t the right avenue for what I need as a human. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Oh how wrong I was! </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Just walking into my first session with my new therapist, I could
see that the experience this individual was trying to create in how the office
was setup, was meant to be a place of comfort, of relaxation, to provide a safe
environment for individuals to discuss their inner hurts, pains, etc. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">After I filled out some basic background paperwork, I was
ushered into a quiet, calming room where I sat on a couch and sipped on my Yeti
of coffee. There were scentsy’s abound! The conversation with this therapist
was VERY different. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It wasn’t long before I found myself releasing some of the
stiffness and tension in my body and actually relaxing a bit. Sure, we were
discussing some things that made me a bit uncomfortable as they were stressful
moments in my life to have to recount, but the conversation as guided by my
therapist was actually having some positive effects. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I could tell by the end of the first session that this
therapist was right for me. The feelings of sadness, negativity, uncertainty,
and awkwardness that I had felt in my first session with the other therapist,
were no-where to be found. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Better yet, the therapist when ending our 1 hour
session, actually did a quick debrief and gave me a few thoughts to consider
before I walked out that day! </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">OMG </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">that was exactly what
I had been wanting with the first therapist!</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Not only that, but the therapist gave me homework to take
home. Now I know most people probably consider homework in general to be pretty
awful but I was delighted. I had mentioned to my wife after my first failed
attempt at therapy, </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Shouldn’t they be
like, giving me some homework or something? Just seems like that would be something
they would do in therapy.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">During our first session together I was pleased that this
therapist was someone who had engaged me on an intellectual level and
challenged me to hark back to moments in my life to consider how I had gotten
to where I currently am in my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This individual wasn’t over-sharing with
her own personal life but they did share a few personal details that helped me
to relate to them more quickly and thus, grow more comfortable in that setting.
The conversation was difficult at times but at the end of the session I actually
felt, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">BETTER</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">It was a night and day
difference between therapist 1 and therapist 2. It confirmed my suspicions that
the first person just wasn’t a good fit for my personality, and it made me
happy that I had made the decision to keep searching. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Finding a good fit with a therapist is not an easy task but
taking the time, effort, and money to do so is so worth it. With the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">RIGHT therapist</i> I really feel as though
the positive possibilities and path to developing strong insights into yourself
can be utterly transforming. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whether you are looking for yourself or for a loved one, taking
that extra time and consideration to understand if they would be a good fit for
you will make such a tremendous difference in how therapy can work in your best
interest. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Don’t feel rushed to make a decision or compelled to stick with the
first therapist you see just for convenience sake. If it doesn’t feel right on
that first time, then that might be the sign that you need to keep looking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But
also know that it can feel more uncomfortable at first for a lot of people and
it may take you building up a professional relationship with your therapist
before you have the trust in place to be comfortable divulging information to
them and develop a solid dialogue. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Everyone is different but if you take the time to work and
find that right therapist for you, I think it can make all the difference in
the world for your mental health. </span></div>
Want to keep reading more from likelyfiction? Check out my <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/right-to-fly.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> on John Mayer's song "Wheel" where I discuss how we all have "Right To Fly".<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Below I’ve linked a few other blogs and articles that I think
could be helpful in your journey to find the right therapist for you. Please
comment, share, and subscribe with my blog as I hope to do more regular updates
regarding my personal experience with Therapy and how it is shaping me for the
better as a person. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Additional
Resources: <o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">American Psychological Association: </span><a href="https://www.apa.org/ptsd-guideline/patients-and-families/finding-good-therapist"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">“How
Do I Find a Good Therapist”</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Psych Central: </span><a href="https://psychcentral.com/blog/5-tips-for-finding-the-right-therapist/https:/psychcentral.com/blog/5-tips-for-finding-the-right-therapist/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">“5
Tips for Finding the Right Therapist”</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The Cut: </span><a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/12/a-beginners-guide-to-finding-the-right-therapist.htmlhttps:/www.thecut.com/2017/12/a-beginners-guide-to-finding-the-right-therapist.html"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">“A
Beginner’s Guide to Finding The Right Therapist”</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Psychology Today: </span><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freudian-sip/201102/how-find-the-best-therapist-youhttps:/www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freudian-sip/201102/how-find-the-best-therapist-you"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">“How
to Find the Best Therapist for You”</span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
<br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com1Dallas, TX, USA32.7766642 -96.79698789999997632.3496592 -97.442434899999981 33.2036692 -96.151540899999972tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-53722545109966305802019-08-26T09:20:00.002-05:002019-09-24T09:05:52.704-05:00Dreamers Keep On Dreaming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’ve got a confession. I’m a <i>dreame</i>r. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I mean this literally
and figuratively. Every single night I have extremely vivid dreams that I can
usually recount in full detail. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sometimes I’m lucky enough to even have a few
<i>lucid dreams</i> once or twice a year. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you don’t know what <i>lucid dreaming</i> is
don’t worry, it’s a pretty niche topic <i>(here is an extremely educational book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0738751448/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0738751448&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=d2f8cb78976c9f56bfb4f67f8c152070" rel="nofollow">Llewellyn's Complete Book of Lucid Dreaming</a>" that covers the topic extensively if you who want to creep further down that rabbit-hole)</i>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Anyways let me give you my brief synopsis: </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To break it down, <i>lucid dreaming</i> is the act
of becoming aware that you are in fact, in a <i>dream</i>, and then exercising control
over the actions you take while maintain that <i>dream state</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It would be like
waking up inside of a video game and being able to do anything you want, all
the fun without any of the risk of reality. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I recall once having a <i>dream</i> in which I had a tall, somewhat alien looking figure turn his head to address me, and
ask: “<i>and what have you been dreaming about?</i>” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As soon as the question was
proposed within my <i>dream state</i>, I became aware that it was a <i>dream</i> and was
instantly <i>fully lucid</i>. I spent the rest of that <i>dream</i> flying through corn
fields as the sun was setting. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was a wonderful experience and quite a bit of
fun. For me, <i>lucid dreaming</i> is an extremely rare occurrence. There are many who
practice the ability of ‘waking up’ in their <i>dreams</i> and train their minds to do
so successfully on an oft-repeated basis. </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Beyond my sleeping habits, I’m also very much a <i>dreamer</i> in
real life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you aren't dreaming much then the first step to recalling your dreams would be to keep a dream journal by your bedside and as soon as you wake up, try to write down what you were dreaming about. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1441316698&asins=1441316698&linkId=f8ed4bf7c781d5dbb3ed075d5532194e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you repeat this habit for long enough then you will begin to train your mind to remember your dreams more clearly. The second step might be to assess your mattress and whether its time for you to upgrade. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i></i><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>My wife and bought an iComfort mattress online (much cheaper than the mattress stores) and haven't looked back as the level of comfort and ease with which we fall asleep now is not even comparable to our old sleeping setup. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>I think its easy to forget that we spend on average about 1/3rd of our life sleeping and if you aren't utilizing a proper mattress to do so, then you aren't going to be your best self in your dream state or in your day to day life. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B071JDPQHQ&asins=B071JDPQHQ&linkId=7ad896f1cc59dbb8129d49332030daf8&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve always had big ideas, thoughts, and aspirations that probably
sound unrealistic when I speak about them out loud to other people besides my
wife.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">At times, I know my wife loves me for my big ideas and dreams, and at
other times, I imagine it can be a bit more irritating. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I often get laser
focused on a single subject for a small period of time and in my exuberance,
will talk her ear off about a topic until she wants to duct tape my mouth shut.
(<i>Hopefully this is an exaggeration guys I’m pretty sure my wonderful woman
loves me with absolutely no conditions</i></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";">). </span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Interestingly enough though, I am sympathetic in her
annoyances with me and my tendencies for even I recognize that as a dreamer I
can at times have my head too far in the clouds. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At times I definitively need
to be grounded in reality. What’s that phrase? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Wake up and smell the roses</i>? Or how about this one: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t dream your life away</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I swear
I can’t help it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are few things that I enjoy doing more than stretching
out the confines of my imagination and picturing what kind of possibilities
exist outside of my current reality. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sometimes this is for realistic sounding goals
that are currently only accessible through a dreaming mind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What if my
writing/blog took off to the point where I could actually do that full time? </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What if our daughter
grew up to be the first Female President of the United States!? </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sometimes I go even
farther, just imagining “out there” ideas that have no basis in reality and
delighting in those ideas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What if I happened to
run into John Mayer in the airport, we became best friends almost immediately,
and then we went to hang out and jam on guitar?</i> (ok that was an actual
dream that I had one night and let me tell you: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">IT WAS EPIC</b>.) </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What if the Earth is
actually a giant space-ship traveling through the Universe and put into its
orbit by some higher intelligence being?</i> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I even went as far to imagine that
Earth is actually the Noah’s Ark that is referenced in The Bible, created to protect all life that exists in a harsh and cold universe. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s an out
there idea but I have fun with coming up with those kind of thought experiments
and seeing where they go in my mind. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>I LOVE to dream</i>. Truly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">However, I think having a spouse who is more
rooted in what is real/possible allows for a healthy balance as it helps ground
me when I’m nearing the upper level of the Earth’s atmosphere and at the same
time, if my wife is being too cynical or pessimistic, sometimes my imagination
and tendency to dream can help lift her attitude, and I’m able to pull her up
into the clouds with me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>What are your dreams</i>? Are they insanely farfetched, fairly
achievable, or perhaps even aiming too low so as not to allow yourself to be
disappointed? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My opinion is tainted by my own nature, but to me, <i>why dream at all if
you can’t dream BIG</i>? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My wife and I love to discuss the idea of being financially
independent, having ZERO debt, and only having to work part time in order to
pay the bills so that we can focus on raising our daughter full time and
traveling across the country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Is it possible? Most things are. Is it realistic?
