Bryan Parady's Blog, page 53

At A Loss

Do you ever find yourself at a loss of words?  Sometimes you just have to go with that.  Often times words can get us into trouble.  We can say stupid things, mean things, angry things, spoken not out of our true being, but in a fit of emotion.  Sometimes it is better to be silent than to speak.

Sometimes we speak far more than we should, we talk about our big plans and goals but we never put any action behind them and instead just continue to talk about them.

We should stop placing so much emphasis on our words and more on what we do.  Actions truly do speak louder than words.

Social Media Is Our New Girlfriend

We have a tendency to lose ourselves in social media from time to time.  We forget that real life and real relationships are all around us.  We lose ourselves in trying to find out what all our friends have done today by reading their posts, rather than getting coffee with them.

We have a tendency to create our Facebook face, the parts that only the world can see, and hide all the parts we are ashamed of.  It’s easier, in a friendship you have to be real in order to maintain a strong friendship.  In social media you can be fake.

Sometimes we need to unplug.  When you come home after a long day work you don’t need to run to your laptop, you need to connect with your family, your significant other, or whoever you share your home with.

Don’t just post a status telling your friend you are thinking about them, call them up, set up a coffee date, go do something fun with them.

Social media has literally become like a girlfriend or boyfriend for many of us, and sadly at the expense of the important people in our life.

Social media is good, but don’t put it in a place it doesn’t belong.

Dream Again

We have a tendency to stop dreaming when we get older.  We get caught up in the routine of life, and in the responsibilities we have.  It’s good to be responsible and take care of what we are entrusted with, but we also are responsible for living out our dream.  Now because of circumstances, the timing, and how it all come to place may look different for each person.

But to abandon our dream and spend our free time simply wallowing in fear, drowned in shopping, video games, or TV, is failing to meet our responsibilities.

Only you have that dream deep down in you to do, no one else has the same desires in the same way as you, and not only are you missing out because you don’t fulfill them, so is the rest of the world.

When You Don’t Feel Like It

 

The truth is, sometimes we don’t feel like it.  We know what we need to do, we know how to do it, but we are just plain worn out, feeling tired, feeling beaten and broken, and we want to lie on the couch and watch paint dry on the walls.

But often times these are the moments when we really need to be pushing onward and upwards, because these are the times when many people give in to the desire to just quit. Every last person struggles with having the motivation to do something at times.

My wife and I have worked out for around a decade now and we both still have days where we’d rather take a nap than hit the gym.  But it’s pushing through on the days when it really really sucks is what keeps us going and keeps us strong.

So don’t give up when it gets hard.  The tiredness you feel will pass.

Moved In

I went MIA on Saturday due to moving, and then internet didn’t get hooked up until late this morning so my blog is late today.

Moving is always a challenge, but somehow it always gets done, and we managed to have every box unpacked by the next day.

I read something interesting this morning, it talked about how when someone approaches us on an area we haven’t been doing too good in, we tend to excuse why we exhibited that behavior, or action.  I am really guilty of this.

As soon as someone says you did, I tend to immediately come back with, “yes but…”, not a good response.  In truth some criticism can be good, especially if it comes from those who we know and trust.  Sometimes someone can simply ask why I did something, and rather than really think about the why, and see if maybe I have room for improvement, I just come up with my reason of why.

How much more can we grow if we don’t make excuses and really ask ourselves why.

 

Don’t Think You Are

 

“Don’t think you are; know you are.” – Morpheus

There are so many times in our lives when we think we don’t know the answer to something when in reality we know all too well.  We think it is a hard decision, but we know deep in our gut what we should do. The problem is that we let others’ thoughts become our own.  We abandon what we feel what we know to be true deep within us for the act of pleasing someone else, or living up to society’s expectations.

And then we say we don’t know.  Of course we do!  We know exactly what we want, we know what desires lie deep within us, what cares and feeling we harbor.

The true questions we need to ask ourselves is are we going to put into action what we already know, or are we going to ignore it and pretend we don’t know, using that as an excuse to stay stagnant, or head the wrong direction.

