Bryan Parady's Blog, page 17

Inner Conflict

How many of us struggle with who we are?  I know I have before.  We have this inner turmoil of what we think is required of us, what others expect from us, and what we wish we could just go do without fear of failure.

It takes going through some serious struggle and inner turmoil in order to figure out what we are supposed to do.  One thing I’ve learned is that it doesn’t do any good to think about it indefinitely, make plans, scratch them out and make new plans, and think think think.

All those things are good, but they can only get you a very small way.  You have to step out and try things.  And not just jump to one new thing every other week either.  You have to really try things, and really dedicate yourself to things.  Really pour yourself into them, because no matter what you choose to do, it’s going to have rough spots, and times when you think, “this isn’t for me”, if you just drop hat and run when you hit these times, nothing will change.  So try new things, but also persevere through the difficult times too.

Put down the pencil and paper and walk away from the drawing board, and go experience it.

It’s Your Day

Today is your day.  Your day to conquer what has been asking to be conquered. Your day to find what you’ve been looking for.  Today is your day to take back your dream.  To find what you’ve been missing.

Don’t let another day go by wasted, find out what steps you need to take, and take them.  Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity, because perfect opportunities don’t ever come.  Progress happens by making opportunities out of not-so-great moments.

You can do this. . . so get going.

Photo Credit by: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/

A New Day

There is something refreshing at the end of a long day knowing that you get to start over the next day.   Each day the sun rises, and a new adventure awaits.  Today is Friday, for many the week is drawing to an end.  I am going to be honest.  I’m super glad the weekend is almost here.  Time to dream, explore, and get back in touch with some of the things I love.

So whatever you have planned for this weekend, take some time to rediscover you.  Maybe it’s picking back up a hobby, maybe it’s working on a business plan for a side business you want to start.  Whatever it is, love it.  Enjoy it.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/

Maintain Hope

Sometimes life can be heavy.  It’s not always rainbows and sunshine, it’s not always laughs. Sometimes it can be really hard.  Our responsibilities, our obligations can wear us down, can make us tired.  We wonder if our dreams will ever come to fruition, or if we’ll be stuck in our same daily routine.

The truth is it won’t always be hard.  Yes you may have some discouraging days, I know I have them.  I’m not always on top and I’m not always ahead of the game, as much as I wish I was.

Some days I have to realize that hey, I’m not where I want to be, but I will get there.  Just because today I didn’t get there doesn’t mean I will never get there.

Don’t take the days that are hard as a final judgement, because they are anything but.  It’s just one day.  It will pass. Keep trucking through it, and keep working towards your goals.  It will come, even when the storm clouds say otherwise.  Remember they will clear and that there is way more behind them.  Keep your chin up.

Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/

Believe in Yourself

Everyone will not always believe in you.  In fact, many will doubt you.  Many will question you.  People don’t understand those who chase their dreams. Often it’s not out of hatred, it’d because deep down they wish they were doing the same thing.

But what’s worse is not believing in yourself.  Even when you feel like you can’t believe in you, like you have nothing else to hang on to, you can do it.  Believe in you.  You’ve got this.

Photo Credit https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/

How To Live Your Dream With Kids

I feel like this is a question a lot of people ask, how do you pursue your dreams once you have kids?  Is it possible to do it and not neglect them? Should we give up on them?

This can be a very hot topic of debate among people, and everyone has their own perspective on this.  I think that we can and should pursue our dreams when we have kids.  My wife and I lead very busy lives.  I work full time, go to school part time, am a reservist in the US Navy, blog, and have a 3 year old.  My wife is in grad school, runs her own business, and creates online courses for entrepreneurs.

Our lives can be hectic at times, but we are doing what we love. Our child is no stranger to meeting new people, going new places, traveling and being adventurous.

I don’t think there is any way to better teach your children how to achieve greatness and live their dreams than by example.  Example counts for so much more than words.  I want my little girl to grow up know that her parents chased their dreams, despite it being hard, I want her to see both the struggles and the successes, so she knows first hand that anything is within her reach if she works hard for it.

I don’t think our lives are meant to come to an end because we have kids, we’re not meant to suddenly settle into normalcy and settle into our 9 to 5 and stop dreaming.  We should want to make even more of our lives because of our kids.

So don’t let having kids stop you from still going after your dreams, and don’t let people make you feel guilty for doing so, because some will.  It’s okay, bring them along for the journey, they will learn life lessons from it.

My wife ran a half marathon this morning and my daughter and I cheered her on, I want her to see first hand us striving to be better people.  I think that is a great goal to strive for.

Step Into the Unknown

The above picture is so very true. Some of the greatest things I’ve done in my life have come from me stepping out of my comfort zone.  I grew up thinking my comfort zone was a good place, that I should hide in it and protect myself from the world.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Life is meant to be lived outside  the comfort zone, continually doing things that scare us, that make us question, make us doubt.  Because those are the things that build our character, that mold us into better, stronger people.

Our comfort zone is a lie.  It’s not comfort, it’s complacency.  I think we developed the term comfort zone to make ourselves feel better about staying in it.  But it drags us down, down to our knees and keeps us there, and we never experience true life when we stay stuck in it.

So what is it you are needing to step out into?  What do you think is holding you back from stepping out of your comfort zone?

I Can’t

How often have we told ourselves “I can’t”?  Maybe we think we want to go back to school.  Maybe we want to move out of state, or out of country.  Maybe we want to start a family, or maybe take a huge career leap.  Maybe we want to run a marathon, hike a trail, or take up weight lifting.

We all have things we would love to do, and then rationalization kicks in and we tell ourselves, “I can’t.”

But that isn’t true.   It’s not that you can’t.  So what is it?  It’s that we come up with so many excuses of why we shouldn’t.  We think we are being responsible, but in reality we are just keeping ourselves from experiencing change.  We like safety, we like routine, we like familiarity, I know I do, because it’s safe.

But leaving safety opens up our worlds to new things, new places, and new people.  Trying new things changes our lives for the better.  There is so much of the world out there.  So many cultures, cities, landscapes.  Life is way too short to live in a bubble of familiarity.  Get out, take chances, makes risks and explore your options. Live boldly.  Live daring.

Tired

Today was a long day.  I was super close to not hitting the gym.  I just didn’t feel like, work was long, I didn’t have a weekend off and it just was catching up to me.  But I did it anyway.  I was glad I did when it was all over.  Yes I was exhausted.  Yes my arm was killing me not in a good way.

But still there was that relief that I made it.

Now I don’t always get it done. I have my days where I don’t make it, where work drained me too much, where there are too many things to do.  Don’t let excuses keep you from the gym, but also don’t let missing a day get you down either.  It happens.  Life can’t always be planned.

Do the best you can and then move forward.  If you miss a day, so what?  Hit it hard the next day.

Keep moving forward, keep working towards it, keep fighting to gain your goal.  You’ve got this.

Feeling Under-qualified

Do you ever feel under-qualified for something?  That you just don’t have what it takes?  That there’s someone out there who can outdo you, out-perform you, and outscore you?  It can be scary when you are out there trying to figure out life.  When you are wanting to make steps in a new direction but feel utterly lost.

I’m dealing with a lot of that right now.  There is a huge difference between having things on a piece of paper and having something actually happen.

The problem is all those doubts and questions is they can easily trump all the ambition, all the yearning, and all the desire to do more, and be more.

I am learning despite the fears, despite the doubts, you have to make steps, whether they be confident or whether they are shaky as crap, take the steps, make the preparation you need to and fight, fight every day the doubts.  They won’t ever go away, you have to conquer them and move forward anyway.