It would take an immense amount of work, discipline, over 8-10 years but I do
think that it is in the realm of possibility. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Is it the path that we will
ultimately walk down? That’s the real question. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B01MTO37EB&asins=B01MTO37EB&linkId=d49a8ff7bd55d6089752b117a2973575&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">S<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">o much can change from year to year as we both work full
time and pursue a healthy combination of success in our careers, stability in
our finances, maintaining our friendships and familial relationships, working on
our own relationship as a married couple, and adjusting to the life of being an
active parent in our daughters life. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Needless to say it is quite a plate to
balance. I imagine a waitress or waiter carrying a giant platter of food, drinks,
plates, and utensils working to keep it all perfect</span>ly balanced as they walk on what
probably feels like a tight rope. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One moment of lack of clarity or
uncertainness and it feels as though it can all come crashing down. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So the question begs, how do I balance out my dreams in life,
in the face of reality and all that it brings with it? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Should I give up all
personal dreams of mine to focus on work, my wife, and my child? Should those
dreams get sidelined in support of my daughter’s dreams and aspirations? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I
think not. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I think doing that would be a disservice to my daughter as I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">wouldn’t</b> be living out the life that I’m
telling her she is capable of living. I’d only be selling a shadow or shell of
my own reality. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If I’m not actively in pursuit of my own dreams and making time
for those, how can I tell my daughter with a straight face to “dream big”? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The truth is life is impossible to navigate without having
seasons where we <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">aren’t</b> fully
committed to what it is we want. There are storms. There are landslides. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There
are times where the very ground that you’ve stood on for so long starts to feel
like lime jello as you slip further and further underneath the weight of
reality’s overwhelming and uncanny ability to make you feel small and unfit for
the destination you are seeking. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Yes I <i>dream</i> but YES I also put my <i>dreams in a
drawer</i> at times and let them stagnate, let them fall to the wayside in the wake
of life’s constant wear and tear, hitting me like an ocean tide hits a
shoreline. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That tide will reshape the shore over time, re-organize it, and turn
it into something different than what it originally was. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the same way,our
<i>dreams can shift</i>, change, and transform over time given the experiences and
hardships that may come our way in life. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But we can’t give up! Those seasons will come and go and at some
point you just have to embrace the struggle, take a deep breath and stop making
excuses. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pull that <i>dream out of your junk drawer</i>, dust it off, and give it the
air to breathe again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nothing worth anything is ever easy or completed in a single
day, week, month or year. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Everything of value and merit takes time, consistent
effort, patience, and a willingness to fail over and over before you ever see
that first success. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I think the key is that you maintain goals and when reality tries
to step in and stop you from achieving your desired dreams and goals, you stare
hard back at reality and let it know that YOU are not going to relent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You are
going to be just as constant as the ocean tide. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">YOU are going to put in the
long hours and sleepless nights, <i>dreaming of something bigger</i> and putting in
the energy to make it happen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">YOU have the willpower to pursue your dreams in
the face of struggle, stress, strife, and everything else that the world tries
to throw your way to get you off track. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Why will you do it? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The same reason that I am pursuing my
dreams and trying to be something greater than I’ve been told I’m capable of
being. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Because we only get this one singular life and there is no better time
than now to start viciously living it and conquering the areas that we’ve for
too long been told are unconquerable. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Together in writing this blog and
continuing to contemplate on the journey and how we are to travel through it,
we will get where we are intent on heading! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Together we will identify our
dreams and start building the road to reaching them. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Coming full circle to the idea of <i>lucid dreaming</i>, we are all in a sense living out a <i>lucid dream</i> on a daily basis. Our <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/david-suzuki-well-known-and-highly.html">perception becomes our reality</a> and we have all of the tools around us to shape our reality and control the dream that is life in any manner we see fit. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But so many choose to sleep through their lives and ignore the power that they have internally to pursue greatness. So I say to those hungry for more: Dreamers keep on dreaming! </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you want to dream on with more content from likelyfiction then check out my post, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/faced-with-vast-universe.html" target="_blank">"Faced With The Vast Universe"</a> where I discuss the action of looking at the stars in the night sky and how we as humans fit into the collective whole of the Universe! </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i></i><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-11690853654198129202019-08-22T20:06:00.001-05:002019-09-03T15:30:50.290-05:00Pursuing Self-Realization<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My focus since first creating this blog has shifted somewhat as I’m now more
broadly focused on getting better not just as a father, but as a human, with
much of the foundation for that pursuit being that it will open the door to me
becoming a great husband and dad. I am actively working towards the idea of Self-Realization. What is Self-Realization you ask? A simple google search will tell you: "fulfillment of one's own potential." </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85UWkDxTGkXLzvRBZjfvOp-Vhe4S8lp62yFNtvoji3XIbv9_GgOcAeGfrhcCMV9D5F5SU9iJppcajr7xiphPRqCWLDqek-GYisOVHO-QEhKw17C7faR1m4v-0t5s3ifOJO9Kup30upH6P/s1600/PhotoEditor_20190822_192939813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pursuit of Self-Realization" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85UWkDxTGkXLzvRBZjfvOp-Vhe4S8lp62yFNtvoji3XIbv9_GgOcAeGfrhcCMV9D5F5SU9iJppcajr7xiphPRqCWLDqek-GYisOVHO-QEhKw17C7faR1m4v-0t5s3ifOJO9Kup30upH6P/s320/PhotoEditor_20190822_192939813.jpg" title="Pursuit of Self-Realization" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pursuit of Self-Realization</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As a 27 year old dude who
is happily married and a father of a two year old, I’ve learned a lot about
myself in the last 2 years. I’m more resilient then I believed to be. I don’t require
nearly as much sleep as I used to convince myself I needed. But the most
important idea that I’ve really grabbed a hold of as of late, is that I <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NEED </b>to work on myself. I have spent
years of my life trying to be the best employee, the best student, the best
son, but have neglected the root of what would allow for me to excel in those different
areas. ME. For too long I let my mental, physical, and spiritual health get
sidelined due to a variety of excuses and reasons, none of which I now believe,
were valid. Sure, each and every excuse served its purpose and felt valid in
the moment, but looking back and re-evaluating my own movement through life, it
is obvious that they were simply excuses. I built up paper thin foundations for
WHY I could continue to break promises to myself. Not only did I allow myself
to suffer and stagnate as a person, but frankly my wife suffered alongside with
me as I wasn't being the most supportive, loving, or kind man that I should
have been for her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As I mentioned in a
previous post, it wasn’t until I started listening to a podcast that discussed
how our mindset programs our body, builds our habits, and eventually trains up
our personality traits, that I surmised that I have a lot more control over my
own mental state than I give credit. The simple epiphany that I have the power
to direct my thoughts, control how I perceive the world and my interactions
with it, and ultimately shape my own reality by maintaining positivity in
seasons of difficulty or distress, has been a revelation of fresh air. Excuses
be damned I was finally hitting a stride in my thought pattern of accepting my
past grievances and starting down a path of self-reclamation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Having the epiphany most
certainly feels like the easy part. But again we are all at different stages in
our pursuit to be better. I understand the struggle of those who are still
searching for that epiphany type moment. The fact that you are looking at
yourself and evaluating your own thoughts and efforts is a sign that you are
taking major steps in a positive direction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But for me the epiphany
came and went with ease, giving way to the much more challenging prospect. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Following up on that moment of clarity</i>
with an attitude of positive energy, a willingness to begin the “real work”,
and patience/understanding that nothing worthwhile would be accomplished quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A realization does not
equate to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">TOTAL</b> transformation. <br />
</span><br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1641840293&asins=1641840293&linkId=7739782aa860cb6263225ddd9d07f3f7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />
And actual Self-Realization is a constant pursuit and not a final destination. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So that’s where the legwork
for me has started. I figured something out (yay me!). But if I don't build
upon that understanding with action and consistent effort, then I'll all too
easily fall back into my old/bad habits of self-neglect, apathy, and lack of
strong direction in my routines. So how do I avoid my previous pitfalls and
really establish a new, life loving identify for myself that will stick around
into the long-term? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For starters, I’m writing
on a near daily basis, studying other writers, reading more, and listening to
successful people who openly share their experiences. I do this so that I can
continually work on training up my thoughts and align those thoughts with real,
practical action, and in the process attempt to mimic some of the behaviors of
the people that I am hoping to one day emulate. We can’t all be Mother Teresa.
But maybe by trying to adopt the positive behaviors and habits of good people
in the world, by listening to their stories, and allowing their experiences to
serve as a map in our own lives, we can teach ourselves to be better humans. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am evaluating how I
interact with people to try and cut out the “junk”. What do I mean by junk? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Drama, negative or hateful conversation,
sulking, complaining, gossip. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am trying to spend more
time having thoughtful conversation when an opportunity presents itself whether
it be with a stranger in line at Chipotle, a co-worker, a fellow church member,
or just my Mom on the phone when she is calling to check up on my daughter.
When I have a bad day or a discrepancy between where I am aiming to be and
where my spirit is actually located, I am trying to address that gap with
positive energy and well controlled thoughts. Will I have mornings where I feel
like dog shit and don't want to roll out of bed? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Of course I mean we all
felt like crap after finishing the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">series
finale of Game of Thrones </b>right? (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">side
note - do I need to write a super late review on game of thrones series finale
to add my voice to the chorus? Just kidding</i>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But even in those rough
mornings, afternoons, or evenings, I can be actively pursuing a healthier train
of thought to redirect my mind and work to get back in a place of positive
reflection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What else? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m drinking more coffee
and eating <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO</b> bread. Keto diet don’t
play no games ya’ll. I’m trying to purposefully consider my own actions on a
day to day basis, and how my daughter perceives them, as I’m becoming more
aware that the manner in which I engage my wife, is setting the tone for how my
daughter will expect to be talked to and interacted with boys as she gets
older. My wife and I are having more conversations! Sometimes it is over
contemplative stuff. Sometimes it's just silly memes and laughable Facebook
rants. But even for the silly stuff, I'm trying to be more engaging and active
in how I listen to her and respond. I fail at this still, all the time.
But the whole point of trying to get better as a human, is the trying. You or I
will never execute our actions at a 100% success rate. It’s just not possible.
But if we are sincerely putting in our effort and continuing to try and grow
each day then we are making a positive move towards being our greater selves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some nights, I just go out
on the back porch once the sun has gone down, strum my acoustic guitar, and
embrace the silence under the night sky. Planes flying overhead and distant
stars, my only companions. Even the simple act of breaking away from the day to
day distractions, is part of this process of growth and development. Give it a
try...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Another fun exercise?
Writing out what you are trying to accomplish. Make it real stuff. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Pay off the credit
card by the end of the year”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Sign up for the
business class or small business seminar"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Stop eating
Chipotle" (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">just kidding I will
never give you up CHIPOTLE!!!</b>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">BUT honestly, when you
allow yourself to really sit down for a minute and just take a moment to press
pause on social media, on TV time, on work gossip, and try to sit and write out
just what all you are trying to accomplish, it feels good<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Is that just me</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It reminds me of the first
time I made a call to setup an appointment for therapy. Just that one call (not
even therapy but the call to try and coordinate a meeting with a therapist),
gave me some relief. Just the release that I was no longer holding on and
trying to fight my battles alone, that I was relenting and allowing someone in
to help, brought me so much internal ease. Same with sitting and writing out
our goals for life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The cool thing about
maintaining consistency with new habits that you've adopted in your pursuit of Self-Realization, is that at some point things start to click and the conscious choices you are
making start to become unconscious. Instead of fighting the urge to eat bread
and drink beer, I have gotten used to Keto and just inherently know that it's
off limits. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So much of what we do as
humans is subconscious or unconscious behavior that when you take a second to
really analyze that behavior, you get a glimpse of how insane it is that WE as
HUMANS exist. The universe is a funny place but time is in short supply and it
can’t all be memes and games. I get ONE life on this planet. ONE! And to be
entirely honest and transparent, I don’t think I’ve spent the first quarter of
my lifetime, fully appreciating that one life and giving it my full attention.
