Trust Yourself

I was just browsing on Twitter earlier today, and I’m not always the biggest fan of people posting loads of quotes, but this one really resonated with me and it goes like this;

“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because its trust isn't on the branch, it's on its own wings.” 

How Do You Want To Be Remembered?

You know, none of us are immortal. There will come a day where we all have to make that final walk into the unknown. When it finally comes, none of us know what we’ll be walking into. All we know is what is happening here and now and it is with that in mind that we should live our lives. Some people might say “no shit Sherlock” but when is the last time you actually thought about it?

Robin Williams

Every bright spark has their demons and that’s true for all of us. I could talk about how and why Robin Williams died but that’s not what I want to remember him for. Instead I want to remember him for the way he lived, the way he battled his demons and what he came to teach each of us.

What is Happiness and How Do We Get It?

Money

People often quote the saying "money doesn't buy you happiness" and to some extent that's true, but to some extent it's also not true. Although money in and of itself cannot buy you happiness, it can remove some of the barriers that can stop you from becoming happy. People can often find it hard to be happy when they're having to worry about whether or not they can pay the bills, put a roof over their head or afford to put food on the table. Being able to do these things won't make you happy on their own but they can prevent you from being happy if you can't do them. So simply, money might not be able to buy you happiness, but it can remove the barriers that can prevent us from being happy and better enable us to do those things that do make us happy.

To Be The Boy That Never Grows Up

We have all heard the story of Peter Pan either through watching the films or by reading the book. We often see this so much as a fantasy type novel that we often understate the relevance it has to real life. As we grow up our innocence gradually gets replaced by experience and although it's a needed part of life, it's a real shame as we never really realise it's happening until it's too late. As such, we often don't appreciate our innocence until we lose it.

The Voices in Each of Us

A few days ago I was watching an old episode of Star Trek and the theme was about how in each of us we have a range of voices battling for control. I wrote a similar blog a couple months ago entitled "Magneto and Xavier: A Dual Mentality". This time, rather than focusing on me, this blog will focus on those voices in each of us more generally speaking.

Be Blunt, Be True

In recent decades people, especially the British, have become increasingly reserved and polite. This has resulted in people becoming increasingly afraid of saying what they really think out of fear of causing offense.

Letter to Me

I have a question for you, if you could write a letter to the younger version of you, say at ten years old, what would you write and what advice would you give? For me, it would go something like this. And after you read it, give it a go yourself, but be truly honest with it. You don't have to show it to anyone if you don't want to and it can be quite therapeutic. And then after you've written it, keep it, either saved on a computer or hidden at the back of a draw and every so often, take it out and simply have a read. Trust me, this going back to read your letter will prove equally as valuable and as therapeutic as when you first wrote that letter. So, here it goes!

Welcome to the Future: How Things Have Changed

People often say that the modern world is changing at an ever faster pace and the world we see today is unrecognisable from the one we had twenty or thirty years ago. I remember the days when the most advanced games console you could play at home was just a shooting gun you plugged straight into the TV and it had just one game with a hand full of levels. That and a few simple games on the PC which had the most basic 2D graphics. Actually, does anyone remember the old dial up internet which meant that whenever you were on the internet, no on in the house could use the phone and you were charged by the minute and it took a good five minutes just for it to connect to the phone line. None of this unlimited internet on multiple computers or wireless internet connection and certainly no internet on your phones.

New Year's Message

I just want to write a short message in light of the coming new year. Some of you I may talk to regularly, some on the rare odd occasion or others just the odd "like" on Facebook or "favourite" on Twitter. However, I am writing to wish you all, no matter how often we talk, all the best for the year to come. I hope it's filled with many happy memories that you'll come look back on with joy and happiness.

Living Our Lives in Fear - "We must do that which we think we cannot"

In a changing world, fear becomes rampant. Fear of change, fear of the unknown and fear of things that are different. These things take us outside of our comfort zone and it is human nature to avoid these changes as to avoid any risk of harm coming from them, whether that risk is realistic or not. But unless that fear is overcome, nothing ever changes and society and humanity as whole stands still in its evolutionary development. Thus, it takes the brave to overcome that fear and help drive humanity forward.

None of this "New Year, New Me" Crap

Every year, people always say the same thing "this year is gonna be different", "new year, new me" and "this year, my new year's resolution is.......". Just stop. This might sound a little harsh, but just because it's a new year doesn't mean anything is gonna be different and most will fail their new year’s resolutions come February or March time. All it's gonna lead to is misery when things don't change or when more of you fail your new year’s resolution. So save yourself the grief and just don't do it.

Character vs. Reality

In recent years, I've been seen as a bit of an opinionated bastard by some and as "nice" and "smart" by others. This is due to the feeling that I need to play different characters in differing situations. I like to think that this "nice smart" character reflects more of the real me than the "opinionated bastard". However, my fear in this respect stems from the fact that people generally taking advantage of people that they consider to be nice, especially if that person has something they want. This is due to nice people often being considered weak or feeble. And on a personal note, this is something I've experienced way too much off in recent years.

Bucket List

My Plans for the Years to Come

People often ask me what my plans are for the future and what it is I want out of life. This blog aims to try and answer these questions.

What if Money Was No Object?

During my time at university (Hertfordshire) I often asked people what it was they wanted to do upon graduating and I always pretty much got the same answer. People generally didn't care or didn't know what they wanted to do as long as it paid alot of money. For me, this is a sorry state of affairs and is frankly quite depressing.

Always be yourself and don't be afraid to have an enemy or two

One of the benefits of being a relatively quiet person means I get to spend alot of time just sitting back watching how different people behave. This often includes people changing their behaviour based on the situation they're in or the people they're with. For me, when I see people changing their whole personality and persona simply based on the people they're with, I just think, why? Surely it's easier in the long run simply to be natural and to be the person you are at your core.

Becoming Less Patient and More Assertive

Over the years I have often been referred to as the "nice" and "patient" one or the "smart" one or more recently, the "strange" and "different" one. I see all these qualities as being complements, even the one about me being strange. However, each of these qualities have their time and place. Other times, you have to become more assertive and what some people might call being mean or being a bit of an ass when the situation calls for it.

Magneto and Xavier: A Dual Mentality

In my view, one of the reasons for the success of the X Men movie franchise is the relatability of the plots and even more so its characters. In some ways, the demonised mutant minority of the show and the way in which they are treated can act as a metaphor for the way on which many minorities are treated in the real world today. The characters in the film give an interesting insight into the human psyche and how we behave towards such treatment of minorities. This is especially the case when comparing the approaches of the characters of Magneto Professor X.

A Pet Peeve: Confusing Opinion with Fact

One of the few things that annoy me is when people believe their own opinions are bottom line fact and are intolerant of any opinion other than their own. Don't get me wrong, I am perfectly happy to entertain and consider different views and ideas, if anything, I enjoy it as it encourages me to question my own opinions. All I want is to be treated with the same respect and tolerance. In the past I've met people who would go absolutely hysterical when someone didn't agree with them and then they would go off in a strop like an immature child. Frankly, in my view, if you’re so sure that your opinion is the right, then surely it should survive vigorous debate and question and in that case, there's no need to get defensive.