Category: Random Thoughts

Random Thoughts

Mistakes to Mastery

bhillay

One of the biggest sayings that I learned and always told myself when playing football was, “That’s not like me.”

Whenever I made a mistake, such as dropping a pass, missing a block, or messing up on my assignment, I would tell myself, “That’s not like me,” and then I would move on to the next play with confidence in my ability to perform at my highest level.

It’s easy to make mistakes in life and get caught up in that mistake, which can lead to more mistakes in the future. If I dropped the ball once, I didn’t have to accept myself as a bad catcher. I could still think of myself as a great catcher, and the dropped ball was not characteristic of me.

In life, we all make mistakes; it’s inevitable. What we can do is decide how we respond to those mistakes. Never let your mistakes define who you are. Tell yourself, “That’s not like me,” and move on from the mistake, striving to be better in the future, just as you know you can be.

Motivation, Random Thoughts

Running Towards Personal Growth

bhillay

Sometimes, personal growth feels like training for track and field or something similar. At first, you invest the effort and do what is necessary to grow.

Just like running, you often don’t realize how much you’ve grown until you’re next to others. That can be bittersweet. You might see yourself growing apart from certain people or activities.

For me, I wouldn’t realize how much I grew while away at college until I went back home to visit. Nowadays, I sometimes don’t realize how much I’ve grown until I interact with certain people, or when I’m in situations where I would have acted or thought differently in the past.

We often feel a certain way about certain situations that we once did not feel that way. Or we may respond to certain situations in ways that we would not have in the past. We may not be able to put our finger on the weird feeling that we have I those moments, but the reason could be because you grew in some type of way.

Just like training for track, you can put the work in to deliberately grow. In fact, we should do that. If you’re not getting faster, you’re getting slower. If you aren’t growing, you’re shrinking.

Motivation, Random Thoughts

Life’s Natural Process

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When you pull out a loose tooth prematurely, the new tooth may not have enough space to grow straight, potentially causing it to come in crooked. My mom always told me this as a child.

Whenever I had a loose tooth, I would heed my mom’s advice and allow the tooth to naturally fall out. As a result, I have never needed braces, and my teeth are reasonably straight.

Regardless of the situation, you cannot rush the process. We must allow things to unfold naturally for the best outcomes. Dr. Myles Munroe once said, “The longest way to success is a shortcut.”

Whatever you aspire to achieve in life, thoroughly understand the process for optimal success and follow it.

My mom taught me more than just how to deal with loose teeth; she taught me about life.

Motivation, Random Thoughts

Scaling Success: Milestones

bhillay

Big goals often need smaller goals or steps to reach them. Breaking a large goal into smaller parts makes it easier to see progress and stay motivated. These smaller goals are like stepping stones that help us achieve the main goal.

If we want to reach a big goal or live a certain way, we should also think about the other things we need to do or change to make it happen.

Sometimes, it takes longer to reach a big goal if we’re not aware of all the smaller steps. And even when we do achieve a big goal, the smaller milestones along the way help us maintain it. We might go back to where we started if we’re not fully prepared.

So, it’s important to appreciate and celebrate each small goal we achieve on the path to our big goal. By understanding the smaller steps needed and being ready for them, we can reach our goals and continue to thrive.

Motivation, Random Thoughts, Uncategorized

Graceful Acceptance: Embracing Human Error

bhillay

Human error is generally inevitable in various aspects of life, including jobs, sports, and other areas, despite efforts to minimize and mitigate mistakes.

That’s something to be mindful of when interacting with people. Someone’s words or actions that seem negative or hurtful could potentially stem from a lack of awareness or understanding rather than intentional malice.

We should have a sense of understanding and patience—know that we all make errors, regardless of the situation. Give others grace and don’t be too hard on them for mistakes or perceived wrongdoings.

Perhaps that McDonald’s worker is a great employee who accidentally messed up your order; there’s no need to get overly upset about it. In football, players are evaluated every play, and sometimes missed assignments are explainable or simply human errors. A good coach understands this and keeps it in mind when coaching players.

While there are certain things we should not tolerate as “fatal errors,” which may be irreparable, many times it’s just simple human errors that occur in various situations, tasks, or relationships.

