The Ginormous Bowling Ball

I wish I can strike every time the bowling ball roll down the lane. I want that perfect score. However, it does not always happen as I expect it. No matter how hard I try, I just can not strike out every time. So I have to accept the score given for that play. And what do I do? I get back up to that lane and try again, all the while laughing and giggling with those whom I have went to the bowling alley with.

Now, picture this same episode with that of the pitfalls we endure and the responses we provide to those. Do we allow the pitfalls to happen and learn from the experience or do we get upset and refuse to play? Many times this question can get misconstrued because a person can assume they learned from the experience all the while they are actually refusing to play.

How can I tell when I am refusing to play? I can tell because when I am presented with the same situation again, I make the same mistakes or similar mistakes. There is no change in the way I walk into the situation, nor in the way I handle the situation. I may be able to alter the situation and still succeed with the same mistakes, but did I put forth my full effort or was I determined that the original approach would work? In most cases, I am determined the original way would work, but I did not know how at the time. So I go back to the drawing board and critique the situation. I want to know where I went wrong and how can I make this play work. With slight alterations, it may work and in many situations it do. But what do I do when it don't? And how do I decrease my wasted time on it, so that I am not fooling around with a dead end? Do, I continue to completely change each play  or work on the ones I already tried that failed?

When it does not work, I play. I change my entire strategy and start fresh with one that is of higher risk than the one I used before. I challenge myself with the unknown and it gives me a rush. My goal is to win and in order to win, I can not be afraid to lose. I can not be afraid to start over. I show no fear. I enjoy the risk. I decrease my wasted time by research and pinpoint the confusion. Nothing is a dead end and everything has an answer. Some things just take more practice and understanding. I put the situation on the shelf and go back to it when needed, all the while I play. I change for the short-term and I do not consider it failure, I consider it a part of my ginormous bowling ball waiting to strike when needed.

Weighing Your Pros and Cons

I believe we have a daily guide as to what the day should be however, the atmosphere change when we make a different decision. Those decisions we make can change day into night quickly. I believe we find ourselves deminishing our greatest aspirations out of fear and putting forth the comfortable portraits of ourselves. To be free, you have to feel it and to feel free, you have to believe it. I believe that once we believe in ourselves, the Cons that have weighed us down in areas we should bling in the most will shine bright. Look in the mirror and truly ask yourself, "Do you believe in yourself?"

Many of you will say yes, but how many of you are only saying it based on your accomplishments? If all of your accomplishments were stripped of you, would you still believe in yourself? This belief is not about accomplishments, this is about yourself.  No one in this world can ever say they have never had a split moment where they questioned the Pros. The Cons surfaced in that split moment and for some of you, they lingered around for a while. Believing in yourself is a strength that can not be taken away once it is felt.

Once you truly believe in yourself, nothing can keep you down. No matter how many Cons come your way, it's like your heart and your brain becomes this superhero that defeats it all.

I Love To Write

I have always had a passion for writing fiction. I love to create suspense and drama that leads up to thickening plots and bursts with unbelievable endings. I have a love for writing and I will be adding a short story section to my blog. Feel free to read the material. I hope you find it interesting and fun to read. I am starting this first short story in sections. It will be one chapter at a time. It will be completely from the top of my head right before I post it and I will write a new chapter periodically. Let the writing began! Talk soon.

Keep on Pushin

A report from the American Psychological Association states “significant sources of stress include money (75 percent of survey respondents), work (70 percent), the economy (67 percent), relationships (58 percent), family responsibilities (57 percent), family health problems (53 percent), personal health concerns (53 percent), job stability (49 percent), housing costs (49 percent) and personal safety (32 percent).” (APA - Stress in America)

Wow! It is important to see that the most rated source of stress is money followed by work. If I am wrong tell me, however these two I believe draw a very close relationship. One of the biggest fears is losing your job and not being able to afford to pay your bills and provide for your family. It is one of the most important fears facing this world here today. No one wants to wake up tomorrow without a job. And those who do not have a job did not expect to be jobless. And we have so many people talking about relieving stress and finding outlets. Well, how do you find an outlet jobless? How do you find an outlet not making any money?

