In this comic, a light bulb wants to be a strobe light. 

The lightbulb tries to live its dream and starts flickering on and off in the living room.

As a result, the light bulb is thrown away by owner for being a malfunctioning light bulb for the living room. 

This is a reminder that reality trumps wants/desires. And that position is everything. If the light bulb was in the position of a strobe light in a night club or bar, then the light bulb would be safe to strobe.

Remember your place. If you need sleep, get sleep. If you need water, get water. If you need fruits/vegetables/protein/fiber, get it. If you need family/friends/relationships, make time for them. If you want to do what you want, do what you need first. If you have to do something to survive, then do that thing. Survival first. Needs first. Then wants.

History repeats itself. Unless you write it down, and you remember it, and the next time you don’t repeat history.

But some, like me, are stubborn. Born to stub our toes repeatedly on the same crack in the ground on the same path we walk on our way through life. We pick that same way every time because it’s what we know, it’s what we learned first, so it’s what we do.

About breaking habits, I’ve talked and researched and done so many times in my life. To stop sleeping too late. To add exercise to my schedule. To smile more at the people around me. But there are some habits I’ve not broken because I consider them core parts of my identity. To break those habits would be equivalent to breaking my arm or breaking my mind or breaking my identity to myself and to others.

Part of this habit is what I eat. And by that I mean my browsing activity. The websites I visit. The articles I choose to read. The links I choose to click on. In the same way that what I eat dictates my nutrition and and what I do in terms of exercise activities determines my physical health, what I read and see and think and feel determines my mental health. And I find that my view of the world is so limited. So narrow. Because algorithms and branding and marketing ensures that I’m targeted as specifically as possible. That I’m treated precisely the same as I was in the past. Such that I will repeat history, repeat my mistakes. repeat my pain.

I need to break this cycle. I need to break my history. I need to stop retracing my steps. I need exploration. I need creativity. I need art and its inspiration of new thoughts and ideas.

My mind is open. Show me the way

I do not pray for a lighter load, but for a stronger back. – Phillips Brooks

Often times, in the face of problems, we wish the problems would go away on their own. We wish we had fewer problems. Realize something. When you’re weary and tired, it makes sense to wish for less work so you have time to rest. But the reason you rest is not to have less problems. The reason you rest is so you can get stronger. And when you’re stronger, be able to face those problems and triumph. Wish for strength. Wish for the opportunity to heal and strengthen. Wish for growth. Not for a life of weakness, where problems scare you and you wish them away rather than rise up, face the problem, and overcome it.

Recently, I’ve wondered why I do better when I practice alone with no stress than when I’m performing in front of others in order to get something. Why is it that stress causes me to underperform so much? What follows in today’s post is my research into this topic

https://www.competitivedge.com/why-athletes-do-better-practice-performance

• the focus of concentration has shifted. In practice, your focus was in the moment on what you’re trying to do. In competition, your focus is on the outcome and what your hopes and dreams are, which distract you from fully concentrating on the task at hand.

https://www.competitivedge.com/why-do-i-do-so-much-better-practice-competitions

• See and react. Problems occur when thinking comes in. And over thinking. When it’s competition time, just do.

https://www.positiveperformancetraining.com/blog/mental-toughness-issue-1-playing-well-in-practice-but-not-in-games

• Address your self talk: Don’t have negative thoughts, don’t focus on the negative outcomes you don’t want, and assess what your focus is right before your performance to evaluate which focus topics lead to success and which lead to failure.
• Also, acknowledge what you’re going through. You can’t lie to yourself. Self Empathy

• People who personality wise hated losing would choke only when they might win big (they see it as losing a huge opportunity). People who personality wise were unafraid to lose would choke only when they might lose big (they panic at the prospect of huge losses).
• Therefore, recognize which type you are, and reframe your perspective to the one that works for your personality type. Instead of ‘winning big’ think of it as ‘losing big.’ Instead of ‘losing big’ think of it as ‘winning big.’

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-new-you/201507/how-stop-choking-under-pressure

• How do novices and professionals respond to distraction? External distractions bother novices but not professionals. Internal distractions bother professionals but not novices. If you ask a professional to pay attention to what they do and how they do it, they will perform worse.
• Slow down, be more deliberate, and unlock success. When soccer penalty kick players took more time to place the ball down on the grass before kicking, they scored goals more often.
• Repeating positive statements about yourself has been shown to decrease the likelihood of losing your confidence, which can keep you focused throughout the game. Remember, the statements should be based on fact. It’s not just positive thinking that helps, it’s positive statements that are true.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/super-bowl-psychology-why-athletes-choke-and-how-to-avoid-it/?redirect=1

• When novices take their time, they do better. When professionals take their time, they do worse. Professionals need to go on autopilot and let that take control.

I hope this helps ease your problems in life!