I have become desperate to change my approach in a fundamental way because I
want to grab every last inkling of time that I have in this world, and know
that I LIVED IT.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I don’t want to wait until
I’m 30, or 40, or 50, or 100! I want to start right now. And to accept lesser
from myself or compromise on trying to become the best version of me, just
feels lazy. LAZY<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. I hate that word
because it’s something my Mom would use against me whenever I came up short in
high school. But she was right! I was lazy then and I’d gotten too complacent
in the last 5 years.</i> It just took being with the same lovely woman (my
wife) for the last near on 10 years, having a daughter, and getting knocked on
my butt by life’s circumstances to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">WAKE
ME UP.</b> I’m sorry that it took this long. But I am so aware, so awake, so
ready to take action now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<div align="center">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I feel like I’ve had a
beckoning in my life and I am making moves to follow that calling. The most
exciting part about the idea of the universe having a “gift” for me, is knowing
that I have no idea what that really looks like. All I can do is what I feel
God is putting on my heart. All I can be is obedient and trusting in his vision
of my life. All I can offer is myself, in full pursuit of becoming a better man
and working for a better tomorrow, now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">I hope reading this entry can serve you too in same way
and encourage you to follow a similar path of self-betterment and self-realization. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you enjoyed this article then please subscribe so that you can receive updates as I post more content, otherwise please share or comment below so we can continue to discuss this topic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you want to keep reading more from likelyfiction check out my post <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/fighting-in-trenches.html" target="_blank">"Fighting In The Trenches"</a> where I discuss climbing out of the holes we dig ourselves into and setting our sights higher to reach our own potential! </span></div>
<br />
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-85464087770711345082019-08-22T07:49:00.000-05:002019-09-03T15:33:09.121-05:00Focusing On Your Path Forward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The idea behind creating likely fiction was to give me a
place to work through my own walk in life as I pursue the betterment of myself
alongside my wife and daughter. I initially started the blog to discuss the
idea of being a ‘Millennial Dad’ but as time has passed it has developed into
something far more interesting (IMO). While I still discuss my experience as a
dad in the craziness that we call the world, I’m more apt to discuss my
thoughts and movements through life as I learn how to be the best version of
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5kNVMV_uGf9w2yju58NJ_LK7RRW3tQb0yY3hXeXets40v8y6n3lW1Cs2DvoqgMu1thjPK2Y7CFMSYDGqA-4W9wCUemg_ouBQPV42FxfEA-mNlxWI9ONNkai4FYY3ZpNUcM1EAo-EzjGU/s1600/working+on+myself.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I'm working on me" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5kNVMV_uGf9w2yju58NJ_LK7RRW3tQb0yY3hXeXets40v8y6n3lW1Cs2DvoqgMu1thjPK2Y7CFMSYDGqA-4W9wCUemg_ouBQPV42FxfEA-mNlxWI9ONNkai4FYY3ZpNUcM1EAo-EzjGU/s320/working+on+myself.jpg" title="I'm working on me" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">graphic by Likely Fiction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">The math in my mind works out like this: If I can strive
each and every day to become the best version of myself then what will follow
is me being the best father and husband that I can be. For too long I think we
all make excuses as to why we can handle X, Y, and Z, but can’t make the time
to keep a promise to ourselves. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I know
this is a struggle my wife and a lot of mom’s face on a near daily basis</b>! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I can’t take the time
to go and get a pedicure because I’ve got to get the kids fed, bathed, dressed,
and put to bed.” <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But guess what moms? You too, have to make time for yourself
to incorporate some self-care, and much needed relaxation time. Lean on your
husbands or significant other because we have the capacity to carry a lot more
of the familial burden then we advertise. I may not be able to get my
daughter’s hair in the perfect pony-tail just yet but I can keep her
entertained, fed, and smiling long enough to allow my wife to sneak in a bubble
bath and excellent at-home pedi (I grabbed this at home <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XSQJPWW/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B06XSQJPWW&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=a67b57f5bdf7d2bafaacecbd4836e61f" rel="nofollow">Dipping Nail Starter Kit</a> for my wifey last Mother's Day to her <em>surprise</em> and <em>satisfaction</em>). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">(Yeah, this blog is
for moms and wives too!) </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Anyways, I think we as humans need to stop and consider that
taking care of yourself and spending time developing your life skills, isn’t
selfish but in fact, will ultimately help you to help those around you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I know I’m not alone in pursuing the idea of being the best
version of ‘me’. Just open up pinterest or most any major social media outlet
and you are flooded with ways to develop yourself. But the struggle that I’ve
had in researching self-development and personal growth is that so many people
who are talking about it, have already (more or less) arrived at their
destination. I love Rachel Hollis, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1641840293/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1641840293&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=f8621f820eda2654a094706dac8e8788" rel="nofollow">Ed Mylett</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385348630/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0385348630&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=c4c3bafe059573a292028192d99d54e8" rel="nofollow">Gretchen Rubin</a>, and so many
others authors, podcasters, and writers who discuss growth, self-help, etc. But
my wife and I have issues in relating to them because they talk about their
past experience of growth and to be frank, they are insanely successful in the
present. Last time I checked we have a house, yes, but it was a starter home
that we bought on an FHA loan, with money we saved working hard at our jobs. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">No ocean front property or beach houses on
our radar as of yet but if and when I build a vision board, this will be the
first item on it!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1400209609&asins=1400209609&linkId=7b411d93e353bfb1e4fe4c37bca88de3&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> <span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">So, realizing that we weren’t quite on the Rachel Hollis’
level of the world, I decided that I wanted to pursue that same level of
success, growth, personal development in a very relentless fashion, but do my
best to document the process <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">as it was
happening.</b> I don’t have a 7 figure income (HELL, I don’t even have a 6
figure income!). I don’t have a vast network of influencers, bloggers, or
podcasters to reach out to in order to share my content. To be honest, I hardly
even have time to try and work on my social media accounts in order to drive
some traffic or build a following. So far, I’m at a whopping 0 subscribers on
this blog (though I do have a single comment on it, never mind that the comment
was something along the lines of ‘<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
date on your blog entry is incorrect</i>’). </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">One vital element that I can make claim too however, is a
voice and passion for writing. So here I am, equipped with but a single tool
that is a part of the equation of finding success in the blogosphere. I don’t
know where this is going to take me, but I am opening myself up to whatever the
universe has to offer and praying that God will give me wisdom in my approach
to this site. I have always had an ability to meet people where they are at in
life and find a commonality to connect to them but I don’t think I’ve really
leaned too hard on that skillset or allowed myself to be social enough to
utilize it effectively. By taking the time each week to write on likely fiction
and share my journey here, I am making a real effort to start building some
muscle memory with that skill. I do have a voice and I’m ready to start some
new conversations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">God only knows there are a billion blogs out there that are
looking to cover similar ground as this one so all I can do to try and break
out from the static, is be my most authentic self. I don’t want to analyze
keywords, I don’t want to focus on SEO or spend a bunch of money promoting my
posts across the social media landscape; I really just want to speak my heart
and immortalize it in the internet for other souls to find. Speaking of
SEO/keywords, how many wanna-be-bloggers have recently been conducting research
like I have been doing, and felt overwhelmed by all of this info? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">It was CRAZY. </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moving on!</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-Wh9UyBJuGI4zDVQ-CR6YLJb-aDjvK9sa8F_qHWPrK75zFcGqD7dPLYrKbcUeGFA8QWnTFlFeDYboCjdl9ssBwSXEQ_mO8fbVCfgoNkNgy22Bmd1dwfPkqUqt4l0_7X0wZ70gINQ3-5w/s1600/math+is+simple+likely+fiction.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The Math Is Simple" border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw-Wh9UyBJuGI4zDVQ-CR6YLJb-aDjvK9sa8F_qHWPrK75zFcGqD7dPLYrKbcUeGFA8QWnTFlFeDYboCjdl9ssBwSXEQ_mO8fbVCfgoNkNgy22Bmd1dwfPkqUqt4l0_7X0wZ70gINQ3-5w/s320/math+is+simple+likely+fiction.jpg" title="The Math Is Simple" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">I often wonder about the readers who do make it to likely
fiction. Where are they in their life? Are you struggling to get by on your
rent or mortgage payment? Are you dreaming of being something bigger than you
currently are, starting a new business or side hustle? Are you a new parent
too, just looking for other new parents to relate to in knowing that even when
you try to exert every last ounce of energy for your kid, it often doesn’t feel
like enough? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Perhaps you are a single person who has been feeling
apathetic in your dreams, your job, life as a whole, and are looking to find
some place for solace where you can be at peace that YOU are enough. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Whatever, wherever, and whoever you are; I want likely
fiction to speak to you. I’m on this journey too! I don’t have it all figured
out either! I continue to make so many mistakes in my life and much like in
Candyland, it seems like for every step I take forward, often times knock
myself back two!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Some might feel
discouraged when they consider where they are and how far they have to go. </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">But if you take anything from likely fiction today, let it
be that you should in fact be <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">encouraged
</b>by the fact that you have so much room to grow. The ceiling on your
personal growth and positive change is near limitless if you allow it to be.
