Third Degree Mind

A Father’s Love is like none other. It’s not a “bonus” to have a good father, it’s a necessity. I hope you had the opportunity to wish your Father (biological or not) a happy Father’s Day.  Also in this episode, a message from Justin Furstenfeld of Blue October about the daily struggles of depression, and the importance of making the choice to overcome. Recovery is a daily choice. It’s not easy, but it is simple.

Life keeps moving whether you're living it, or sitting on the sidelines as a casual observer. There is no pause button for you to press while you line up your priorities, it just keeps going. We keep getting older. Every minute that goes by, is one less minute that you have left. Life goes faster than you think, so don't blink.

Just a short update.... yes we're still here. Third Degree Mind is not being discontinued, we just take some hiatuses once in a while, but we are still here. Today's quick update has a message from Jeremy Anderson about your own individual worth, and never forgetting that you have value. Start your week off on the right foot with this inspirational message.

Everyone goes through times in life where someone else hurts them. Everyone gets betrayed, screwed over, mistreated. It happens to the best of us, and it happens all the time. It's simply a part of life, and life is never easy. How we handle these situations is key to our happiness. If we walk around constantly blaming others for what they did to us (even when it is truly THEIR fault), we get stuck in "victim mode," and victim mode is nothing but suffering. We have to be willing to accept responsibility, not for whatever it is that hurt us, but for our own happiness and our own heart. It's my life, my happiness, my heart, and I'm the only one who has the power to make myself happy. Own it, be accountable for your emotions, and seize the power you already have to make yourself happy, and give yourself the life you want to have. Yes, someone else might have wronged you. But what's done is done. You can't walk around in constant victim mode, or you'll never be happy.

It's February 11.... so what? It's the first birthday of Third Degree Mind Podcast!

When the stress of life hits us hard, sometimes we have to hit that reset button and escape some of the realities of life, which can be challenging sometimes. Everyone has to escape their reality and stress but sometimes that's easier said than done. How do we escape our mundane or repetitive routine, and hit that "reset" button"? If we want to impact people and grow our influence, we have to take care of ourselves first, which sometimes requires hitting that "reset" button. But exactly how do we accomplish that? I don't have all the answers, but I might have a few...

We Are Defined By Our Choices. Own the choices you made in your past, and OVERCOME the consequences, good or bad. Choices you make today will form who you become in the future. And you only get one life, one shot, one ultimate chance. Make the choices today that will create the person you want to be tomorrow. 5 years from now. 10 years from now. 50 years from now.

Last time we talked about Insecurities and how they will destroy you. Today's main topic follows that theme with another thing that will destroy you: REGRET. Love who you are today, and smile. Regardless of what kind of pain your past may be filled with, love yourself. Good, bad, or indifferent. All those collective experiences through the years are what make YOU. It’s what makes you unique. It’s what makes you someone special to someone else, even if (like in my case), you don’t have that special someone yet. Embrace your past, smile, and keep moving forward, knowing that you’re stronger because of the pain, you’re wiser because of the heartbreak, and you’re beautiful because of the scars of life.

All of us have insecurities, usually from our past experiences. If you've been cheated on before, you have a harder time trusting someone new, and might think they're cheating on you, even when they're not. That insecurity has the power to destroy, if you let it. We have to find a way to recognize it, and keep it in check, or you'll never be happy. In order to be happy, you have to be willing to set that insecurity aside, and put yourself out there, make yourself vulnerable. Take risks. Those who never risk anything, will never win anything. I asked for your advice and feedback on Christmas Eve. In this episode I share some of the responses that I got, and I'll share the final decisions that I made.

For Christmas this year, Santa brought me some intensely scary emotions, a few turbulent relationships, and of course, no solution. Listen to this brief 15 minute update on the basics of the mess I found myself in, and if you have any solutions, contact me on the Facebook page (Third Degree Mind), or email borderline750@gmail.com Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Yup, you read that right, I'm skipping Christmas. Sometimes, situations that we're put in cause us to go into a sense of "emotion overload" that sometimes require some unwinding time, and a "soft reset." We're also discussing impulsive behaviors, and specifically WHY some people feel the need to make impulsive "on the fly" decisions. If you know someone like this, rather than judging their impulsive behaviors, and rather than just simply "accepting" them, try to understand the deeper reasons for that behavior. I'll tell you about mine... Have a happy and SAFE holiday season, and I'll talk to you in 2019.