Motivation, Random Thoughts

Keeping Your Word

bhillay

If someone consistently fails to keep their word or do what they say they will, we would eventually view them as unreliable and untrustworthy. We would likely distance ourselves and lower our expectations of their reliability.

Now, imagine the impact when we make promises to ourselves but fail to follow through and keep our word. The effect is just as negative, if not worse.

With others, we consciously feel a certain way about those who don’t keep their word. However, when we consistently fail to keep our word with ourselves, the effects may be subconscious, yet they can still affect our confidence and self-esteem.

If we’re unhappy or things aren’t going as we want them to, it’s worth checking whether we’ve been keeping our word with ourselves.

So, it’s important to keep our word in general, but even more so with ourselves. We need to do what we promised ourselves we would do.

After all, how can someone else rely on us if we can’t even rely on ourselves? Just something to think about.

Random Thoughts

Beyond First Impressions

bhillay

When it comes to people, the cliché “never judge a book by its cover” is true.

We often judge people or have preconceived notions before even meeting them. Sometimes we make up our minds about people before giving them the time to listen to them and understand them.

Then, when we finally do interact with them in person or observe them online, we are already listening with biases, which means we aren’t truly hearing what they have to say. Instead, we make assumptions about their words and actions.

However, if we actually give them a chance without any biases or prejudices, we may discover that we like them or at least better understand them. I’m sure there are many people who don’t like me or have false assumptions about me. If they got to know me, their opinions might change.

We shouldn’t let others’ opinions of people influence us too much. We have to think for ourselves and make our own assessments at times. By judging a book by its cover, we miss out on valuable friendships, relationships, knowledge, and wisdom that person could offer.

So, the next time you feel a certain way about a person without really knowing them or studying them, ask yourself why. Then, take a step further and try not to be too judgmental. Give them a chance. Your assumptions may be wrong, and that person may have a lot to offer you, which could be highly beneficial.

Random Thoughts

Unlocking Morning Melodies

bhillay

Most mornings when I wake up, there’s some type of song stuck in my head.

Sometimes, it’s a positive song, like a gospel song or something, and other mornings it’s a random vulgar rap song, LOL. I think to myself, “Why is this song stuck in my head?” and most times, it’s because I was listening to it the night before.

This has made me more conscious of what I listen to before bed and in general. It’s obvious that the music is affecting me subconsciously, so I must be deliberate about what I do and don’t listen to.

I can say that I feel better when I wake up and there’s a random positive song stuck in my head. That leads to a better day. I can’t say that the opposite happens when a negative song is stuck in my head, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

We all should be more conscious of what we consume. It might seem like a simple song, video, or social media post, but they can impact us after consumption, just like food does.

So make sure you’re listening to something you wouldn’t mind waking up singing, and make sure you’re consuming things you wouldn’t mind affecting you.

Motivation, Random Thoughts

Fleeting Time Reflections

bhillay

December is almost here, and every year around this time, we all begin to say, “The year went by so fast” or something along those lines.

You’d think that after one year, we wouldn’t be surprised at how quickly the year has passed, but nope, it still shocks us every year, LOL.

It’s the truth, though. The year does go by fast, which can be either a good or a bad thing. Some people will accomplish everything they set out to do and will be satisfied with the fast year. However, those who did not achieve much may not feel satisfied.

A lot can happen in 365 days, but equally, a lot can also not happen. Every day matters, though. Take it one day at a time and try to make the most of each day. By the end of the year, you’ll look back and be satisfied with the fast year that has just gone by.

We don’t have 365 days left in this year, but we do have a little over 30 days remaining. Regardless of what you’ve done throughout this year, you can still finish strong and end the year on a positive note, ready for the next year.

Random Thoughts

Daily Bliss

bhillay

No matter the day, whether it’s today or any other day, make sure you do something you love.

Of course, it should be something positive, as we all have vices or tendencies that we may enjoy but aren’t beneficial. Find something positive that brings you happiness.

One of my favorites is writing a blog every day. I enjoy expressing myself and challenging my abilities, and writing a blog helps me do just that.

While not everything we do daily brings us happiness, it’s still necessary to do them. However, engaging in something you love every day is also essential. So if you haven’t done it yet today, put it on your list of things to do.