Being offended is a choice.

As a society we should try harder to not become offended rather than to not offend. Everyone is so scared not to offend other people that we tip toe around people feeling. People tend to look for reasons to take things personal and get upset, maybe it makes them feel important. People can learn that other peoples opinions are only a different perspective. Instead of tying up this perspective in once self image and thinking it takes away from their path, they can look at the ways the perspective can add value to it. Take the offensive thing with a grain of salt. Don't let your ego feel damaged and take it personally. Maybe there could actually be something to learn from a different opinion or criticism. In the end its important to understand that the criticism reflects more about the criticizer than what is being criticized. Could the society raise its self esteem to a point where the majority of people choose not to become offended? If this were the case overly offensive people would lose their power. They wont be able to judge people in order to be a level above them. Any previously offensive things will turn constructive. We will be able to use our criticisms as a way to build each other up rather than tare each other down.

Medication: Not a Quick fix

Our culture is too quick to give children medication for their “problems.”
Kids are board in class so instead of giving them something that motivated and interests them to want to learn we drug them into becoming lifeless drones and wipe their spunk and creativity in order to get them to conform to societies standers that enforce the hierarchy and benefit the people in control.
We need to raise our kids with high self esteem and not use them as a way to feel better about our own emotional issues as adults. Treating the superficial issues like depression and ADD with drugs is not the solution.
Low confidence Kids will grow into low confidence adults, which raise more yet more low confidence kids. We cannot break this cycle by covering up the issue with medication. We cannot change our biology in the short term. We need to change how we think about things in the long term in order to increase our happiness and find our individual passions. This is all that is needed to solve a majority of the psychological issues that people misinterpret as problems rather than seeing them as a sign that a person’s lifestyle is in-congruent with their biological needs.
Quick fixes don’t work. We need to treat the underlying issue. We need to give our kids guidance, choice and encouragement so they can do what THEY are passionate about and live up to their full potential rather than a society defined definition of success. We cannot keep drugging them so it’s easier to guide them to what society thinks they should do.

I am ME

This last weekend has been very powerful. I have realized a lot of things. I have realized how important the people in my life have been and how much I already knew that but didn’t acknowledge it. I realized how great a person my brother is and how important he has been in my life and how important I have been in his. I realized that he is and ALWAYS will be my best friend. The times we have shared together have build a connection so strong and for some reason I had a resistance to it. I realized that I have been very bad at showing the people I love and care about how much they truly mean to me. I realized that I have always been the person that I want to be. I realized that the only thing holding myself back was I. When I was a kid I was me. And as I grew up I let other people influence who I am. My first TRUE passion was hockey. I loved the control and freedom it gave me. I played it for ME. I spend anytime I could on the ice, with a stick and ball, teaching my friends about it, going to hockey camps, shooting pucks against the garage or in the basement, stick handling, roller bladeing, anything to do with hockey. For me. Because I LOVED it! I didn’t give a fuck what other people thought about it. It was me. I was me. I lost a lot of respect for myself on an unconscious level because as I grew up I let people’s opinion hold me back from what I was passionate about. I let my fear of their rejection stop me from doing what I Loved. I let them put doubts in my ability. I stopped playing the game for me. I started playing it for them. This stopped me from living up to my potential. I am grateful I faced it. I am grateful for the lessons I learned from not living up to my potential. And I know I needed this to get where I am going. Now I can put it behind me.

I will never forget the time we won state. Not the championship game, but the game right before it. The feeling I got when I scored the overtime goal. I will never forget what the roof of that old barn rink looked like. The lights shining down on me as I was filled with power, passion, joy, freedom, life. Staring up at the ceiling like I was the only person in the world. I made it happen. I was in control. The game started off with me scoring the first goal early in the game. The opposing team tied it up and then took the lead. They were winning 2-1. It was the 3rd period and the puck was in our zone. I took it from a teammate behind the net and skated it from end to end to score with 6 seconds left. I tied the game at 2-2 to bring it into overtime. I scored the overtime goal to get us to the championship. I was in control of my reality. It was an amazing feeling. Somewhere I lost that control and with it I lost respect for myself. I did this by letting the things that made me uncomfortable hold me back from doing what I was passionate about. I let the things take away my control and stop me from being free. I think this is why I am on this current journey. A journey to expand my comfort zone to a place where I can handle ANYTHING that might hold me back from my passion. A journey to truly be free of other peoples opinion of me so ‘I can be me’. A journey to find out who I AM. To embrace who I AM. To love who I AM. Just like when I was a kid. I am ME. I am already everything I want to be. I already have everything I need. I am Me. I will no longer let anyone, anything, or myself hold me back from living my passion. Life is wonderful.