That is exciting to consider and it truly is a blessing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">We will figure out this journey together and I’m hoping that
as I learn more and continue writing here, so will <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">YOU:</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the totally real readers
of likely fiction</i>! Have a great day folks and please subscribe to my site,
share, and comment because the number one thing that I want out of this
conversation is engagement with the reader. Help me to learn more about you
guys so that we can continue to grow together on this path through life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you want to dream on with more content from likelyfiction then check out my post, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/faced-with-vast-universe.html" target="_blank">"Faced With The Vast Universe"</a> where I discuss the action of looking at the stars in the night sky and how we as humans fit into the collective whole of the Universe! </span></span></div>
Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br />
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-47115169993337641212019-08-21T07:58:00.000-05:002019-08-28T12:04:10.940-05:00Hold Fast, Stay True<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><a href="https://edmylett.libsyn.com/be-true-to-you-with-jill-ellis"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">Jill Ellis
was recently on the Ed Mylett</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> show discussing her role as soccer coach of
the US women’s national team and when asked about coaching in general and her
sense of other successful coaches, she mentioned a tidbit, “Hold fast, stay
true.” I found this incredibly intriguing as she went on to discuss how this
phrase is often used in the Navy referring to the action of sailors when a ship
is trapped within a bad storm. You literally grab whatever you can and ‘hold
fast’, and if that storm is obstructing your view, you keep hold of your compass
to ‘stay true’ in whatever direction you need to be going in. </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "roboto"; font-size: 8.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWHLsYZ9pZcccI6cBdFMQKpAA0rwAlhQHcxcRAkepO_seZ7jQSyENSgc4jVtTgQ6M-Oso85xa05_JKOqgdmeJKYui16oqzRKWTvoUBX2obzsKmDqtQ6jdDw1EA0Drl3DV1qI9UhkB8VuP/s1600/if+life+is+a+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hold Fast, Stay True" border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQWHLsYZ9pZcccI6cBdFMQKpAA0rwAlhQHcxcRAkepO_seZ7jQSyENSgc4jVtTgQ6M-Oso85xa05_JKOqgdmeJKYui16oqzRKWTvoUBX2obzsKmDqtQ6jdDw1EA0Drl3DV1qI9UhkB8VuP/s320/if+life+is+a+storm.jpg" title="Hold Fast, Stay True" width="264" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">graphic by Likely Fiction</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Navigating the
complexities of life that include relationships with family members, friends,
co-workers, loved ones, your kids, and the army of social media followers that
one might build up over a lifetime of participating in the internet age, can be
pure insanity! If we are all steering our own ships through life on this vast
ocean of social interactions, financial obligations, fad diets, personal
hobbies, parental responsibilities, employer expectations, and a growing list
that goes on and on, we are all destined to encounter storms. I’ve had storms
in my life facing bouts of anxiety that seemed to last as long as the storm
visible in Jupiter’s fame </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Red_Spot"><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">Red Spot</span></span></a><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.25pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. Okay maybe not quite as long as that storm (as it is
reportedly been raging for the last 340 years)… But when you are in your own
storm, it always seems to feel longer than after you’ve passed through it and
are looking back on the experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">The
point is we all face these storms. Every single person on the planet! You find
me one person who has had nothing but smooth sailing for their entire life and
I will bet you that they either have the memory span of Dory from Finding Nemo,
or that they are full of it. Storms can come in all shapes and sizes in any
given life span of a human. Sometimes it may feel like a light swell that is
serving as a mild disruption to your afternoon thought pattern. Other times it
may feel like you are coasting on the edge of a hurricane that won’t relent. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">But
I love this idea that Jill brings up in the pod of Holding fast and staying
true. If life is one big metaphorical ship that we are all steering, then we
have to keep true to ourselves and know that whatever direction we are
currently steering towards is the right one. I’ve learned over time that when
you want to do something good for yourself (listen to podcasts, write a blog,
eat better, exercise, etc.) there will always be some nay-sayers in your life
that speak out the moment you make a misstep from your original intent, they
are putting you on blast or touting your perceived failures. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“I told you Keto was not a sustainable
diet!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Wow you didn’t stick to running a 3
miles a week for very long, eh?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">“Haven’t seen you reading books during
lunch like you talked about last month..”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Doesn’t
it feel like that sometimes that everyone is waiting on the sidelines for you
to trip up before you ever take a shot on your goal? This has happened to me
too many times to count which is why I usually keep my goals in life off of my
social media feed, and between my wife and I. She is my biggest supporter in
every single facet of life. So she is the one person that I like to bounce my
ideas off, my new goals or plans to get better in an area of life, etc. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">For
other people reading this, maybe you have your brother or sister, close
friends, or parents to serve as your sounding board when you have a new fad
that you are jumping on, working to make yourself better. Whoever it may be,
give them the scoop and then don’t worry about telling others until you feel
comfortable doing so. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Moving
your life in a positive direction is never easy and just because you have made
the decision to make such a movement, doesn’t mean you still won’t run into
storms on the way to your destination. Over time you will continue to grow more
and more confident in your journey and as you encounter those inevitable
storms, hold fast to your compass, and stay true to your path! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here is a small list of some of the things
that I’m actively doing today in order to get better in my own daily life and </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">start to
realize the ‘me’ that I want to be: <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Keto baby! I’ve been doing the Keto diet now
for 3.5 weeks and honestly am feeling great about it. I’ve gotten used to little
to no carbs (sorry bread, beer, tortillas, and pasta!!) and in the process I am
down 14 lbs from 236lbs to 222lbs. Keep in mind I’m also a 6’5” man so that
probably plays a role in my weight loss thus far. My energy levels are better,
my heartburn is gone (YES I SAID GONE!), and I’m sleeping better with less
indigestion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">I am of course writing for this blog
as it has been an extremely rewarding effort for me to spend a little time each
day thinking about my own movements in life, listening to personal development
podcasts and really consider the words of each speaker carefully to formulate
my own internal response, and just trying to get my thoughts on paper as a
little self-induced therapy. Funny how writing/talking about our dreams and
aspirations can be incredibly rewarding as it seems to keep my eye on the prize
and allows for me to maintain consistency and motivation in my daily walk
through self-improvement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Plugging into real communities within
your local area and taking some time off from Facebook/Twitter as well as just
overall cutting back on idle TV time/social media surfing time. It’s a small
but easy change that is freeing up my evening time after work for more
productive means such as cooking dinner for my family (I just slow cooked some
delicious ribs in the last week), spending time playing with my daughter and
reading books, and keeping clear of distractions to open up more time for
conversation with my wife about life as a whole and the direction we are headed
as a family. <o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">None of these things are insanely time
consuming or difficult but the culmination of all of these small changes in my
daily habits is giving me more time, more energy, and a greater appreciation
for my family and this journey we are collectively on. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">If you enjoyed this article please subscribe, share, and comment below so we can continue the discussion! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Check out my post <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/re-writing-your-self-narrative.html" target="_blank">"Re-Writing Your Self Narrative"</a> if you are interested in learning more about evaluating your own actions and perception and making the changes to become the best version of you! </span></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-66711460666154467862019-08-20T08:14:00.001-05:002019-09-24T08:47:55.789-05:00Re-Writing Your Self-Narrative<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I recently went down a google rabbit hole for the term “<i>self-help</i>”
and grazed through the pages of results to see what came up. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s been a phrase
on my mind in the last 2 months as I’m really pushing myself in a new direction
in my life to try and positively albeit aggressively attack my own <i>self-narrative</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You might be wondering what I mean by <i>self-narrative</i>? Mostly I mean
this idea of being the ‘you’ that you’ve always told yourself you are. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We all
have an idea of ourselves in the back of our mind. That idea comes with a look,
a feel, an array of tendencies, habits, and personality traits that we
continually utilize to reinforce our own idea of ourselves in our mind’s eye. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My <i>self-narrative</i> has shifted over time and lately I’ve been looking in the
mirror trying to really figure out just who it is that I want to be, but also
who I want to be perceived as. </span></div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=0996356312&asins=0996356312&linkId=052ea95cac5ef4f3acf3df5de5dba094&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There have been a variety of inflexion points in my life that have led me down this path of <i>self-reflection</i> but the primary motivator for me is my relationship with my wife, and my relationship with my daughter. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Beyond my own "selfish" interest to be a better human being, I want to be a better person so that I can emulate the sort of life that I want to teach my daughter to live. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At some point over the last couple of months it started to click to me that I can’t try and be a great teacher to my daughter if I’m not willing to submit to my own checklist of do’s and do not’s in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Simply put, <i>practice what you preach when at all possible.</i></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVW66VcIa7fAfGxpwhN0ZQff5EkE5mbTo8HDGM1HAqFENYN5yn_4pGTXROCXN8aujYGfbuI5Gq-IqENDulO8PS0CKMMRW0dkTikmpvk1CdhhnzKczFhSOvRO5FyqO0nqWnGm-vMTJOyipt/s1600/250px-A_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Re-Writing Your Self Narrative" border="0" data-original-height="226" data-original-width="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVW66VcIa7fAfGxpwhN0ZQff5EkE5mbTo8HDGM1HAqFENYN5yn_4pGTXROCXN8aujYGfbuI5Gq-IqENDulO8PS0CKMMRW0dkTikmpvk1CdhhnzKczFhSOvRO5FyqO0nqWnGm-vMTJOyipt/s1600/250px-A_picture_is_worth_a_thousand_words.jpg" title="Re-writing Your Self-Narrative" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So this brings me on a crash course with my own <i>self-narrative</i>.
Who is the ‘me’ that I’ve convinced myself I am over the last 27 years of my
life? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Is that me, the healthiest, happiest, warmest, and kindest version of me?
Has that me shifted into a darker, colder, more cynical and sarcastic version
of me that feels alienated from who I thought I used to be? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It can honestly be
difficult to know at times as we as humans, tend to highlight our highlights
and downplay our deficiencies. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I’m not drinking too
much, I’ve just been stressed out from work lately and this Maker’s takes the
edge off.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I’m not being impatient
with my wife, she is just being defensive about her family.”</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I’m not on my phone
too much, my daughter is just being too needy.”</span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But when I take a hard look at my own behavior, it starts to
become more evident that the 'me' that I’m allowing myself to be at times, isn’t
cutting it for my family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So down the road of <i>self-help</i> we go, touring through
a barrage of “do this, not that”, and “<i>10 steps to a better you</i>” until we come
to a point where we don’t know when we are up or when we are down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It can all
be confusing, challenging, frustrating to the point of indifference, and in the
end make you want to call it a night, give up the ghost, and go back to your “old
ways”. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But it can also be an extremely positive and gratifying position
to be in, to recognize that you aren’t living your best life, and start taking
small steps to correct course. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m not anywhere close to my final destination
as a human being, and that, if anything, excites me because the ceiling of
possibility is far above my current altitude in this life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While that may be
discouraging to some, I challenge you to <i>shift your perspective</i> (because I truly believe that your <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/david-suzuki-well-known-and-highly.html"><i>perception becomes your reality</i></a>), and celebrate
that you have so far to travel, before you arrive where you are aiming to be. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That means there are more epiphanies to be had, more wisdom to obtain through the experience provided by time, and greater
foundation to be laid in your life. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Look in the mirror and celebrate that you have so far to
fly! You’ve taken the time to start reading this blog and that means that you
must be looking around at your own situation, like me, and want to start making
moves to better yourself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That is such a vital first step to <i>self-betterment</i>
that it can’t be overstated just how awesome it is that you too have found
yourself at this crossroads, looking to <i>re-write your personal self-narrative</i>. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Now back to my google search of “<i>self-help</i>.” I came across
this article on GQ, titled </span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span id="goog_2092067935"></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "calibri";">“Why Self-Help
Might Actually Be Making You Less Happy.”</span><span id="goog_2092067936"></span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> I was intrigued as the wanna-be
journalist in me immediately looked at this title as a sort of click-baity headline
to flip the idea of <i>self-help</i> on its proverbial head. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“CLICK”</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">While the idea of the article seemed pretty self-evident from
reading the title, I honestly disagreed with much of the premise of the article. It
discussed that our western culture is too obsessed with self-optimization and
that by constantly pursuing it, people will never feel truly happy as they will
never feel like they are their best self. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This same foundation of reasoning is
exactly why I love the chase of improving me!! There is always something else
that I can work on. I’ll never be fully realized as the “best version of me”
which means this is a life long journey of <i>self-discovery and growth</i>. That
excites me beyond no end. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The writer did make a great point that we should all strive to “imitate
someone like Nelson Mandela”… <i>Serious side note guys... what is the barrier of entry to be a writer for GQ? </i></span><br />
