Eating Ideas

How’s it going today? I hope good things are coming your way and that present enough to enjoy it. This week I want to talk to you about something that I find deeply concerning with the current world we found ourselves living in. Then from there, bring up a thought which can aid us all in these strange times.

Beliefs have gotten a bit dogmatic in recent times. I’m sure you can say there was always an element of that in the past; but maybe due to the nature of the hyper connected world we live, where people from all around the world can share their thoughts and opinions with anyone at anytime instantly. Has cranked things up a notch.

I’ll say that I’m not against the internet or the sharing of ideas. These technologies are the reason why I can write this and you can see it. But it has opened up a pandora’s box type social experiment which we are all participating in. Some of the developments are noble ones, others are unforeseen and carry unexpected consequences.

For instance, look at the political or even just the social discourse that takes place. Far Right and Far Left groups at each other’s throats, Anti vaxxers fighting against health authorities and governments, Pro life anti abortion advocates and Pro choice groups… and the list goes on. This post isn’t about me sitting up on the high castle and casting judgement about who’s right and who’s wrong. No, instead this post is meant to highlight how ideas, oh and ideas inform beliefs by the way, can become so integrated within a person that they become solely just a mouthpiece for that idea.

The quote that I think encapsulates this concept I’m bringing forward is by Fyodor Dostoevsky:

“It was not you who ate the idea, but the idea that ate you”

It’s quite easy to see that the person being spoken to in that quote; thinks that they have uncovered some idea, consumed and digested the information then through that have gained a bit of knowledge or wisdom. But in reality, it is the idea that has consumed them, so now they are nothing more than human representatives of that idea, with little to no capacity to acknowledge anything counter to the idea they embody.

Something I have experienced and learned in life (Yeah I know I’m only 25 but that doesn’t mean I haven’t learn things right? Imagine if I hadn’t gotten to this point in life without learning anything… haha nothing going on in this head aye) is that ideas, values and beliefs that you hold have to be regularly reevaluated and challenged. That can only happen when you detach your sense of identity from those things.

It’s just something to keep in mind.

Like always, big shoutout to the Hedites who keep continuing to support and share the stuff I put out. Always such a huge help.

Also, I want to get more involvement from you the audience, so if you have any issues, topics or questions send me an email and I will try to tackle that matter for you. You can find my contact details on my site’s contact page. If you’re that lazy to click a button or two, here it is (jordanhediproductions@gmail.com)

Cheers,

Writing Update

Okay, so last night I posted two stories onto Amazon and Kobo. These are meant to be the January and February releases but only did them now. I also forgot to mention I posted my December release titled “Double Black” back last year but forgot to promote it. I’ve got to admit I’ve been pretty slack when it comes to keeping everyone up to date on that front and that’s on me.

I’ve allowed myself to fall into a position where I am not writing and just relying on the backlog of works I have done earlier to carry me along. In all respects that is unacceptable. I am making a declaration right here and now, all future releases will be scheduled for a predetermined date. This will be the 15th of each month.

I work well under pressure, so not having the cushion of a backlog is just the push I need. But what I would appreciate is the encouragement and more importantly the prompting from you all, to make sure I stay true to my mission. Your ongoing support has always been so uplifting and I thank you for that.

Expect more in future and give my work a look. The compilation of the eight stories I wrote in my first year of writing is available on amazon, if you’re looking for an accessible entry point.

Plan to Plan

We back, once again we will be exploring a self development principle to assist us in how to better engage in a positive life.

I’ve probably talked about planning plenty of times before and I make no apologies for doing so. The reason being, that I’m definitely going to do it again in future. Don’t you just love that kind of content? As a content creator, I sure do.

But let’s get serious now, I bring this up again because this is just so core to achieving anything in life. Like I have mentioned in the past, just because you have a plan and try to act it out, doesn’t always mean things will turn out the way you want. That’s life for you. But it gives us guidelines, or you could think of it as a roadmap, the destination can stay the same but the path changes. In other situations, the destination changes and so must the map directions.

Now that I have got that out of the way, let’s dig into the aspect of this topic that I would like to expand upon today. Planning is crucial because it puts restrictions on us, it may sound weird, but having self imposed chains on your actions is rather quite freeing in a way.

Let’s us use a quote from Zig Ziglar to break this down

“If you don’t plan your time, someone else will help you waste it”

Powerful stuff. Don’t just think that ‘someone’ has to be a person, it could be a technology or some form of media. I always find it funny how people of the modern age always complain they don’t have the time to do things, or that they are always busy. But, they somehow find time to watch the latest TV shows that everyone talks about, or what celebrity said what to who.

I find there has to be some sort of trickery gonna on there. Either, the person is lying about having no time or they chose to spend their time doing these activities and that filled up their schedule.

Regardless of what the answer is, we ourselves need to move away from such practices as it will handicap our ability to grow. The solution is planning, we need to plan our time better. Some people, well experienced in this habit can break their day into 15 minute chunks. I don’t recommend we start there, I think personally that it is best to break the day into three parts at first, then later go to hour by hour, or maybe 2 hour blocks.

To start, the three blocks would be: Morning, Day and Evening. It will be up to you to decide when each of these period begins and ends; I say this because some people work night shifts, so their day is more like everyone else’s evenings. Once we have our three periods and distinct start and end times, we can then move on to filling in that time. This is best done the night before on paper or your phone’s notepad.

