Tag Archives: be better

Expect Better

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Shoot for the stars. Aim for the moon. Reach for the sky.

We rarely hear advice urging people to “play it safe,” “blend into the crowd,” or “be like everyone else.”

This is not a society or culture that celebrates mediocrity, and the sameness wrapped inside of an unexceptional existence is rarely admired, praised, or even recognized. Your ordinary, humdrum life is nothing more than white noise blending into the background of much more vibrant, sonorous, and engaging surrounding soundtracks.

Occupying a secure backseat, far away from the hustle, bustle, and hullabaloo, all but guarantees you maintain your safety and sanity. But it also promises a forgettable, monotonous, and mind-numbing humdrum journey on this galactic, ever-spinning space ride.

We all have our personal patterns, ruts, routines, and comfort zones. I am certainly no stranger to extended and often unhealthy periods of isolation and introspection. But we will do nothing but continue to gradually, steadily disappear until we pull our racing thoughts out of the shadows and take those first steps into the sunlight.

Be bold and brave and brash. Express your mind and throw away the filters. Swing at pitches well outside of your strike zone. Kick conciliation to the curb. Make a splash. Make a difference. Choose dazzle over razzle. Find the fuse and light it. Be first in line to face fear. Speak up and speak out. Don’t look or walk backward. Proudly postulate. Set an example instead of following it. Commend and befriend the smart kid in class. Volunteer to go first. Refuse any free counsel offered with a side of ulterior motives. Break stride in a single file line.

Leave your mark…and be sure it’s permanent.

Adolescence Interrupted

Target Practice

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The infighting. The discontent. The disrespect. The degradation. The carelessness. The greed. The grab. The garbage. The crooked eye. The cold shoulder. The single finger. The dismissal. The impatience. The blind acceptance. The blind refusal. The blinding inaccuracies. The stranglehold. The manipulation. The lack of empathy. The lack of sympathy. The lack of hope. The accountability. The detachment. The illiteracy. The false expectations. The absence of momentum. The ritual. The routine. The handcuffs. The spinning. The perpetual dance along the edge. The folding cards. The misdirected energy. The zombie impersonation. The indifference. The distance. The dispassion. The vitriol. The venom. The vindictiveness. The spite. The grudge. The resentment. The poison. The hurting. The incessant accumulation of things. The gluttony. The materialism. The ego. The skewed perception of self-importance. The myopism. The fallacy of focus. The shaky grasp. The shaking fear. The indignation. The fury. The rage. The fire. The bitterness. The pettiness. The pervasive sloppiness. The diet. The death. The disease. The prison. The pain. The cages. The theft. The misappropriation. The fraud. The falsehoods. The subjugation. The exploitation. The hedonism. The excess. The waste. The ignorance. The false sense of security. The constant compromise. The deliberate trivialization. The subversion. The animus. The belief that there is never a way out of the maze.

A new year. A new day dawning. Let’s be better.

Adolescence Interrupted