What You Should Be Doing (and are not) When You're...

1.) Hurt by Someone You Don't Know

It’s easy to assume that when someone does something to hurt you that they are bad people. But your “bad” may be someone else’s “neutral” or “good”.

Allow me to explain.

We weren’t all taught the same morals and sometimes we expect others to know what you find so blatantly obvious.  I watched a TED Talk a while back about a woman who left the Westboro Baptist Church (aka the crazy church that pickets funerals). Megan Phelps-Roper described how she was born into this harmful environment where her family taught her that those who did not go to her church or questioned her belief system were bad people. In her twenties, after engaging in intellectual conversations with people on Twitter, she recognized the Church wasn’t what she thought it was and left.  It took her TWO DECADES to leave an organization many see as obviously wrong because she was born into it.

She goes on to explain that when she was in the church, she believed she was helping people. She thought that by picketing funerals and shouting out of context Bible quotes, she was doing others a service and, ironically enough, spreading positvity. She was only able to see the wrong doings of the church when patient individuals on Twitter took the time to show her. Now although it sounds completely ludicrous to us that someone believed actions like praying for funerals to happen and yelling homophobic slurs would somehow be helpful, it is important to remind ourselves that people are shaped by their upbringing. She was taught that this church was spreading the words of Christ and so she spewed hatred and contempt with the best of intentions.

It’s human nature to see an individual with a controversial ideology or irrational behavior and assume they what they are doing or saying is wrong or offensive. But it takes real character to look past the action and focus on the intention behind it. When we assume good or neutral intent from those who we presume are deliberately hurting us, we see the world in a brighter light, one with understanding and compassion.

Some are fortunate enough to have been raised in a home where wrongdoings look blatantly wrong and some aren’t as fortunate. Based on their environment and their culture it may take people longer to catch on and learn that their actions aren’t as wonderful as they were led to believe.

I try and see the good in all people. Even if they have done something to me or others I find completely immoral, I assume good intent before negative.  Thanks to this change in perspective, I feel at peace with some things in my life that I thought I could never cope with.

2.) An Athlete

Disclaimer: I am nothing if I am not authentic. So, I will inform you that this segment is sponsored by Dexascan.com, however, I made a promise to myself to never promote, support, and even give the time of day to a company or product that I do not believe can benefit the general public. So, after extensive research on DEXA Scans, I decided to take this sponsorship as I truly believe this can improve the lives of my readers.

Anyway!

A DEXA scan or Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry scan is a dual x-ray procedure that determines bone mineral density and body composition. You lie on a padded table as an imagining detector hovers over you. They are a convenient and relatively inexpensive way to determine the likelihood of developing osteoporosis, rhutemoid arthritis, or bone fractures. It’s recommended to post menopausal women and those who have taken inflammatory medication for long period of time.

it’s not just for the elderly.

Personally, I wish I had taken a DEXA scan before deciding to lift heavy. I wish I could encourage all young girls to lift strong. But after being diagnosed with a herniated disk at 21 years old, I have to take into consideration genetic differences that can risk people’s lives. Although lifting did not cause the herniated disks, as it was bound to happen later in my life, carrying heavy weight certainly didn’t help. DEXA scans can help you make informed decisions about your free time before injury. And perhaps if I had a DEXA scan before pursuing weightlifting, I wouldn’t be dealing with back pain that 75 year old grandmas complain about on their way to bingo night.

On a more lighthearted note, if you are a serious athlete interested in your body fat composition, consider getting a DEXA scan as it is recognized as being one of the most accurate and convenient ways to measure body fat composition. Many athletes get DEXA scans regularly— including bikini competitors and power-lifters— to keep track of their fitness progress.

Whether you are wondering of your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis or simply want to learn more about your body fat composition, consider getting a DEXA scan or learn more at dexascan.com

3.) Bored

First of all, be grateful you have the opportunity to be bored. This is a blessing many take for granted.

With that being said, I was bored for a while as well. I hung out with the same people, worked on the same schoolwork, and I needed some spontaneity in my life.

So I joined a conservative club at my school.

I’m a strict independent and, quite honestly, could never see myself becoming conservative

which is exactly why I joined.

And it was anything but comfortable, I walked into a room of 11 people and was greeted with a “Build the Wall” video. I was the odd one out when everyone was discussing their political beliefs. And I was the only one rolling their eyes when the group’s best idea for a fundraiser was to help Steven Crowder’s sick…

dog. (never understood spending $15,000 to operate on an animal especially when there are children dying… but I digress).

Being immersed in an environment unlike my typical certainly cured my boredom. But more than that, it introduced me to new ideologies where I can make friends — or at the very least acquaintances— with those with fundamentally different beliefs and offer a new a perspective while challenging my very own.

The cure to boredom is simply self development.

You’re bored because you aren’t challenging yourself physically or mentally. An easy way to push your boundaries is to participate in an extracurricular that is out of your comfort zone whether that be a political club of your opposing party, volunteering at a shelter, reading a book, or running a mile a day.

Because life is anything but boring.