Be controlled or be in control

Breaking streaks isn't easy.  It takes work, it takes effort, it takes doing something different than the norm.

I think many of us get used to certain things and we let that control us. Our moods, emotions, and actions are dictated because we allow what we have gotten used to accepting to take us over.

Whether it's an addiction, your diet and exercise, regime, your sleep pattern or your desire to steer the wheel with your family or push the accelerator on your career, the only way we can do something different is to be in control.

Many of us want,  say we will, or are envious of others but most of us won't do anything different to achieve those longing desires.

It's not easy, nothing worth wanting is. But I believe we have to have faith first,  a direction of what you want to happen and a good support group.

Things won't always happen as we expect them but keeping that faith, that desire to meet your goal and having others to help pick you up when you fall makes the struggle a little easier.

At the end of the day, no matter if your trying to win the World Series for the first time in a century, overcome an alcohol or drug addiction, break out of a lifestyle pattern that you became used to from generations before you or anything else that you are confronted with, you have to make an effort.

Step by step, day by day. Have faith, be prepared,  and know there will be failure. Learn from that failure and stay in control.

Has the concept of hard work changed or have I?

As I've gotten older, I've started seeing things in a different shade of light then I use to. When I was growing up, there were no handouts, there was no backtalk, and if you wanted something you put in the effort to work for it.

I really don't think that much as changed in that aspect. If you want a car, you work so you can buy it or finance it and make the payments until it's yours. If you want a house, you do the same thing. If you want to lose weight, you exercise and diet in order to get results. If you want a promotion or a raise, you work hard, you go the extra mile, and you do things that may not necessarily be asked from you.

The difference is that there seems to be less people now that have that mindset. That is, to be willing to put in the efforts to accomplish those things. I'm not sure but maybe I was oblivious to things in my earlier years and missed how this mindset shift happened.

It may be that I'm older and the shift is just in my head, maybe it's always been that way. However, I don't truly believe that to be the case because there are many others that have said the same thing. The thing that doesn't really support me is that those folks tend to be in my age group or older.

Regardless, it doesn't matter what I think about others and I don't go out and blast people or make loud statements to be heard. I control myself and my actions and try to influence those around me with that mentality. The ones that I want to influence the most are my children. I raise them with those beliefs and feel like as they develop into there own individuality, this thought process will take them far with whatever it is they want to accomplish.

Of course, I feel like I should express these feelings to my co-workers in the professional field as they embark on their journey and they enter the professional world. I hope that my actions reinforce the words I say and that maybe it will be viewed as a positive attribute for others to desire.

At the end of the day, you have to be hungry, find what drives you and be willing to do what it takes to accomplish your goals, no matter what they are. It could be personal, professional, political, religious, or anything that you find to be important to you. No one else controls your destiny but you. Learn from your mistakes, stay positive, and do the right thing and success will be right in front of you.

Whether it's my perception that has changed or the beliefs of others around me that has changed over the years, my mentality will never shift in thinking that if you want something, you have to be willing to work for it.