<i></i><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’ve at least have to agree to that (<i>OBVIOUSLY</i>). We should
always look for people around us, in the world, in our fields of interest or
study, that are better than we are, and try to emulate their movements in life
in order to better ourselves. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But at the same time, every single journey in
life on Earth is intimately personal and tailored to the individual. So while
on its face it does sound like a good idea, it isn’t the only pathway to
realizing your best self, as the struggles that Nelson Mandela faced in his
life, shaped who he became and ultimately led to him being the great human that
he was. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our own struggles and pursuits in life will do the same. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the end of the day, if you find yourself on <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/"><b>likelyfiction</b></a>, then you either know
your own weaknesses in life, or you are actively working to identify them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m
doing exactly the same. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Every single day I’m spending some time contemplating
on where I’m currently at, and where I’m trying to go. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Pursuing <i>self-help,
self-optimization, self-realization</i> of the best you, is at its heart a pure and
a very fruitful task. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Don’t let the naysayers or those who are happy in their
own trenches in life, get you distracted from the journey you are on. Keep your
spirits up and know that you are making the best decision of your life by
working to re-write that self-narrative. </span><br />
<div align="center">
<br />
</div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><i>If you enjoyed this post please do us a favor and subscribe to get our latest posts sent directly to you, share our site with your friends, and comment below to continue the discussion! <br />
<br />
Want to keep reading more from likelyfiction? Check out my <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/right-to-fly.html" target="_blank">blog post</a> on John Mayer's song "Wheel" where I discuss how we all have "Right To Fly".</i> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><i>Click here to read the <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/why-self-help-makes-you-less-happy">GQ Article</a> Mentioned in this post</i></b></span></div>
<br />
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-72351006658345732782019-08-19T20:16:00.003-05:002019-08-28T12:16:13.681-05:00Fighting In The Trenches<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What does it mean to be in the trenches? My mind immediately goes to World War 1 where "Trench Warfare" played a major part in the defining battles within that conflict in Europe. I used to see it as a more positive association as being in the trenches must mean that you are dug in and fighting the good fight for whatever your personal battles are in life. Fighting for that well deserved raise. Fighting for the recognition of your peers. Fighting for something all while in the trenches of life.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4gV2kDJv0azmGlRAP7ps8MWWVyY-xX_m2je66_uvZtHYnquYubUKfBlrPXwznWww4KyTfwy604theKLcKgA42dVrythxp-LvZUFdim-ObXmxCtg_a0NqjtzgTxvkDWEM4Aamd2oR43cz/s1600/p06m85dk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fighting In The Trenches" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1233" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4gV2kDJv0azmGlRAP7ps8MWWVyY-xX_m2je66_uvZtHYnquYubUKfBlrPXwznWww4KyTfwy604theKLcKgA42dVrythxp-LvZUFdim-ObXmxCtg_a0NqjtzgTxvkDWEM4Aamd2oR43cz/s320/p06m85dk.jpg" title="Fighting In The Trenches" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fighting in The Trenches</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
But I'm starting to dislike the idea of fighting in the trenches. To start, it means that I've dug myself into a bit of a hole in my life. Not just any hole either, I've dug so deep and broad within the context of my life, that I've entrapped myself in literal walls of my own creation, keeping me from seeing much of anything. With the advent of social media and the isolation that often comes with a life built and lived through the internet, we all seem to be in the trenches these days. Some people spend their time in the trenches fighting as social media warriors, policing conversation and correcting the errors of those they see on their feed. Some people are in the trenches of political thought, fighting fruitless battles where the person they want to reach the most is too busy being encapsulated by their own personal trench warfare as well.<br />
<br />
Fighting in the trenches feels lonely and isn't much for reward. I mean what happens if you win that fight? More trenches to commandeer and continue to wage your slow battle across an idea or topic? What happens when you get stuck in that trench? You dig deeper and deeper losing sight of whatever you were originally trying to accomplish when you first stood your ground and refused to budge.<br />
<br />
How much time do we waste trying to convince other people to believe what we believe, see a topic like we do, trying to coerce another soul to follow what we follow? I spent so much time in 2016 commenting back and forth with a family member on facebook discussing politics and trying to get them to listen to my view on American politics and after months of back and forth, started to realize that I was set in my ideas and so was this family member. Our conversation wasn't producing any result. It was only confirming our biases against each other's view point. So I finally stopped engaging it.<br />
<br />
If I had instead gotten offline, and walked my town neighborhoods, going door to door and trying to passionately argue my position in person, I think that energy and time would have been more useful. In an online social media environment, it's so much easier to deflect reasonable positions or citations with sarcasm, caulousness, or simple apathy.<br />
<br />
I think back to all of the online trenches I've dug myself into over the years and sadly I've probably wasted alot of time, energy, and stress allowances on wasting away in those trenches. So what is the better option? Passionately discussing topics of interest with social media friends or anonymous communities like Reddit isn't a waste of time. But relentlessly and aggressively going after others who don't share your views most certainly is.<br />
<br />
What are the other trenches we find ourselves in besides online communities? I think sometimes our own personality traits that we recognize as an issue, become a trench. I have a terrible habit of correcting minor things in a conversation that my wife says or speaking to how it should be done despite me not being the one who is actually the one putting energy into a task. Classic back seat driver sort of syndrome. I also get extremely concerned with my parents expectations and when I perceive that I've somehow let them down, let those expectations (whether real or not) weigh heavy on my intra-day emotional outlook. I think one commonality amongst all trenches that we find ourselves in within this life, is that most of them our self dug.<br />
<br />
So what's the solution then? I think the first step that im currently exploring in writing this blog, is identifying these trenches. The thing about it is, even though you can climb out of a trench relatively easy, it's just as easy to fall back into one. They don't autofill like our smart phones fancy text message tools. They stay deep, dug out, and ready for us to stumble into for a long time. But by identifying your own trenches in life and recognizing what areas are holding you back, you are taking that big first step to being the best version of you. I'm working to continue to identify my own trenches and as I learn and develop more tools to address them, I will share more with you my loyal readers! I never claimed to have all of the answers but I'm working hard to identify the right questions to be asking of myself as a starting point to the road of being my best self. So ask yourself, what trenches have you been wading in for far too long? Are you ready to climb out and start living life outside of those self dug walls? Are you ready to embrace the potential of finding out who the best you can be?<br />
<br />
<em>I hope you enjoyed this article! If you did please do me a favor and subscribe so you can receive the latest posts as they are published, share this blog with your friends, and comment below to continue the discussion. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Also if you want to keep reading check out my post, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/faced-with-vast-universe.html" target="_blank">"Faced With The Vast Universe"</a> where I discuss the stars, looking up at the night sky, and our place as humans in this expansive and beautiful Universe. </em></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-47097188632376622892019-08-18T11:07:00.002-05:002019-09-24T08:31:40.942-05:00"Right To Fly" <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of my favorite artists is John Mayer. I know it may be
atypical as a man to consider John Mayer among my favorite musical acts but he
quite literally taught me how to play guitar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I learned all of his songs as a
kid working to emulate his sound and style on the guitar, mostly at that point
in an attempt to attract or get the attention of the girl I liked in school. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I have always believed him to be one
of the greater guitarist of his generation as well as an ample word smith who
is able to take a lot of the everyday feelings we all experience and synthesize
them into easy to consume, bite sized lyrics that resonate on different levels
across varying seasons of life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I imagine a lot of people think of “Body Is A
Wonderland” when they hear the name John Mayer. The lyrics that I think of most
though, are from the song “Wheel” off of his sophomore album, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007W4DZKO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007W4DZKO&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=fc6bab3584639db8c452e7ddd94c25ba" rel="nofollow">Heavier Things.</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwE-7lPcCcTCQLxLMGenkj3GYpX4shA5AXpMUvfBazq_ngeSL7ifx6jI6r6YcLT99VWTbRlDCZr7rUK81iahrnC9RczqUE7XL7QdRTKxkErtKWWdoDZJA0YbyYY1R2CKqRa_5svKIH9oH/s1600/right+to+flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Right To Fly" border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwE-7lPcCcTCQLxLMGenkj3GYpX4shA5AXpMUvfBazq_ngeSL7ifx6jI6r6YcLT99VWTbRlDCZr7rUK81iahrnC9RczqUE7XL7QdRTKxkErtKWWdoDZJA0YbyYY1R2CKqRa_5svKIH9oH/s320/right+to+flight.jpg" title="Right To Fly" width="239" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">John Mayer's live album cover</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The song starts out; <i>“People have the right to fly, and will
when it gets compromised.” </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is such a simple line but there is so much to be
extracted out of that simple idea. We all have an inherent right to fly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Everyone is born into circumstances that are out of their control but as we
grow up and our environment begins to shape us, we begin to lift our eyes to
where we are headed. For a lot of us, it isn’t until we reach our teenage years
where we start to contemplate where we are headed in life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In America I do
still believe in the idea that anyone is able to overcome their background, the
weaknesses in their upbringing, poverty, pain, whatever the conditions may be
and step outside of those limitations to overcome and establish a new
trajectory for their life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The land of opportunity is still ripe for those of
us who are willing to keep our heads down, our hearts driven, and not be
deterred by the wave of obstacles that will always manage to present themselves
at the worst times. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We all have this <i>right to fly</i>. But most will not choose to
do so. Is it because we can’t believe in the possibility? Is it because we make
excuses? </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Can we not keep a single promise to ourselves despite constantly
sticking to our word when it comes to someone else’s needs or desires? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s easy to instead get caught up <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/fighting-in-trenches.html">in the trenches</a><span style="color: #b00000;"> (<i>read my article that deep dives this idea in more detail</i>)</span> of your
own situation and allow it to keep you from seeing what is possible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you are
dug 10 feet into the ground just fighting to get through your day to day
struggles, it probably feels impossible to imagine that if you just train your
line of sight higher, you might see blue skies above. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The law of holes states:
"if you find yourself in a hole, stop digging". So what is it that
you are currently digging yourself deeper into? Is it debt? Is it unhappiness
in a marriage or relationship? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></div>
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1733528601&asins=1733528601&linkId=3e8a0897fcaeca9a67251fdb8d678979&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For me it used to be digging myself deeper and
deeper into a feeling of helplessness and crippling anxiety. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I didn’t even
really have a reason for the anxiety that plagued my day to day movements
through the world. I just allowed fear of the unknown, stresses of school life,
and not taking care of my body culminate into a generalized anxiety that had
the potential to strike at any moment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It took me several years before I really
started to work on how to address it. Let me rephrase that; It took me years
before I stopped digging and put down the shovel to really take a hard look
around my environment and understand the trench I had found myself in and why I
was there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>If you're struggling with anxiety then read my post about the ways I worked to <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/how-to-reduce-anxiety.html">reduce my anxiety</a> as I became more aware just how much power I had given it over my life. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>We all do this in life. </b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b></b><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It’s just natural in a human world
that we face an adversity, a hardship, a loss, and we allow it to sit upon our
mental state like a heavy weight, holding us back from being our best self. I
did just that during my early 20’s in college. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I wasn’t caring for my body. I was drinking too much
alcohol, partying too much in college, not sleeping on a regular schedule, and
not eating right. I was overweight and running out of steam to continue
attending my classes, feeling burnt out and demotivated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I shunned responsibility
and was apathetic in general. I wasn’t present in my relationship with my then girlfriend
(now wife). I was underperforming in school and afraid of what that would mean
for my future. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All of these things and more became the driving force in my
anxiety and depression. Finally, with only 15 hours of school left to finish my
degree, I dropped out and went back home. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My road to recovery would be a long one but ultimately I had
to stop digging and recognize that I did have the right to fly, I just wasn’t
allowing myself to embrace it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By putting down the shovel and reflecting on
what had dug me into such a deep hole, I took my first step towards gathering
the strength, hunger, and drive to become a better version of myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I’m still
actively on that journey today. Hell, one of the goals in my current flight
through life is just taking the time to type out this blog, at least once a
week, for the next 8 weeks. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Getting myself in shape on Keto is another one of
my current pursuits. Starting a podcast with my wife, yet another. I’ve created
a wide web of aspirations that I’ve been talking about or dreaming about for
the past several years but instead of just talking about them, I’m actively
taking measures to follow through on them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Instead of getting caught up in the
trenches of my day to day fights that we all face, I am really working to lift
my eyes upward towards the clouds, to aim for something bigger for myself as a
Dad, a husband, an employee, etc. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Is it easy? Not at all. Is it frustrating? Without a doubt?