This is the type of stress that does not go away and can be everlasting, but I believe that instead of trying to eliminate it, we need to focus on dealing with it. Learning to undersatand that there is going to be stress when you are in a situation where you are out of your norm, helps to not be as tense when and if it does happen. I call it getting to understand reality. It is highly important to know all the alternatives to what can happen in your lifespan and not be afraid to think about them and understand them. Stop believing it can never be you. You know, I read so many stories and issues happening around this world, but in my moment of alone time, I do appreciate where I am and make sure that I remember that in any of these experiences I have observed, it could have been me. It does not stress me out, it makes me open my eyes and really see what is going on and happening around me. It helps me to understand that I am no better than the next and I must appreciate where I am rather than deny myself that "it" could not happen to me. It relieves so much tension when I do have a conflicting situation and it makes me more manageable with them.

The most important job I have is my own life and your own life should be yours too. If I don't understand what is going on around me, how can I survive? Believe me when I tell you that you won't. Learn and understand the world you are in. With that you will be suprised on how well you can keep on pushin.

National Urban League and President Obama

President Obama stated, "even though we are taking these actions, they are not enough." He is right and he has set it clear on the table as to how out of control gun violence is. The majority of gun owners need to do everything possible to help protect our nation. President Obama also stated, "We should have no greater mission than to keep our youth safe." It is important that violence decline in America and it is steady on the rise affecting many families physically as well as mentally. Will it ever end? No, but it most definitely can and need to be controlled. I believe that communities have had a hard time banning together. There needs to be a way to reach out to those who do not have the time to help enforce this decrease in violence. I believe it began in the homes. It also began with trust.

Parents need to be more aware of what is going on in their childrens lives. To learn what is going on means to talk to your children and not yell at them. Provide them your experience growing up and what you learned while growing. Help them to understand that it is okay rather than they will be punished or grounded. It is important to focus on learning their thoughts rather than trying to control them. Learning their thoughts will help you to understand why. Understanding why, will help you to know what need to be fixed internally. Most people who commit crimes using guns are trying to be heard or seen to make a statement. They are trying to be noticed. Why? Because they have gotten tired of being looked at as invisible. They have a need to be known, but does it in the wrong way.

One thing that do trouble me however, is how can we fight against gun violence in our backyard, but approve to go to other countries and fight in their backyards? It seems our society needs to practice what we preach as well. It all began in our own homes. How do you plan to raise your children, how have you raised your children, or how have you been raising your children? How much of your past will you hide from them or have you hidden from them? How will you discipline them or how have you disciplined them? Every action you take invents a consequence, so use your actions wisely.

NAACP and Mitt Romney

So, Mitt Romney talks at the NAACP convention and as he is talking, I realized something; he never really talked about what he was going to do. He spoke, but said nothing. How do a man like that expect to get in office? He has to be more direct and simple with his words or people will continue to see a man who is blowing a bunch of hot air and I am quite sure many would not mind popping the balloon that air enters. America does not need gibberish floating around. It is time to give Mitt some heat and began asking him to lay out his policies and visions as well as stop calling them his policies and visions.

 Just to speak directly to Mitt: What are your policies? Name them and explain them. What are your visions? Name them and explain them.

If someone asked me what Mitt Romney plan to do when he gets in the White House, all I can say is, I don't know, but he did say he is running for president because HE know HIS policies. If someone asks me what vision does Mitt Romney have for America, all I can say is, I don't know, but he did say his campaign was about helping others who need help, but he did say he wants to get rid of "Obamacare."

Just to speak directly to Mitt: Do you get my point? Explain what you mean by helping people who need help? And what exactly are you going to do to help people who need help?

What is Your Safety Net?

So, I am reading all these articles about safety nets; from medicaid, medicare, spouses, jobs, and children. I was thinking...society uses many different things as safety nets and we sometimes get so caught up in our safety nets that we forget that it does not always have to be a safe haven for us. So, what the hell am I talking about? Well, I believe that we put too much pressure on ourselves at times when it comes to stepping out of the box. That is a fear for many and it is something I myself have struggled with a point of time in my life. It was a way of protecting myself and I am quite sure many of you use it as a protection as well. It can be a scary situation to make choices that your surrounding environment don't normally make and it causes conflicting behavior. That behavior can suppress the next person if they let it; by them not wanting to try a leap of faith.

Learning what your safety net is can help you to go out on the limb and beat it. You beat it by rising above it and focusing on something of the opposite that can help infuse something in you that will make you more outgoing and inspired. I mean, if we stay consumed to only what we know, than how can we expand our horizons? I believe risks are the key. Ask yourselves, how many times have you truly challenged yourselves? How many times have you stepped outside of your box that you live in? How many times have you really tried? Or how many times have you decided not to make a business decision and another business takes the risk and succeeds? It is time to ask yourselves: What is my safety net and what can I do to break out of it? Learn what it is and overcome it. I did.