Posted in freedom, Grief, Happiness, Progress, Uncategorized

Suffering with midsummer depression…

Posted on by clydestyle

Everyone seems to be enjoying the beautiful summer weather but you. The idea of taking in the sights and getting some sun or taking a trip or even going to get ice cream just doesn’t seem appealing to you.

You begin avoiding people because they keep asking you what’s wrong. You stay in bed, don’t shave, lessen communication with your usual circle of friends and there is no desire to eat. Or you actually could be eating a lot or sleeping a lot — the point is you have no balance, you are living on the extremes.

Nothing hurts at least that can be measured. You either have a broken heart or a shaky mind.

Clearly you are depressed.

Seasons can actually do that to you. The year is not going like you think it should. There are ongoing problems that tend to be getting out of hand. You’re in a bad relationship and it’s wearing you down or just life itself is getting too difficult.

During this time it feels like this is only happening to you. The silence in your life is more like a fog that is coming to make you sad. It’s chasing you and making it difficult for you to escape.

Here are the top 5 things you need to force yourself to do when you are depressed.

1) You need a confidant who doesn’t solve problems for you, they just listen and support you. They get you out of the house for a break and keep you connected to the non-depressed world. You’re living on the depressed side. This person can be trusted and you know they have your best interest at heart.

2) You have to exercise…everyday. you need to break a sweat to release some of that negative energy and help balance your hormones. You need exercise to help you with step 3 as well, so pick something that will tire you out.

3) You need sleep. Find the right amount based on your age. If your magic number is 8 hours then make sure that’s all you get. Not 5 or 6 hours and not 10 to 12 hours. Eight is your number.

4) Drink half your body weight in water and try to avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners. It would be great to cancel added sugars in your diet for 10 days. You want to stay hydrated and not have anything that gives you highs and lows.

5) Eat healthy. Plant-based whole foods are best. If you can, only eat meat once a day. So you might have fruit and oatmeal for breakfast. A huge salad for lunch that includes seeds, nuts, fruit, lots of green leaves with carrots and olives. Your snacks for the day would be granola, fruit and trail mix. Then dinner could be a vegetable, sweet potato or brown rice and your meat of choice. But whatever you do, don’t eat after 9pm or 3 hours before bed.

Need any additional support contact me.

Posted in Uncategorized

Is there a cause worthy?

Posted on by clydestyle

Our country has been divided for so long it has become a way of life for us. Division is our new normal and it seems that their is not a cause worthy enough to make us set aside our differences for the greater good. Is there still a greater good?

When we joined WWII we seemed to be on the same page although before and after the war was quite shady.

Before the war we were selling tanks, jeeps and other heavy vehicles to both sides. When the war ended, not only did we renege on our promises — especially to minorities — but when the bounty from the war was rolled out in the form of jobs, the pay for those jobs were given with prejudice. Minorities and women did not receive equal pay and didn’t even have access to the best jobs.

Fast forward to the 21st century and we are now expecting wealthy people to look out for the welfare of poor people. The wealthy people are in government and congress and there is no greater time in our history when politics have been played to the degree it is today.

More promises. More politics and no change. No matter what political party is in charge: More promises. More politics and no change.

As citizens we struggle with healthcare, debt, fair and livable wages and a stable future.

Currently, the 20-

plus Democratic presidential hopefuls believe they have the answers for us. They have spent years in congress and now they want to fix problems that are 30 years old. Republicans aren’t any better, 2016 they were singing the same song that they have all the answers — nothing has changed.

I struggle to find a cause that would force government and Congress to work together for the benefit of the people they are supposed to serve.

So who is democracy really working for?

Posted in Change, Fear, freedom, Happiness, helping, judgment, kindness, Life, Relationships, Uncategorized, Working together

Being emotionally aware of emotional poverty

Posted on by clydestyle

It seems that uncontrollable outbursts would be embarrassing, but for some it is absolutely not embarrassing! Some people could care less how they are viewed by others so as a result they show out anytime someone does something they don’t like.

These are the type of people who would get loud in a crowded restaurant or in another place of business because someone crossed them. They would have an outburst in church (if they went regularly).

Grocery stores, department stores or any heavily populated place would not escape this disruption. You see the more the people the greater the show — and someone emotionally disturbed would not want to disappoint a good crowd.

Emotional poverty is when you are unable to handle life’s challenges without self destruction. You may have seen people at work who you avoid because you know that if you get into it with them it would be ugly. It’s the person that could take you to that emotional destructive place you used to go to back in the day.

People respond to pressure a number of different ways. Sometimes they react and don’t understand how or why they took things so far. By the time they realize they went too far, it’s too late. The solution is not as easy as you think. The emotionally poor need response help from someone who is the opposite. To move forward they need a mentor or good friend who can help them model better behavior — I call it loaning them some scratch!

It’s not enough to just be aware of bad behavior, but take responsibility for those we love who suffer from emotional poverty. I am my brother’s keeper!

Posted in Forgiveness, Health, Mind Power, Taking Responsibility, Truth, Uncategorized

Being mentally aware of mental poverty

Posted on by clydestyle

When we think of poverty it normally is in the context of finance and we consider people who have no wealth as poor. But poverty comes in many forms and this blog will touch on one of them: Mental poverty.

This means simply that your thinking is not right. Your thinking violates social norms that make your actions stick out like a sore thumb.

Do you know somebody who just seems to look at situations different than most? I don’t mean different in a good way, I mean you hear some of the things they say and you hope no one else hears it.