Do I sometimes feel like the energy in my body is entirely lacking and I don’t
have another ounce to expend? I think we all do at least once on a week to week
basis. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I’ve made a commitment to myself, a promise that I want to be the
best version of me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am going to keep repeating this sort of mantra to myself
and in this blog; We only get one singular life to live and I’d be an idiot if
I didn’t grab it full force and do everything I can to live it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don’t want to
wait until my life has passed me by to start living. I want to live it right
now and I hope that you do too. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Together we can learn how to exercise this <i>right to fly</i>, not
allowing it to be compromised or stolen away from us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Rachel Hollis</i> summed it
well when she said; “I don’t break promises to myself anymore.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What promises have you been breaking to yourself? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Start there and devote some special attention and energy to keeping that
singular promise to yourself in the next week. It only starts with one promise
kept and before you know it you are able to build a rock solid foundation of
promises kept, upon which you can build the new you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For me, one of my promises is
writing in this blog. Another is for my wife and I to read a book together, a little bit at a time, each morning before work. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Currently we are reading one of her favorites, "</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07LCLSPDH/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07LCLSPDH&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=7630948b6e69782ecc8243d1af64a75b" rel="nofollow">Girl Wash Your Face</a>" by <i>Rachel Hollis</i>. For you it may be forcing yourself to wake up 1 hour
earlier each morning to spend time running a mile. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">F<span style="font-family: "calibri";">ind something small
that you’ve been wanting to do, make yourself a promise, and freaking keep it! </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">Just
watch… Before you know it you will be flying high, looking down at all of the
obstacles that used to feel so immense, now dwindling in the distance as you
set your sights on even greater victory and possibility than you ever could
have imagined when you used to be digging in the trenches. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div align="center">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1400201659&asins=1400201659&linkId=fb30b0b979dd378599f949854840a7dd&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>I hope you enjoyed this article! If you did please do me a favor and subscribe so you can receive the latest posts as they are published, share this blog with your friends, and comment below to continue the discussion. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Also if you want to keep reading check out my post, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/faced-with-vast-universe.html" target="_blank">"Faced With The Vast Universe"</a> where I discuss the stars, looking up at the night sky, and our place as humans in this expansive and beautiful Universe. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. </i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><i></i><i></i><br /></div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-50739948547710405042019-08-17T15:00:00.000-05:002019-09-24T09:12:04.784-05:00Perception Is Reality<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1pvB52cqXu4024JaXmFA8UBu4vDqNA28mR-t6xb5rtjSatx5FT4Y6g-nRmzGAjmAeQc1cAm42Ta6HTxzXAjKrpcPnZIgcDhtTFAV2QX1l0-54Wf6GZwgRk3VKG6nezt8tp6yW7Lh3sG2/s1600/Reality-Perception.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Perception is Reality likelyfiction.com" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq1pvB52cqXu4024JaXmFA8UBu4vDqNA28mR-t6xb5rtjSatx5FT4Y6g-nRmzGAjmAeQc1cAm42Ta6HTxzXAjKrpcPnZIgcDhtTFAV2QX1l0-54Wf6GZwgRk3VKG6nezt8tp6yW7Lh3sG2/s320/Reality-Perception.jpg" title="Perception Is Reality" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perception Is Reality</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">David Suzuki, a well-known and highly esteemed
professor from Canada once posited: "The future doesn't exist. The only
thing that exists is now and our memory of what happened in the past. But
because we invented the idea of a future, we're the only animal that realized
we can affect the future by what we do today."</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I am intrigued by this idea because it reminds
me that time is indeed a concept that we as humans have created while also
highlighting the fact that this creation has extensive possibility in its
utilization. I often look forward into my imagined future to try and
guesstimate where my current trajectory is taking me. Using the past and the
experiences that come with it as an active tool of measure allow me to better
judge where my life is heading. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Delving somewhat into the science fiction for
a moment, I have always been interested in on the ideas of multiple dimensions
beyond our own three dimensions of which we do not have the faculties or tools
to view or experience. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There is speculation and theories that have
been put forward stating that there could be 5th dimensional beings who
experience the universe in a far different manner than we do as humans. Such
beings would be able to travel through time (the 4th dimension) as discussed in
my favorite space film, Interstellar. In the film the character Amelia
states: "they're creatures of at least five dimensions, to them the past
might be a canyon they can climb into and the future a mountain they can climb
up... but to us it's not, okay." </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">So okay, we can't climb up and down the time
of our life spans to explore what the future holds ahead or revisit the actual
moments contained within our past. But we can use the awareness we have earned,
as human kind has evolved over time, to take to heart the lessons that we come
across through our journeys in life. Do you reflect on your past often or
consider where the road you've been on in the last 2, 5, 10 years is taking
you? I imagine that many do not. Many are just floating or fighting to get
through each day and perhaps do not have the luxury to consider where they are
headed or where they have been. But we can't continue to allow our current or
past situation be the determining factor in how we will progress through this
life. Our perception and our perception alone is the controller of our present
reality.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some of the happiest people in the world have
little to their name but a roof over their head and food on their plate. It
isn't a fancy house, a lake side view with a boat, the most upgraded and decked
out vehicle that brings about joy and contentment in life. It's the perspective
that you carry as you wade through the obstacles and challenges in life. So
often, I look back at instances of my life that I believed at the time to be of
great challenge and remember them fondly as I recollect the pain that
ultimately led to a victory. More often, I don’t even remember the pain!!
Simply the victory of a moment in time when I hit a defining milestone such as
going back to school after dropping out for 2 years, and finishing my Bachelor’s
degree (despite so many internal doubts that I’d never finish the last bit of
my schooling to graduate). As I face even more hardships and realities of being
a parent in modern America, I remind myself of those past victories and try to
bear the weight of fatherhood, being a husband, and an active member of my
community with a smile as these moments too will pass and I shall look back
wishing to be back in these places in life.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">My perception is my reality and my reality is
this: I have but a single life to live and each day, each breath is absolutely
precious and full of power. I can use them wisely and appreciate each gasp of
oxygen as I work through the day, or I can bicker and bitch, wasting the breath
that I've been allotted in this life to complain away the days until my days
are no more. Which life sounds as though it will be full of joy? Which life
sounds as though it may carry more stress, weight and negativity? </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I've really been buying in as of late into the
belief that the universe has something not just for me but for us all in this
life. But are you prepared for it? Am I most fit physically, mentally, and
spiritually to embrace the gift that the universe is ready to bestow on my
life? That is my current pursuit so that when I am ready and in a place to
accept that gift, it will materialize.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The question begs what might that gift look
like? I guess I won't know until I'm fully ready to receive it. Buy my
strongest inclinations tell me that until I care for myself and get my mind, body,
and spirit in top shape, I won't be prepared for what the universe can send my
way. How could I ever recognize my gift if I was too busy being bogged down or
inundated by the stresses, anxieties, or depression that overtakes so many of
the millennial generation. We are constantly allowing for the weight of the
world to overcome us when we need to remember that self-care is just as important
as our job duties, college night classes, or social media/TV time. It can of
course be so tempting to 'Netflix and chill' each and every night away but what
am I losing of myself by devoting time to zoning out instead of spending time
working on making myself better? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When's the last time you took a mental break
from all the noise of the outside world and just meditated on what it is that
you want out of this singular life? Just taking some time to imagine what your
greatest pursuits and goals could be, may bring you great relief as you really
can start to envision the true possibility contained for any one person, in any
single life. In the same breath, some might consider the possibilities and feel
incredibly low or defeated before their imagination is even able to run wild.
But I'll say again: </span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Your <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype
id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75"
alt="👋" style='width:36pt;height:36pt;visibility:visible;
mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title="👋"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="👋" height="48" src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" style="cursor: move;" unselectable="on" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_4" width="48" /><!--[endif]--></span>Perception <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_3"
o:spid="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="👋" style='width:36pt;
height:36pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title="👋"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="👋" height="48" src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_3" width="48" /><!--[endif]--></span>Is <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2"
o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="👋" style='width:36pt;
height:36pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title="👋"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="👋" height="48" src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="48" /><!--[endif]--></span>Your <span style="mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1"
o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="👋" style='width:36pt;
height:36pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title="👋"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt="👋" height="48" src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="48" /><!--[endif]--></span>Reality!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 27pt 0pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I love
these clapping hands and find their overuse in our age group
hilarious and hope that we continue to use them in every tweet, Facebook post, Instagram
tag, or blog post for next 50 years</i>). </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">********************************************************************************</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">My dreams and goals</span></b><span style="color: #202124; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> involve being debt
free so that my wife and I can travel the world, catalog our experiences, and
share them all with our daughter. I don't aim to be rich but I do want to save
wisely so that we can retire comfortably, and provide for my daughter's
schooling and future. For some these goals may sound unattainable but my
perspective is that anything is possible with small, consistent efforts
compounded over time. In order for us to save for my daughter's school we have
to sacrifice so that we can set money aside in a 529 account. In the same way,
in order to preserve our own sanity and save ourselves for our own future, we
must set aside our stresses, our negativity, or grudges and remove them from
our lives. The cool thing about removing these from our lives in the present,
is that we are then creating space for positive energy and experiences to fill
those empty spaces both in the present and in the future. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Carrying
with us a positive perception and a faith that any obstacle can be conquered, I
believe that we can shape our future with the actions we take today. If your
current mountain seems un-summit able, then you have to start out by evaluating
and assessing it. Try to really put it into perspective and understand just
what it is that you are currently facing. Seek out time to map out your present
situation and try to draw a line from where you stand now to where you aim to
be down the road. Write out what all it will take to make it possible just as
you'd compile a list of ingredients to build a successful recipe in the
kitchen. Without a roadmap or recipe to help guide you through the process you
will surely get lost. But if you contemplate on what it will take, are willing
to sacrifice and pursue your goals relentlessly, then you can surely make it
your destination! </span><br />
<span style="color: #202124; font-family: "arial";"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed this article! If you did please do me a favor and subscribe so you can receive the latest posts as they are published, share this blog with your friends, and comment below to continue the discussion. </span></em><br />
