This is something I've been thinking about doing for awhile but wasn't sure exactly how I wanted to do it. I didn't know if I wanted it to be a daily thing or to get real technical with it or exactly how I wanted to handle it. I wanted to write things based on the reality of what I see around me and why I think things are that way. To really try and get to the core of the issue of what is really happening. What I see going on in our society today can somewhat resemble a viral infection. But it's as if everyone talks about the symptoms but no one dares talk about the infection itself. Well I dare and I shall! So welcome to Rantology where I'm gonna rant about whatever the hell I see. Today's topic is introspection.

So today I want to talk about something that as individuals most of us fail at doing miserably. It's something I see everywhere around me on a daily basis and the seeds it sows bares only rotten fruit. The fact is most people today have an identity problem. They truly do not know themselves and this causes a lot of problems for them as well as others around them. First I want to talk about an exercise you can do. It's not going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

When I was much younger like many young people I lacked self confidence. I was always bullied because I was not empowered. I took crap from people I most likely could've crushed physically like a fine powder but instead I took it. I took it because I didn't think I deserved better I didn't like myself. In my mind I saw myself as a different person, I was tough, strong, and confident. However, the vision I had of myself did not match the reality. I felt sorry for myself and was on anti-depressants. Then one day something just snapped. I guess because it had to. It was either that or die. I took a long look in the mirror and looked inward to myself. I saw myself for who I really was and I didn't like it. It's not a very pleasant thing. It's hard as hell and that's why most people never do it. It was a good thing though ultimately because if I know where I am starting then I can plan where I want to finish. I spent years building myself. Now there's always things that can be improved and no one is perfect and that is a fact, but I eventually got to a point that I liked myself. I became that tough and confident person that didn't take any shit from anybody. Suddenly I was put in leadership positions on jobs. Eventually I even started my own company. If I had never took that time to look into the mirror I would not have had any of the success that I've had in the past or will have in the future. In around 6 years I went from being bullied to being a bouncer in gentlemen's clubs and an Alabama State Heavyweight Champion in Open Grappling in 1999.

One thing I did was constantly challenge own belief systems. I made it a goal to go with what was the truth as much as possible and if I was disproven then I changed. I kept an open mind about everything. I accepted the fact that at times I would fail but when I did fail I'd learn from it and get back up and keep trying until I was successful. Whatever was in my way I'd just wear it down and win in the end. I took personal responsibility for my own life. I accepted that no matter if I fail or succeed it will be on my own shoulders that it will happen. I completely and fully rejected a victim mindset. Before I blamed someone else for anything I'd always look at myself first and see if I could improve or do anything better. I realized through studying that people tend to judge their success by referencing those around them. They tended to look outward to define themselves. I choose to look inward and define myself and if people around me don't like it they can honestly go fuck themselves. The people that do like it are the ones that matter and the ones that don't like it don't matter anyway.

You see this quite glaringly in the entertainment industry. You see it in a thing called virtue signaling. You see celebrities on television in passing make some sort of social political shout out and it's obvious that they are not educated on the issue. They are simply saying things as a talking point because it's the trendy cool thing to do at the moment and they don't want to be seen as stepping outside of the hive or the Hollywood thought police might take their money. It completely lacks of authenticity because they aren't even using their own words. They either do not know who they are and need to look in the mirror or they are simply lying about who they are out of fear. I'll give you another example.

There's a reason radical groups target universities and colleges. The kids that go there go there to learn, they are impressionable. However, they haven't had ideas long enough to have them vetted to see if they hold up. To keep them in check radical groups feed them nihilism under the guise of relativism. They are taught to simply believe those with a different viewpoint are evil or deficient in some way. Since they don't have to have their beliefs challenged then the radicals can simply program them and feed them to say whatever they want like an npc in a video game. They move from cause to cause because that struggle becomes the identity. Since they never had their own identity they just accept the one that was given to them. Everyone around them did so that must be the way to go right? There must always be a struggle because without one their identity is lost and they are back where they started.

You see this is the power of introspection. If you know who you are then outside things cannot touch you. Trends will not matter. You will not accept an identity that is not your own, but you must know yourself first. I remember a time when kids would shoot and kill each other over the latest shoes. Because if they had those shoes then it somehow was supposed to validate their self worth. The problem is it doesn't because there's always a new something else and while you kill each other someone else is laughing all the way to the bank. Even today in areas of relative poverty crime is much higher than other areas. In areas where there's no poverty there is virtually no violent crime and the same can be said in areas where everyone is below the poverty line. There is a math formula that statistically proves it called the Gini Coefficient but that is out of the scope of the post. But to cut a long story shorter you see more crime in areas of relative poverty because of the tendency to just one's self worth by what they see around them as opposed to looking inward. They don't have a certain thing but this other person has it. Why does that person have it and not me I should have it. And so it goes on and on. That is the process used as opposed to let me look inward and try to be the best person I can be everyday. Never forget the power of introspection. It can be the armor that saves you in the end.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!