Self-Awareness for Everyone

Self-awareness to better live life in a mad, mad, mad world Your best ally and most reliable resource is you. Practicing self-awareness puts you in touch with that truth. Self-motivation What IS self-motivation? It is finding your own inner resources to motivate yourself to do things. Self-motivation is not selfish. Putting yourself first is NOT selfish. Selfishness only occurs when an action you...

They are not, contrary to popular belief, scarce or lacking Sometimes it feels like it's all spinning out of control. Is this really the truth of society? Have people become this dominantly sad, depressed, and discourteous? It sure as hell feels that way. Yet I believe that’s not the truth. Why? Because everyone desires kindness, compassion, and empathy. Unfortunately, too many outside influences...

The Pie is Not Limited This is an abundant universe with more than enough for everyone. The implication, sometimes blatant - but more often subtle - is that the thing you desire is finite. Tangible or intangible, there’s not enough and if you don’t take yours, you’ll miss it. There’s only so much pie to go around because it's limited. The truth, however, is that the pie is not, in fact, limited. A...

You can’t make “them” understand People can change. But only if they desire to. When they don’t, they won’t. Sometimes you’re forced to change. Circumstances utterly outside of your control force change. They happen, and they are outside of your control. Intellectually you know this. The heart, however, is quick to disbelieve. Change can be terrifying, especially when the other side is incredibly...

There are always choices and decisions being made According to multiple sources, human beings make over 30,000 choices A DAY. That is a lot of choices. But for the most part, you don’t make them consciously. Let’s face it, if you did, I think you’d probably go mad. Thirty-thousand-plus choices, per day, add up fast. That means that in a 30-day month, you make 900,000 choices. Hence, per year you’r...

Patience begins with me I write about conscious reality creation, mindfulness, manifestation, and the like frequently. Each time I write about it, I explore how it requires combined thought, feeling, action, and a positive approach. Then, from there, you must apply intent with your action to make manifest the tangible or intangible. Intent and action and time. Seldom, if ever really, is it instant...

There’s always something to be grateful for Even on the worst days you might experience, there’s always something that you can be grateful for. It might seem impossible in the face of sadness, grief, and uncertainty, but that doesn’t lessen the truth. Thank you are among the most powerful words you can say and feel. They might be equal to I am and I love. Whatever follows “thank you” is a powerful...

Life is impermanent Life is unexpected and uncertain. No two days are alike. Similar, maybe, but not the same. Change is the only constant in the Universe. That’s because the Universe and everything in it is impermanent. Buddhism takes a deep look into the nature of impermanence. But outside the Buddhist way, it’s often disregarded, ignored outright, or denied. You strive to create things permanen...

Discipline and its uses The word “discipline” gets tossed around a lot. Often, it’s attached to a concept of doing something with full attention, within rigid parameters, and with no room for mistakes. Too little discipline and shit doesn’t get done. Your art isn’t made, your practice isn’t improved, and you leave a bad impression of yourself. What if I told you that’s not the truth of discipline?...

Fear is frequently weaponized to be unreasonable All opposites, like positivity and negativity, black and white, good and evil, are extremes. They’re not, as most would suggest, opposite sides of a coin. That’s because the space between them isn’t so thin as the edge of a coin, but far broader, making it more akin to a cylinder. Recognizing this is important because you and I live in a fear-based...

Women are not objects Women are people, too. When men pass laws that impact women’s rights, body autonomy, and the like, we can no longer stay silent. It’s time for us allies to be more vocal about this. Women are not baby factories. NFL Kicker Harrison Butker is an ass who has no idea what he’s talking about. Men are not better than women just because we have penises. LGBTQA+ people deserve equal...

You’re only competing with yourself There are plenty of contests out there where it’s all about competing. Yet, aside from such intentional competitions, you’re not in competition with anyone else for anything. Let me repeat that for those in the cheap seats. YOU ARE NOT IN COMPETITION WITH ANYONE ELSE FOR ANYTHING. Unless you participate in a contest – a race, a fencing bout, any professional spo...