<em></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><em>Want to keep reading more from likelyfiction? Check out my </em><a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/right-to-fly.html" target="_blank"><em>blog post</em></a><em> on John Mayer's song "Wheel" where I discuss how we all have "Right To Fly".</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-3092619038095320942019-08-09T12:29:00.000-05:002019-09-24T08:22:47.590-05:00Faced With The Vast Universe: Mental Health Break<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #004000; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 4.3pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How
many of you have ever taken the time to sit outside at night and look up at the
stars? Consider taking the time to get out of your bubble one weekend and
finding a place to get a real glimpse at the night sky. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Doing so for me has always been a great way to take a quick mental health break. When uninhibited by the
light pollution, which stars seem to love to hide behind, they can be quite astounding. I used to do the same as a
child, pulling a blanket up and over to cover my own face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 4.3pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was
lucky enough to have family that lived far in the country and so as a child,
when visiting my grandparents, I’d grab that same blanket (maybe even a
pillow), and head out to the pick-up truck to spend hours staring at the night
sky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 4.3pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Motivated
by my deep interest in space and a hope to see some “shooting stars,” I’d lay
there and allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness, watching with glee as more
and more stars would reveal themselves to me. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Seeing the sparkling glow of the
Milky Way streaking across the space above me took me out of my own self and introduced
me to the greater beyond that we are all a part of. I can remember how seeing
such a truly awe-inspiring sight used to provoke an array of feelings in emotion
in me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 4.3pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At
times it was pure bliss that such a universe existed outside of my own hurdles
in life. Other times it brought about confusion as I could already feel the
weight of that age old question, “what is this all really about”, or, “why am I
here”? </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As I grew into a teenager there were times when I’d allow my soul to
sink into absolute existential fear that in the presence of such a great
unknown, my life was utterly meaningless. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But now that I am in my late 20’s,
with a daughter of my own, and a more well-rounded perspective on life, I often
embrace that moment of disconnectedness that one can feel when staring up at
the stars. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 4.3pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think
of that feeling as a sort of an existential moment in time. Faced with the vast
universe, I allow myself to embrace the short lived fear of the unknown, the
excruciating weight of the universe when stacked against myself, and allow it
to wash over me like an entire ocean levied against a single grain of sand. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 4.3pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I love embracing this
feeling for a moment because it puts my life's issues/stresses/hurts into
context and reminds me that I'm a cog in this universal machine no matter how
small of a cog I may be. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That ultimately brings me to a place of immense joy
and happiness. I may never know the answer to the secrets of this universe but
I know with no doubt that I have a place in it and I am a singular piece in
this infinitely complex puzzle. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To know that I play some tiny part in the
universal equation and that I was lucky enough to be born a conscious, sentient
being with the capacity to appreciate this all... It allots me a strong and
satisfying sense of connectedness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVut-rJ-rugrCYDZ970r1P4q622OIiEeUngoV3nWVNaHKv2AQd-unFlZ_zUawqJ_UmkHi8W2XncZC7ysIqJRwrCGr4o4G_gZhrmdjvqodTTkGdXXQcVnbfZQRsXerdEtHZvQ9OpLE-vznB/s1600/Interstellar+blackhole.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Credit: Image from Film Interstellar" border="0" data-original-height="169" data-original-width="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVut-rJ-rugrCYDZ970r1P4q622OIiEeUngoV3nWVNaHKv2AQd-unFlZ_zUawqJ_UmkHi8W2XncZC7ysIqJRwrCGr4o4G_gZhrmdjvqodTTkGdXXQcVnbfZQRsXerdEtHZvQ9OpLE-vznB/s1600/Interstellar+blackhole.png" title="Credit: Image from Interstellar" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">black hole from the film Interstellar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 4.3pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In such a busy world as we live today, taking this time to just sit out and look at the stars is more necessary than ever. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As someone who is really trying to become more aware of their own mental health, this is an exercise that I utilize fairly often in order to escape from the phone, the web, and just allow myself to decompress for a brief moment. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It may seem like a silly task that a lot of people would not prioritize, but a seemingly silly task can sometimes have a much greater positive impact than you'd originally imagine. Another way for me to vicariously experience the wonders of Space is through the best modern day representation of space found in the film "Interstellar"! </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Seriously guys if you have not seen this movie you have to stop everything you are doing, stop reading this blog, and watch it!! It is life changing and I have never been so rocked to my core by a single movie before. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Christopher Nolan directing and writing, Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Michael Caine with their intense acting chops. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i></i><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>It is a mind blowing film that blew me away with the stunning visuals of worm-holes, black-holes, a hauntingly good soundtrack, and a classic Nolan storyline that provokes deep thought and wonderment about the universe in which we find ourselves. </i></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Back to your regularly scheduled blog! </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=tf_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=B0767FCYDW&asins=B0767FCYDW&linkId=99ec0a52d379be1630ce50a85daf078a&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking inwards and contemplating on your place in the Universe is so important in keeping your mind in a healthy place. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I may not have the
immense gravity of a collapsed star, turned into a black-hole, quietly creeping
through the galaxies and drawing in all that is near. But I play my part in adding
to the definition of what our universe is. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We often beat ourselves over the
head trying to solve the question of life and how we came to be. Is there a
divine creator who constructed this universe that we find ourselves in? Is the
Big Bang by design or is it all just random, chaos, uncontrolled and
unintended? </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Perhaps humans are designed by the universe itself, wanting to
produce a consciousness that could look back up upon itself and appreciate the
wholly relentless, magnificent scale, and stunning nature of this infinitely
complex and ever changing “space-scape”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 4.3pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I hope that my gravity is
not felt through the physical force that I exert on the objects in my orbit but
instead, that my writing, my ideas themselves generate gravity that will draw
other likeminded people to me. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That with those ideas, I’m able to connect to
the people who are on this journey with me, flying through the only space ship
I will ever inhabit, Earth. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAztXTOhRevYyuA2nXRPdSoEzIPkwo9DB4bA5eGx6wujZEH0kkt1Wu1flam6tkmchUEjNz6cb0kfn2IRXU5lOdIvAW6sdL7B1N_rryuE4-6skK35pAxFmhda63KFEMK0acU6d_dmKHCG5/s1600/Interstellar+Worm+Hole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="credit: Image from Interstellar" border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSAztXTOhRevYyuA2nXRPdSoEzIPkwo9DB4bA5eGx6wujZEH0kkt1Wu1flam6tkmchUEjNz6cb0kfn2IRXU5lOdIvAW6sdL7B1N_rryuE4-6skK35pAxFmhda63KFEMK0acU6d_dmKHCG5/s320/Interstellar+Worm+Hole.jpg" title="credit: image from Interstellar" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">worm hole from the film Interstellar </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As we scream across the galaxy, tethered to our
Sun, assuming it allows us to maintain our free passage as it leads the way; I
hope that I can continue to allow the night sky to inspire me. To serve as my
reminder that I play a role in the galactic play that we all participate in.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 4.3pt 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Open yourself up to the
universe. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Doing so is the first step in moving closer to Self-Realization. Shed yourself of the fear, pain, stress, anxiety, depression, guilt,
or whatever feeling you are allowing to cloud your vision of this singular life
that we have been gifted to experience the wonders of our Universe. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Free
yourself of those small and insignificant anchors and allow the stars to remind
you just how tiny they truly are. Your perception is your power and too often
we allow our perception to be abducted by negativity, fear, and unhealthy
conditioned responses. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Take that first step with me of remembering what it is
to be free of mind, and strong in spirit by escaping into the universe for an
hour or two, on any given night, simply by looking up at the night sky. No
great journey is ever without struggle and hardship. </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Just as no great victory
is ever had without first facing an obstacle, and overcoming it. Dream on
fellow space watchers! </span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">********************************************************************</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>If you are really looking to take your space watching experience to the next level then I'd hop over to Amazon and check out this highly rated <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M9J7QH7/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B07M9J7QH7&linkCode=as2&tag=likelyfiction-20&linkId=2010a83a85a46b18ede34ab38310a917" rel="nofollow">telescope built by Solomark</a> which is a perfect starter telescope for kids or adults. </i></span><br />
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first time I ever saw the moon through a telescope was in my college astronomy class and it wasn't until that night that I really understood the insanity of our near by neighbor orbiting Earth, impacting our ocean's tides with its gravity. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The level of detail that is possible through these telescopes changes the entire experience of star gazing in a manner that can't be properly conveyed until you see it for yourself. </span></i><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><i></i><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With <i>Mental Health Awareness Day</i> drawing closer and closer (Sunday October 6th is the official start of <i>Mental Illness Awareness Week for 2019</i>), make sure that you are giving yourself these small breaks from the day to day stresses of reality, work, raising kids, or just existing today. Doing so is a great way to care for your own <i>mental health</i> and continue to keep yourself headed down on a positive direction. Check out <a href="https://www.who.int/mental_health/world-mental-health-day/en/" target="_blank">the WHO site for more info on World Mental Health Day coming up in October.</a></span></div>
<br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed this article! If you did please do me a favor and subscribe so you can receive the latest posts as they are published, share this blog with your friends, and comment below to continue the discussion. </span></em><br />
<em></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also if you want to keep reading check out my post, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/right-to-fly.html" target="_blank">"Right To Fly"</a> where I reflect on one of my favorite John Mayer songs "Wheel" and discuss how we <strong>all</strong> have the right to fly but don't always exercise our right to take flight. </span></em><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
</div>
</div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-96970555603793833.post-84713523177427406102019-07-29T10:33:00.003-05:002019-09-10T09:06:25.568-05:00Building Better Habits & A Better Me<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Have you ever taken the time to look at your own actions to see determine if your daily routines and habits are helping to <i>build a better you</i>? It seems as though we all get caught up from time to time in the day to day grind and forget that this life is singular in nature, and we each have that one shot to try and live it to the fullest. At times we all fall short of excelling in that pursuit and end up settling for lesser than we deserve. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">When something goes wrong in my life, I have a pretty
standard routine or practice that tends to follow whatever issue may have come
up. It is usually a conditioned emotional response that dictates my state of
mind. Whether it be anxiety, fear, depression, etc. there is some manner that I
will respond with that I’ve taught myself to do over the years of my life. We all probably do this to an extent anytime we are building positive or negative habits. I'm not sure that I was fully aware of this practice that I so often employed until I
recently listed to a fantastic podcast with </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NhnVlfE4Go"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: "calibri";">Ed Mylett and his guest Dr.