Way back in February, we had an episode titled "True Happiness" - it was the second episode put out by Third Degree Mind. Finally, 10 months later, here is a sequel in that series. How is true happiness achieved? You may be surprised to learn that SADNESS actually plays a very critical role to achieving true happiness.

Life filled with toxicity? Take out the trash. Emotions are contagious, you need to recognize that toxic people have a negative affect on YOUR happiness. Want to be happy? Remove those who aren't.

Sometimes our world experiences a mass tragedy. Be a friend. Don't give unsolicited advice, just listen. Be what THEY need. Everyone has demons. If you need someone, find someone. People will listen. Sometimes, just talking and venting can make us feel a thousand times better. If someone is venting to you, be that friend. Don't push them aside and tell them to "go talk to someone." They're talking to YOU. They trust YOU. Be that friend they so desperately need.

Life is a collection of experiences, both good and bad, and those experiences shape who we are. There are no "mistakes" as you learn from each of those experiences. A mistake means you should not have done something: but everything we do, every decision we make, is part of who you are, and provides priceless life lessons. We're also going to start talking about some phobias, anxieties, and other things that cause stress in life. Some of them are "expected" based on a person's past experiences or trauma they've gone through, and others are just plain random and unique. We'll be starting this topic today, and discussing more phobias next time also.

Trauma and stress affects everyone differently. How we handle it and grow from it affects the type of person we will become. This week's episode features an interview with Amy, who has a story of a trauma she experienced as a child, and how it continued to affect her as a young adult, and even today. What she experienced as a child taught her valuable life skills and gave her a unique perspective on life and what matters. Last month, she experienced more trauma and more tragedy, and she applied what she learned as a child to keep going, and now has an amazing story to share.

Are you in a bad situation? Having a rough day? A rough week? Maybe longer? Life throws all kinds of bad things at us, every day brings with it some new challenges. That's true for all of us. How you handle those situations, is up to you. You are in control of your own emotional responsess to difficulties. Some people own & overcome them, some people whine about them. Which type of person would you rather be?

Maintaining happiness and a balanced life is not unlike having your house professionally cleaned once in a while. Sometimes you need a little help. Sometimes you need to talk to someone. Whether it's a friend, family member, or an actual professional, it's OK to involve other people once in a while to help you with life's problems. But don't rely on these people, because they are really only short-term solutions. You still have to keep your house clean between those professional cleanings, and you are responsible for your life and your happiness in the long-term. Yes, other people can help, but it's ultimately up to YOU. Make it what you want it to be! You can't control the world outside, and we all know how shitty the world is. Control what you can, control your own life. You are in charge, you have the power. Make your house look how you want it to look. Make your life look how you want it to look.

Distractions have the power to compromise our identity... but only if we let them. They compromise who we are, because we allow them to take over our mind. This week I talk about some distractions in my life, most notably social media. This is a big one for a lot of people. Rather than sit here and preach about removing social media and Facebook from your life entirely, I'd rather have you just focus on it during a set time each day. Don't let it grip your attention at random points throughout your day, but set aside time somewhere that it can be used, and stick to that schedule. Things like social media take away from your personal identity, because it's a "fake" way to interact with other people and what's going on in the world, rather than focusing on the YOU. I want you to find some other things that allow you to develop and discover who YOU are, like writing. Self expression through writing has been a recurring theme on Third Degree Mind, as it's something that's important to me and I've found great ben

Last week we talked about making sure you focus on yourself and your own identity. This midweek update builds on that concept and reminds you that one of the most important ways to focus on yourself is to remove or minimize distractions. Figure out where you are spending your time, what's demanding your attention, and then find ways to remove those distractions. Find time where you have no distractions, and do something relaxing and fun. "Me time. We're going to continue to build on this next week.