Reflection

Take a minute to just sit back and have a nice long look at the wonderful moments in your life. We often take ourselves too serious and the wonderful experiences that helped to get us to where we are, take a backseat to where we are in life now.

I'm sure there are good moments and bad moments alike, but why not think about your first kiss from time to time? Why not think about your first puppy or the first time you held hands with someone you liked? Think about the basketball game where you scored 30 points or the time you hit 3 home runs in a single game. 

Those memories helped to make us who we are. They lie dormant until there is a class reunion or an old friend from school stops by. Take a moment and remissness about the "good ole days" and just smile. Think about the girl/boy that got away. Think about the "what if".

After you have taken a scroll down memory lane, reach out to a long lost friend and let them know you are thinking of them. Connect and share a moment together. Re-live the happy times that both of you shared. Make a new memory to share the next time you have a moment of reflection.  

Stop Making Excuses

Now, I know I'm not going to make many people happy about this one and I'm OK with that.

I am personally tired of hearing excuse after excuse on why people fail. Things like, "I am messed up because I had a bad childhood. I can't keep a job because my dad could't keep a job. The white man is never going to let the black man get ahead. Women are never treated the same as men at work. The government owes me. 400 years of slavery, they should pay us something. I was raised in the hood. I was raised in the country. My parents didn't push me. My parents pushed me too hard."

I could go on and on about those statements or as I like to call them, excuses. I will openly admit, yes, I'm sure there is scientific reasoning that will back up some of those statements. Repetitive negative behavior, just like repetitive positive behavior can have an impact on a person's life. That can be true as a child and as an adult. There is a need for psychiatrist and psychologist to help people figure out where they are headed in life. However, people still have to make a choice to do better, to be better.

There are so many people, major role models and historical figures (some having it much worse in my opinion) and they were able to make a difference, to make something out of their lives. People like Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Martin L. King Jr., Malcolm X, Medgar Evers. If I may go back even further, George Washington Carver. To touch on the ones you may really recognize, Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson. These people were not born famous. They were not born successful. They worked hard at it. What they all shared was passion, goals, determination, the sheer will to be the best they could be. These people were not born rich. They were not born famous. At some point in their lives, they decided who they were and what they were going to be.

You are going to have to find your motivation, your passion. Whether that is sparked by family, kids, a relationship or you just want a better life for yourself, there are ways to get it. YOU have to make that decision to do, be better. Stop making excuses and take a long hard look in the mirror. There is opportunity out there for everyone. The question is, are you going to let your opportunity pass you by or are you going to get on the train of life and see where it takes you? The choice is yours.