Bryan Parady's Blog, page 52

Seeing The Best

 

It’s really easy to be judgmental.  Whether it’s social media, the news, our coworkers, there always seems to be someone doing something that we disagree with, or don’t think is right.

But that is okay.

What makes us all unique is our difference in opinions.  So what if our friend doesn’t see things the same way as us?  So what if our family member, likes this and we like that?

See the best in people, even if you don’t agree with what a lot of things they do, find something you can praise them for, find something to encourage them in.

Another thing that tends to be common is if we don’t argue our side of it then we think we are giving in to their viewpoint.  This is crazy!  Arguing a point isn’t going to make them change their mind, it’s just going to make both them and ourselves mad.

It’s okay to agree to disagree, respect people, respect their viewpoints, yes even if you disagree with them.  To them, their viewpoint is just as valid as your own.

Are We a More “Blessed” Country?

I witnessed something recently that well, frankly disturbed me.  I know this past weekend we celebrated the freedom and birth of our country which is an awesome thing.  I am so grateful to live in a country where I can not only be free, but have opportunity that many don’t have because of where they were born.

That being said, I think it can be taken to extremes, for instance, we tend to have a belief that God likes America better than every other country.  I’m not sure where this stems from. In actuality if you follow how God is working in other countries, he is more at work in other areas of the world than our “blessed land”.

I think this in large part is because Christians in many countries are being Christians under extreme opposition, in countries where they could be killed for their faith, and because of their great faith they are seeing miracles and revivals take place.

Now I’m not trying to down us American Christians, but we have it incredibly easy, and normally when things are easy we get comfortable.  We are complacent in our faith, comfortable in our pews, and for the most part just live our life the way we want to.

We have more opportunity than many in this world and yet we take it for granted and don’t even use it.  We don’t dream big, don’t take risks…because we are comfortable.

I am thankful I live where I do and I am grateful for our freedom, and for those who defend it, but I don’t believe God loves America any more than any other country.

 

 

The Whole Picture

If you are into fitness, you probably are well aware that you never achieve the ultimate conditioning you want.  And honestly this is good and as it should be.  There should always be something more we want. A new goal, a new race, a new max weight, a new distance, new best time.

We should always be striving for the next big thing once we hit and accomplish our current goal.   There is always something bigger or harder that we can attain.

This isn’t a bad thing though, often times we think we will never hit our goal whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, business related, family related, but it will.  When you workout you don’t see results immediately, it takes time.  Don’t ever think that the small goals you are setting are pointless since they are so far from the “big” goal, because it is all the small goals combined that will get you to the pinnacle.

Set goals, push yourself hard, and when you finish, start a new adventure, and work even harder.

A Fresh Start

I’m pretty excited, Monday I start a new workout/diet.  For the past 6 months or so I’ve been on a pretty strict diet and workout regime.  It has gotten me to my goal, but is not taking me further or to my next goal.

So it’s time to change things up.  I am starting Jim Stoppani’s 12 week program.  It’s going to push me both in the gym and with my food even more, but I think I will be happy with the results and I think it will get me to my next goal and possibly beyond.

I feel like I am about to start a new journey.

 

Freedom For All

Today marks the 238th birthday of the nation of America.  Every country has it’s history, it’s story that makes it special, and thank goodness we are a world with uniqueness. For me I celebrate as an American.

I am able to write this blog, to choose where I go to church, and choose where I work because of countless soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice to establish freedom. While the term is overused it is very true that freedom comes at a great cost, and is anything but free. From our country’s first war of independence to our battle in Afghanistan, there have always been many who are willing to fight for our country’s independence, and today is one of too few days where we get to celebrate all that soldiers do for us.

So for today, as you celebrate the 4th, celebrate freedom, celebrate with your family, your friends, your loved ones, and remember and say thank you to those who fight so you can have freedom.

Thank you to all our armed forces.  You are not forgotten.

 

The Problem Is Me?

It’s really easy to blame people.  And if we don’t blame them, then it’s really easy to make an excuse why what they are saying is totally true.  “but you don’t understand…”

It’s so easy to fall into this.  We want to save face, we want to do good.  We can’t be perceived as weak, fragile, or as being in the wrong.  We have to be strong and perfect.

Um, no.

First off being perfect is impossible, second, when we try to act like we are, we usually end up just being a jerk to those around us. When we try to be perfect, and try to uphold that we end up pushing those close to us away,

We end up hurting the ones we love because we become so focused on how we must be right, that we stop taking into consideration we might be wrong.  We get puffed up, and pride sneaks in.  It takes over and before we know it, we have become the “me-monster”.