With this type of thinking it makes it difficult to recognize fairness, justice, compromise or forgiveness. There seems to be a disconnect with logic and understanding. At first glance people would say the person must be crazy. But in a larger sense this thinking is more common than you think.

In many cases it is the result of wounds that have not healed and the pain is so traumatic with the individual that revenge is the only word they can think about with clarity.

You see, when you have been wronged repeatedly with no resolve your mental faculties become impaired. Your thinking gets stuck on resolutions. With every future situation that requires thinking, the individual struggles with negotiating righteousness.

Please understand that this is not an excuse. It is just what is. The solution is so easy that we overthink and never get over some of our mental anguish.

The solution is to forgive what has happened to you. Forbear your perpetrators and deal with them going forward with the lessons you have learned from dealing with them in the past.

Considering that the Lord above has laid claim to revenge anyway, your best move is to heal yourself.

Now that you are aware, you know that arguing with a person who struggles with mental health issues will always struggle with logic so when you get into a shouting match with this person, what is your endgame?

When you continue to repeat the same argument over and over again, how do you think it looks to the sane?

Awareness of mental challenges is half our battle. Now you just need to not engage.

Posted in Accepted, Confidence, Determination, Forgiveness, Happiness, Mind Power, Perseverance, Progress, Relationships, Self, Success, Taking Responsibility

The psychology of disappointment

Posted on by clydestyle

So you had an expectation of something — that’s how it starts. Then you feel that you deserve that expectations fulfillment. Excitement follows. Expectation grows and an adrenaline rush ensues.

Then suddenly something unexpected, uncontrollable or undeserving happens and all you were left with is disappointment.

Disappointment is hard to swallow. It doesn’t go down easy. It causes heartaches.

Chasing disappointment is anger. Anger allows the feeling of disappointment to linger. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. You can experience periods of sadness, depression and resentment.

It’s as if disappointment laughs at you. It calls out to you saying, “who told you to have expectations?” Disappointment burns.

To protect ourselves we need to stop having expectations for anyone but ourselves. The likelihood of you letting down yourself should be less.

Do yourself a favor and don’t desire something to a level that leads to greater expectation and possible disappointment. Your emotional orientation takes a hard hit everytime you do.

Posted in Uncategorized

Frustration road again?!?

Posted on by clydestyle

There are three problems with being frustrated.

First, there is a problem with how you landed on frustration. You worked up to what you thought was something better only to find out that it was worse. Great planning (so you thought), everyone was on board and then almost like magic, the bottom falls out. Or your situation may have been as simple as you needed someone to understand what you were saying and everything you said was interpreted wrong.

However you got there, it seemed sudden. There was not an exit sign that said “frustration this exit”. If so we would not have taken the exit. Frustration just appears. You were driving to happy land and turned right onto frustration way.

Screaming doesn’t help. Cursing does nothing. You just got to unpack your sh#t and stay a while.

The second problem is that the people around you don’t help. They see you are frustrated and they try to avoid you like the plague. When you are frustrated and need help, it’s like being stranded and everyone that claims to love you is not answering their cell. The worst feeling ever is to have frustration without friends — it sucks!

Then finally the third thing is the analysis of why you got frustrated. How did you end up here again? Why do you keep making multiple trips to this place? And then there is all the stuff you need to apologize for because you didn’t go to frustration-ville quietly– you were kicking, screaming and cursing all the way. Then there is the judgment of the witnesses who are so freakin shocked that you lost it! Then there are the churchy people who want to tell you that you shouldn’t have done what you did. Then there is the optimist who wants you to know that they believe in you and finally, your enemy is in the corner laughing his butt off.

Those are the three problems and short of blowing everyone up, we take it and move on to try another day. And you still have to replace the things you broke!

Posted in Accountability, Achievement, Change, Confidence, Determination, Fear, freedom, Happiness, Life, Love, Perseverance, Progress, Self, significance, Taking Responsibility, Uncategorized

How hungry are you?

Posted on by clydestyle

When we think of hunger, we think in terms of the absence of food. But being hungry can actually represent any phase of your life where you are trying to advance.

You can be hungry for success, hungry for wealth, hungry for relationships or hungry for the sake of hunger. It is interesting the factors that decide whether we stay hungry or not. Fighters who are successful and have gotten comfortable with the title, often fight against success.

Let me be clear: On the way to the title, a fighter would eat, drink and sleep that title. They would dream of what it would be like to taste victory. But once obtained a fighter needs to work harder at keeping that title because there is normally 9 or 10 other contenders who have never tasted the title and that becomes their fuel.

In business as you climb the corporate ladder there are colleagues coming behind you that want your spot. You just got it and they are hungry for it. There is always someone coveting your position.

But I really want to focus on what makes us stop. What are the things that make us not reach the goal? You see, success can do that to you, but failure can too. When you have failed 9, 19, 29, 39 times, it’s hard to make that additional attempt because too much of your past says you can’t do it.

Further, we can actually be our own worst enemy with this. We get worried and start to doubt our own ability. Then the voice inside of you that is supposed to be “for” you ends up saying and causing the worst damage. You will hear yourself say, “you are out of your league.” “You can’t do that!” “Who do you think you are?”

Sadly, we don’t need folks from the outside to “stick it to us”, we do it ourselves. What goals have you abandoned because you just were not hungry enough? What are you missing out on right now because you did not follow through or you just gave up? What areas of your life are not fulfilled because you didn’t fulfill it?

It is never too late. You need to empty yourself of the impurities that are making it difficult for you to eat and regain your hunger! You started the journey and your destination is not as far as you think. You owe it to yourself to get there. You can do it!