The reality of what a comfort zone is Comfort zone is an inaccurate term. That’s because, though it implies comfort, mostly the zone is one of familiarity. You know it, what’s within it, how it works, and all that you can expect from this zone. It’s comfortable only because it’s familiar. When faced with the uncertain and the unfamiliar, having a comfort zone can and will make you feel stabler and...

What do you do when you can’t find the words? Sometimes you just don’t know what to say or write. It’s never just the words you use. Even the written word can convey a degree of tone, intent, and attitude. Communication is a complex mechanism of expression employed to convey ideas. It’s how you and I can share notions, agree and disagree, and expand (or, frankly, shrink) our overall knowledge base...

Every great began as a beginner Whether they were a leader, writer, painter, artist, athlete, or whatever, they started as a beginner. Nobody enters any given field as an expert. Nobody. Yes, some people advance quicker than others. This is dependent on inherent skill and/or talent, how they learn, how fast they learn, natural ability, and all sorts of other factors along the way. Still, even thos...

Why are choices and decisions so powerful? What you’re never taught in school is how to be yourself. You’re taught to read, write, communicate with others, and be part of the machine of your given society. You’re never taught how to know yourself, basic psychology is only covered when you reach college (only if you bother with college and take any path along that line), and self-learning is not so...

You might get broken, but you won’t be beaten The modern world is obsessed with extremes. So many things are viewed as either/or, rather than the far vaster middle between them. It’s all black or white, never mind the shades of grey and myriad of colors between the opposite poles. One Size Fits All never fits all. Yet you’re constantly bombarded by messages to conform, to find your accepted place...

Tapping into this place between the subconscious and conscious mind The Void or The Flow State are references to that place outside of time and space where you simply are. They’re the ultimate expression of the here and now — the present moment. In the flow, you ride along aware and unaware at the same time. It’s an amazing disconnect where super cool things happen. Creativity directly connects yo...

Gratitude is essential to our health, wellness, and wellbeing Gratitude is never a bad thing. It is a matter of positivity and it always builds and never destroys. Saying thank you, and meaning it, expressing the feeling behind gratitude is a tool for change. When we express how grateful we are for things we have, things we receive, tangibles or intangibles, we empower ourselves, as well as those...

Growth comes only from leaving our comfort zones Despite being an actor in HS, a DJ in college, and serving as a court herald in my medieval organization – and speaking publicly in front of hundreds, sometimes – I’m more introverted than extroverted. Ambivert is a fair approximation for me. Doing this uncomfortable thing is extremely positive for my overall life approach. Why and how does that wor...

Choice is how you can take control of your life experience Quite possibly the single greatest superpower that we have is choice. The rest of the animal kingdom on this planet largely has a very set life path. Humans, however, have choices, like to merely survive or thrive. Some are the product of environment, privilege, birth, etc. However, most are inherent to all and are immaterial/intangible. T...

What if the meaning of life is staring us right in the face? If, as I postulate, the meaning of life is To Live, education and learning are a cornerstone of that. One of the failings of many of our leaders is their desire to keep us ignorant. It’s a matter of their retention of control to keep us reliant on them to understand certain matters. Rather than empower, they prefer to disempower us by sl...

How and why does your approach to the unknown matter? Sometimes, when you can’t put your finger on why you are feeling a certain way, the answer is simple. The unknown. When you are facing many uncertainties, challenges, and questions with unpredictable outcomes, you seek answers. Yet the outcome of all the above is utterly unknown. Recognize, acknowledge, and consciously choose your approach You...

Not knowing things is how you grow and evolve Multiple forces are pushing the idea that “I don’t know” makes you weak, makes you inferior, and sets you up to fail. They don’t know something? Look how inferior they are because they don’t know and we do. This is utterly backward, however. Scientific curiosity is born of looking at something, saying “I don’t know but desire to learn.” The unknown is...

Does anything I do Matter? The Squirrels in my brain are being major dicks at the moment. Why? Because they’re chewing on thoughts that do me no good and are almost entirely out of my control. On top of my work to be as genuine and true to myself as I can be, there are other things I can’t pretend don’t exist. It’s far too easy to feel a sense of impending doom and gloom about the world right now....