Joe Dispenza</span></a><span style="font-family: "calibri";">. If you've never heard of the podcast #MAXOUT then I highly recommend starting with this pod as a place to garner up the inspiration you need to get moving on your own journey of <i>building a better you.</i> Even better if you've got the time to sit down in a quiet place and escape the noise of daily problems with a book, then grab a copy of Ed Mylett's book linked below which provides a roadmap for you the reader to start pursuing the best version of you in an easy to consume, "no-nonsense" step-by-step guide. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><br /></span>
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1641840293&asins=1641840293&linkId=6e42183f603510a9d8d0014bf3f44f7d&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">In the last month of my life I’ve made the decision to spend the time to take a hard look at my own behavior and have come to realize that
I have not been living my best life. As I delve deeper into this self-evaluation stage I’ve started targeting areas
in my life that I want to focus on in order to really start working to develop
me. Part of my call to action is to listen to podcasts throughout the day that
are going to help me stay focused on the task at hand, that is, to become my
best self from a physical, mental, and spiritual point of view. Working to build up my confidence and self esteem in this pursuit is key as it will help me to maintain consistency in that journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri";">This specific podcast was a great wake-up call as it put
into words the practice that I’m striving to utilize in order to prepare myself
for what the universe may have to offer me in life. After listening to Dr. Joe
Dispenza discuss how our mind influences our body and vice versa, I’m becoming
more aware of my emotional responses. I am trying and failing often. But I
guess at this point in my life, I have to hone in on the fact that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">I AM TRYING!!</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6W5Qv9B9db08gEHaoHrr2NL5Af0WPAKDdABZOY6NP0jRsMsU-qnERz9gFwd7Ho2jv9In5pqC0ScOhfLnTdCUOk0BfG5PMUwk677ZYG99uxIc1GJleovKra0E26OdaW6OTWZvvKQjPRFsS/s1600/How+Many+Owl+Picture.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Building Better Habits" border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6W5Qv9B9db08gEHaoHrr2NL5Af0WPAKDdABZOY6NP0jRsMsU-qnERz9gFwd7Ho2jv9In5pqC0ScOhfLnTdCUOk0BfG5PMUwk677ZYG99uxIc1GJleovKra0E26OdaW6OTWZvvKQjPRFsS/s1600/How+Many+Owl+Picture.png" title="Building Better Habits" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finding the center of a tootsie pop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600"
o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f"
stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/>
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/>
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/>
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/>
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/>
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/>
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1028" type="#_x0000_t75"
style='position:absolute;margin-left:301.35pt;margin-top:35.1pt;width:164.05pt;
height:122.9pt;z-index:-251658240;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;
mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;
mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;
mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;
mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;
mso-position-vertical-relative:text;mso-width-percent:0;mso-height-percent:0;
mso-width-relative:margin;mso-height-relative:margin'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:/Users/110239/AppData/Local/Temp/1/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.png"
o:title=""/>
<w:wrap type="tight"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "calibri";">How many failures
must come before you finally experience the success that you are after? Kind of
reminds me of the</span><span style="color: #0b0919; font-family: "calibri";"> "how many licks does it to take to get to the center of a tootsie pop" question.</span><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> At times it
feels like an infinite amount of failures lie ahead of me and with no clear
purpose or dream currently outlined. It can definitely feel impossible to
believe that you can experience success. So I’ve made it my aim over the
remainder of the year to focus on myself and start working to create new habits
so that I can experience some successes in the development of the one person
who has full power to change my life for the better <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Hint: Me).</i> What am I doing to start <i>building better habits</i>? What content am I consuming that will help me build up my self esteem and confidence? How am pursuing a path towards a
healthier mindset and body? An even better question: WHO am I surrounding myself with in this pursuit of building the best me? Are they people who are encouraging and want to see me succeed? That's something to really consider as you are moving forward in adopting new hobbies and habits to better yourself and find success in this life. </span></div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: center;">
<i>Building a Better Me: Mental Health</i></h2>
<div>
In pursuit of building better habits and creating a structured plan to get my mind, body, and spirit where I'd like to be, I've adopted some new habits and incorporated them into my weekly routine in order to strengthen my resolve and do my best to maintain consistency in this effort. One such habit that I believe will pay major dividends in my pursuit, is to wake up an hour earlier each weekday in order to read self-help/personal development books with my lovely wife. While it sounds simple enough, it may take you a few weeks to get into the hang of this habit as its been rather enjoyable for us but not without some early morning complaining when we first began adding this into our morning ritual. We take the time to read a book for about 20 to 30 minutes whilst sipping on our favorite cup of coffee, and then delve into unstructured discussions that could be a response to what we just finished reading or any other topic that may arise in our brain during that time together.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<div align="center">
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ac&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=likelyfiction-20&marketplace=amazon&region=US&placement=1400201659&asins=1400201659&linkId=1f8438c0221c6f86583fc8b05462a38e&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true&price_color=333333&title_color=0066c0&bg_color=ffffff" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;">
</iframe> </div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We've discussed plans for our future, what dreams we had the night before, or even ideas of how to work on our home to make it more quirky and functional for our needs as a family. Sometimes we find ourselves laughing hysterically at a bad joke or silly thoughts that are bound to pop up when you are trying to get warmed up for the day at 4-5 am in the morning. This little bit of time that we've added into our morning routine gives us some much needed one on one as husband and wife (which believe is difficult to manage when you've got a 2 year old in the mix). It has been an extremely rewarding way to start our day out and it is helping us both to get moving on the right foot from the moment that first alarm goes off. Taking this time for yourself if you aren't in a relationship currently or as a couple if you are looking to build more quality time with your best friend in life, is a surefire way to build towards a better you and solidify your mental sanity as a human being in this oft chaotic world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: left;">
<br />
The second new habit or hobby that I've incorporated in my day to day routine has been to listen to more podcast with a focus on pods that feature guidance on personal development and self-help. Listening to podcasts throughout my workday that increase my concentration and focus in maintaining motivation throughout my pursuit of building better habits, has been an excellent strategy to <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/09/facing-burnout-in-midst-of-following.html">stave off burnout, which I discuss in more detail here.</a> I've been an avid consumer of podcasts for YEARS now but will admit that in last few years I've strayed from listening to pods that are actually helping build me up as a person and had been consuming more and more pods that were based on pop-culture, tv/music criticism, and plenty of sports podcasts. While those podcasts are extremely fun and they bring a lot of entertainment value to the table, I've tried to allocate a little less time for those and up the ante towards more speakers that are looking to equip me as a human and provide their experience in pursuit of success. Three of my favorite podcasts have been hosted by Ed Mylett, Rachel Hollis, and Gretchen Rubin (all of whom I've included in my <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/top-10-podcasts-for-2019.html">Top 10 Podcasts for 2019</a>, list).<br />
<br />
While Rachel and Gretchen's pods are definitely more geared towards women, the lessons and stories contained on them are still relative and applicable to the pursuit of growing as a human being, no matter your gender. If you are looking to also increase your connection and solidify your relationship with your significant other, I've found that listening to these as a couple can foster a lot of discussion that is positive and provides for an excellent foundation in your pursuit of building up a healthier relationship with your SO.<br />
<br />
The final step that I've taken in pursuing a healthier mind and sounder sense of mental health, has been to start Therapy. When I first contemplated the idea of going to therapy for the first time, it was difficult for me to fathom as it felt as though by admitting that I should start going to therapy, I was also admitting that I was a failure. This mindset and approach was so far from the truth and reality that I now look back and realize how silly that thought is. While when I first was at that point of indecision as to whether or not I should see a therapist, I was feeling an immense challenge with accepting the idea that I might need someone else's help in navigating my own struggles in life, especially when it came to mental health. Engaging in discussions with my wife about the subject solicited tremendous weight and stress as I allowed waves of anxiety, fear and embarrassment to take root in my thought process.<br />
<br />
I now realize that this was a conditioned response as I've allowed outside perceptions of what therapy means to dissuade me from admitting that I needed to go, and also convinced myself that making that admission was a sign of weakness or failure. In fact, admitting that I needed to go to Therapy has been a fantastic step for me and I now look at it as a sign of strength and a foundational shift in that I am now doing more than ever to understand the inner complexities of my past and reconcile with that information to try and shape a better path forward. If you want to read a more detailed expression of my experience in finding the right therapist, <a href="https://www.likelyfiction.com/2019/08/first-therapy-session.html">check out this post</a>.<br />
<br />
In pursuit of bettering myself and establishing healthier habits to reach my goal of being a better me, going to therapy has been of immense benefit and it has been one of the best decisions I've made. </div>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.25in; text-align: center;">
<i>Building a Better Me: Physical Health</i></h2>
<div>
Isn't it crazy how sometimes the simplest of changes feel as though they have the greatest impact on your day to day routine? Keeping that in mind, one of the habits we've adopted as of late in pursuing a better version of ourselves has been to go on a walk in our neighborhood a few times a week. Its nothing dramatic or insane in its scope but it has been a solid way for us to get some exercise, breathe in some fresh air, and continue to share the world with our daughter. While this may not seem like a big deal to the readers who are extremely active in their pursuit of having excellent physical health, for two people like my wife and I that spend 8+ hours in a cubicle behind a computer, this adjustment is welcome. Venturing outside for around a half hour in the evenings (despite the often 90-100 degree weather that we experience here in the great state of Texas) has been an excellent way to work towards being healthier humans and getting our daughter active. If we want her to be an athlete or active human as she grows up then there is no better time to start engaging in said active lifestyle than while she is young.<br />
<br />
To take even a step further in pursuing a healthier body, I've also etched out some time to go to a weekly gathering not too far from my house to play 5 on 5 basketball in a men's league that I've been apart of since my daughter was born. I absolutely love the sport of basketball and while I'm no Lebron James or Luka Doncic, it does give me a great outlet and release for my energy and is rather rewarding especially when we manage to rack up some team wins. I think as a dad and husband its also a great habit to adopt in order to have some much needed "me time" without having to sacrifice much time with my family (especially on the nights that they are able to come and cheer me on).<br />
<br />
Having that pre-planned, single night to get out and do something for yourself when you have a young one at home and are in a committed relationship, is vital in order for you to maintain a healthy sense of self. I can admit that there are plenty of times when I have no desire at all to drive and spend the hour playing basketball but I try and remind myself of the rewarding and satisfying feeling that always accompanies me after a hard fought game (win or lose). Conquering my own apathy and pushing through to get out and play a sport that I've always love, has been an excellent way for me to <i>build a better me</i>.<br />
<br />
The final step that I've added into my life in order to improve my physical health has been to go Keto! 6 weeks into this pursuit, I'm down 18 lbs, my heartburn has subsided and my energy levels are fantastic. For too long, I've eaten unhealthy foods that make me feel weighted down, tired, and lethargic. By introducing Keto into the mix I'm eating delicious, whole foods that are not heavily processed, are low on carbs, and provide me with the healthy fats I need to get in a good day of work whether in the office or at home. I eat more veggies now that I ever have and this added pursuit is helping me to not only feel more physically healthy, but to look it as well. When I originally started the diet I was around 236 lbs (as a 6'5" man) and I now am weighing in at 218. Is it hard sometimes when I want pizza, beer, or chips? Yes. Is it worth it to keep going and fight the temptation of breaking Ketosis? Doubly so. If you are looking to break out of an unhealthy routine in your eating or are not feeling motivated to exercise but want to start losing weight, then Keto is an excellent starting point in that pursuit. I love the Keto friendly recipes found in the book linked below as they provide you a way forward to pursue this low carb lifestyle while still enjoying some of your favorite dishes to maintain motivation in that journey. You can also head over to the sub-reddit, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/keto/">/r/keto</a>, for more info on starting out and pushing through the first few weeks of this challenging but rewarding diet.<br />
<h2 align="center">
<i>Building a Better Me: Spiritual Health</i></h2>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">This area is one that I’ve been neglecting a lot over the last 6
months but I believe that in order to be my best self and be ready for whatever
the universe has to offer, I’ve got to be mentally, physically, and spiritually
fit to receive and be open to what is out there for me and for my wife. That
being said, we are a month into getting back into a routine of going to our
local church every Sunday morning. Doing so has already brought me so much joy
as it is plugging us back into a positive community that wants to see us succeed
as much as we desire it ourselves. </span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/enhance-your-wellbeing/purpose/spirituality/develop-your-spiritual-resources"><span style="color: #0563c1; margin: 0px;">Whether you get your
spiritual development from a religion, meditation, yoga, or some other avenue</span></a></span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;">, I think spending the time
to contemplate our place in this universe and our connectedness those around
you is a highly underrated pursuit that can be truly life altering. I can’t
emphasize enough how much just getting up and spending an hour with a spiritual
community whose aim is to help equip you with the spiritual tools to succeed,
has helped us train our thoughts and hearts on being better version of
ourselves. I look forward to challenging myself moving forward to take a bigger
step and re-involve myself in serving my local church and using my talents in
music and communication to help others better understand their own spiritual
journey. </span><span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="color: black; margin: 0px;"> I encourage you to
comment the ways that you have been working to develop yourself in aiming to <i>build a better you</i>. Share any of your own tips or tricks that have helped you to stay
on task and consistent in your efforts. Share this post if you enjoy it and
subscribe to keep up as I will be posting at least often with updates in my
journey towards self-development and building up my own self-esteem!
</span></div>
<br />
<i>I hope you enjoyed this article! If you did please do me a favor and subscribe to Likely Fiction so that you can continue to receive the latest posts as they are published. I'd love it if you could also share this site with your friends and family, and comment below to continue the discussion! </i><br />
<i></i><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 16px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Likelyfiction.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
</div>
Millennial Dadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06692315032920548470noreply@blogger.com0