Don’t think…know…after all, you already do know.

 

 

Infatuation

I’m breaking my mold a bit with today’s post, and honestly I may go on a rant, so I apologize in advance for what’s about to happen.

There are some things that really get under my skin.  We all have those certain things that just rub us the wrong way.   Mine is infatuation.  I’ve come to really hate the mentality that people have to look a certain way in order to be cute, successful, etc.  I feel like the media and Hollywood has done an amazing job at making us drool over people because that’s just the thing to do.

If you make x amount of dollars, wear your Armani suit just right, have a six pack, (I’m only using guy examples because I understand them better, but it goes both ways with the ridiculous presumptions), then you are to be adored by millions, regardless of who you are as a person.

Honestly it makes me sick.  Like I said I don’t mean to bore you with a rant, but..well I have to a little bit.

I think more than the false image that we’ve learned to expect, I dislike the fact of infatuation with those things. Because we grow up thinking those are the great things and the things to go after we have guys and girls who are literally infatuated with people they don’t even know based on their looks, or the status quo image they uphold.  I’m sorry but this is bull-crap.  Total and completely.

What’s even harder for me is when people who are married still go googly eyed over other people….you really don’t want to even get me started on that one.

Suffice it to say that I really believe we need to place much more emphasis on who someone is, the core of them, not the way they look, sound, or spend, because in the end those things really mean absolutely nothing.

Believe in Yourself

Often times when we set out to chase our dream it doesn’t always go as planned.  Not the actual chasing of your dream part, but the remarks and criticism of others.

Others will not believe in your dream.  They will call you crazy, say you are being unwise, say you are being irresponsible, and many more things.  Now I’m not saying everyone, I hope that your spouse or significant other encourages you to fulfill your dream.

Most of the time this stems from people being to insecure or to afraid to go after their own dreams and so they feel that no one should go after their dreams.

Now if you have responsibilities such as a family and need to provide for them, that may adjust how you need to pursue your dream, while still maintaining your responsibilities, but otherwise, go after your dream, no matter your age.  Find what makes you alive and do it.  That thing you’ve always talked about and have always wanted to do, why not do it?  You have one life.  Are you going to wake up one day and say “I’m glad I didn’t try.”?  Or are you going to have regrets if you at least don’t give it a shot.

So go out there and try.  And please ignore the naysayers, they are everywhere, they don’t understand your dream and they don’t have to.  Be you, and believe in yourself.

 

Step Into It

 

When we think about authority we might think of it in a bad sense, like our parents punishing us, or the principle that caught us one time, or that speeding ticket that you really wish you hadn’t got.

But something we may not think of as much is that we have authority. The Bible tells us that God created us just a little lower than the angels.  That’s quite a bit of power when you think about.

We have authority to do the things set in our hearts to do, we have authority to see that justice is followed, and that good does prevail.

We are bombarded with facts every day about how bad the world is, how crazy people are, and other horrible statistics, but we can yield so much good when we step into the authority that we have and use it for great things.

Stop cowering and use the authority you have to accomplish greatness.

Confession

I have a confession to make.  It’s not something I like to say nor do I wish to confess it. I want to do something great, who doesn’t right?  I have lots of ideas, and things that sound good, and I even know the right formula, but when it comes down to it, I have a belief problem.  That’s right.  I don’t really believe sometimes that I can actually do anything.

I know crazy right? I mean, here I am writing all these posts about hitting your dreams, and doing what’s in your heart, and make the most of life, and I struggle with these things on a daily basis.

I wish I could say that I go after it every day full force with everything I have, but I can’t.

Some days I do good, some days I don’t, and some days I don’t try.

I am trying something new though.  One thing I truly believe is that every obstacle if it can be overcome in your mind it can be overcome in every other way.  I want to do hard things.  But that does require a brain overhaul, ditching a bunch of useless worries, annoying negative attitudes, and rolling of eyes.

Because the truth is I can do it.  And I have to.  It’s what is in me, what was birthed in me from the beginning, and if I don’t hit the goals in my life, it will have been a wasted life.  I can’t have someone do it for me, I have to do it.