Admit that you are not the greatest thing to walk the earth, admit when you fall short and fail.  It’s okay, we all have our moments.  Ask for forgiveness, forgive yourself, and learn from your mistakes, then move on.

You will be amazed how much more helpful this is, then trying to pretend you are right to begin with.

To The Next Level

I’ve been working out for a long time.  I’ve been incredibly serious about it for the past couple years.  It’s kind of a love-hate relationship.  I love working out and yet it’s still extremely hard even after all this time, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  The benefits of exercise in your overall attitude, behavior, and mental capacity are worth it alone.

That being said, I am pretty pumped (no pun intended), for the first time I actually purchased a gym membership.

I’m a little old school, and have always used what equipment was available, whether it was my own, apartment gyms, etc….it’s amazing how much you can do with very little when you try hard.

That being said I’ve set some new goals for myself. I’ve come a very long way in the past year towards my goal, but to get to where I want to be it was time to join a gym.  I am excited.

We have a tendency when we get excited about something to just run out and do it, then get bored quickly, rather than do small things to gradually build our interest and desire for something.

Don’t ever think you can’t do something because you don’t have the money or time.  Get creative, and you can truly do anything.

Living For Someone Else

We might find ourselves living someone else’s dream if we are not careful, we might find we give in and lost ourselves. This video I created talks about that.  Be true to you.

I’m Not Perfect

I’m just now starting to come to terms with something.

It seems like from all apparent reasons it should be obvious, but it’s not.

I’m not perfect…no duh right?  But it is a duh moment for me.

You see, I’ve lived my whole life feeling like I have had to have everything together…my job, finances, house, family.  You name it.

And the sad part?  I believed that I was practically perfect.

I believed it so much it led me to being fake, it led me to striving so hard to look a certain way, act a certain way, and talk a certain way. My whole life it was, do what this person wanted, say what they want to hear, say what they expect, or you won’t be good enough.

This led to building walls around the real me….until I can’t even see myself anymore they are so thick.

Everything I’ve ever done wrong, there was a reason why it wasn’t my fault, there was something that caused it.

Of course this was just bull-s@*!

Just one more way to avoid looking as if I was imperfect.

It’s a heck of  way to make yourself miserable.  A heck of a way to distance yourself from people.

Now I know, you might be thinking, no….you?  The one who writes all these inspiring blogs about changing the world, following your dreams, and going after the important things?

Yep.

Truth is I don’t take my own advice half the time because God forbid I might look imperfect in going after those things.

Truth is I suck sometimes.  I do.  I don’t say this in a depressing/emo sense, I say it just as a fact.  The sky is blue, the grass is green, and sometimes I suck.

Me, who has everything together, is very imperfect.

The crazy part?  That’s ok….

My wife who is amazing for putting up with a very stubborn/fake person a lot of times, told me a great quote “Imperfections are not inadequacies”.

 

 

Why Can’t You Get Your Dream?

When I was a kid I wanted to be  knight so bad I could bust.  I took it to nerdy levels, including making up armor (I looked pretty sick with my aluminum foil sword and cardboard shield), I studied the middle ages, and just knew when I grew up I was gonna defeat all the enemies, save the castle, and marry the princess (well that last one actually came true).

Somewhere I lost that zeal.  Now I’m not saying it would be practical to run around in tights (something everyone should be thankful for), and commute to work on a  horse.  But the general idea, the desire to save people, to defeat invading war-lords etc.

Now that I’m grown I still have a lot of that in me.  It just comes out in different ways, I still want to kick bad guys butts, and really want to help people out of slavery and human trafficking.

I can connect the dots and see how my childhood dreams and present state correlate, but actually making that a reality is tough for me.  I am my worst critic.  I rationalize things to a fault and it is not a healthy thing, I come up with all the reasons why it’s not practical.

I grew up with a very “practical” mindset. Not that being practical is all bad, we need to be responsible, which is a dying art  in our society.  But being too practical stifles our ability to dream big, and chase after what we want.

I am still working on overcoming this.  I have to constantly remind myself that I can do anything, that I can fulfill my dream, and that the world is not a ho-hum day in and day out world, but that opportunity is boundless if you look hard enough and work hard enough for it.

No it’s not easy, but it’s worth it and while I may not be going on raids on the back of my faithful horse, I will be rescue those who need help.  I can and I will.  It’s a hard road ahead to hit my dream, but again, we are capable of anything, we set our mind to.

Go out there and grab your dream.