You ideally want to fill those blocks with as much productive activities as possible, and to top it off, if you can manage to complete everything before the allotted time has ended. Then why not treat yourself by watching that show or catching up on the celebrity gossip. We can keep that just between you and me.

This journey of improvement can sometimes seem like you need to be operating at 100% all the time. Which in reality is not fully the case, it needs to be about prioritising what’s important and then executing those objectives. The smaller stuff tends to fall into place on its own accord.

Have a think about it, and my Hedites get back to me if you found this useful.

Till next time.

Doing Over Knowing

Well, another week down, where does the time go? Hard to say, but this week let’s talk about something I’ve been trying to implement again for the past two weeks now.

There’s a saying by Tony Robbins which we can learn a lesson from, the line goes like this:

“People know what to do, but are people doing want they know?”

Haha… damn isn’t that the truth of it; what I love about his quotes is that they are so forthcoming when it comes to their message, it’s so that you gain its meaning the moment it is uttered. Now, many people think that is bad or low effort because it seems simplistic. To me, I think that is why it is genius. To be able to boil down a concept into a handful of words is an art worthy of respect. It’s why so much of eastern philosophy uses shorthand phrases as a way of teaching important life lessons. The other bonus is they’re easier to remember when compared with essays.

Okay, back to the actual lesson for today, as I mentioned above, you probably already know what the phrase means but let’s unpack it anyway. May as well, you’re already here. I don’t believe that people are idiots, and Tony must think the same way as well because he is indicating to us that the people of the world, deep down, truly know what they need to do to improve their lives. The issue is that they don’t actually do anything about it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, we are all guilty of this wrongdoing but that doesn’t mean we get to let ourselves or others off the hook. How many times have you heard someone say, “I need to stop XXXX” (insert almost any negative habit or behaviour), but then they continue as if they had never said those words?

Quick sidenote, this phrase does make me think, if everyone knows what they should be doing, but aren’t. That means, even if you trying to do something, you’re way ahead of everybody else.

So, what thing have I known I should be doing but haven’t been. Well, that would be getting back my early morning routine. Maybe I’ve talked about this before, stop me if I have, oh wait you can’t, this is written text, sucked in. Yeah so, a while back I had this routine where I would wake up in the morning around about 4:30am, go for a walk immediately upon waking up, then meditate, do my mindfulness exercises, learn some French and then exercise. Usually, I would still have 30 minutes of free time before I needed to get ready for work.

Fast forward and all of that went to shit. I mean I still do those things but instead of it being in the morning before work, I have to do it after work and if something like an event comes up, it can throw my routine into disaster. I could blame COVID-19 and you know most people would let me get away with it, but the most important person who can’t accept that, is me.

Therefore, over the past two weeks I have been going to bed earlier and in turn waking up earlier. I’ve gotten my wake up time from 7:50am to 6:00am. Yes, I still have some ways to go and I haven’t been able to fully incorporate my entire routine into the morning yet, but I’m doing it.

Don’t get me wrong, this is something that has been plaguing my mind for quite a while now. But I just came to the conclusion I couldn’t allow it anymore, I had to do what I know I should be doing. In addition, there are other fronts in my life where I have allowed rot to grow. And I will tackle them, but for now I’m going to stick to one at a time. But that doesn’t mean I can get complacent once I get my morning routine down, it needs to be on to the next issue right after.

The homework for this week, I haven’t given you any for a while, but too bad, pop quiz. What thing in your life are you not doing but know you should be? And then what are you going to do about?

(See what I did there, the first question was about the knowing but the second was about the doing, sometimes I’m taken back by my own brilliant wordplay)

To leave you this week, here is another quote I think from Stephen Covey, will need to consult my quote book for confirmation:

“To know and to do nothing, is really not to know in the first place”

See ya later my Hedites, stay frosty for more, and best of luck with your answers to the homework questions. If you feel comfortable, post them in the comments and start a dialogue.

Leadership

Okay short post, and this time I will stay true to that. It’s not my fault I get carried away.

With this whole pandemic business, we have come to know our leader’s characters better than ever because an issue like a global pandemic has very quick feedback when it comes to mismanagement and poor planning.

What I’ve come to realise is that although we refer to these individuals as leaders, in reality they are just roles fulfilled by people. That’s right, heads of state and heads of health departments like all other departments are just roles. The thing about that is, the people in those roles come and go but the role itself remains. So, in many respects our leaders are more just functions than anything else.

This prompted me to think about what it means to be a leader, and the answer I came to was that true leadership isn’t a role. It is an attitude and value structure. COVID-19 has exposed a lot of leaders who lack leadership. That can be a very disturbing thing to uncover, as the people in charge may lack the qualities that we expect to be enshrined within serving that role.

However, what I found heart in, is that because leadership isn’t necessarily a role. That means anyone can display what it means to be a leader.

I’m always reminding myself of the old saying of

“Leaders eat last”

Now, that isn’t about leaders being the last to eat a meal, although that literal interpretation is also valid. It’s more the principle that leaders are ones that serve the community and others before they serve themselves. It is about putting the group interest above that of your own immediate interest. This idea is something we can all put into action in our own lives, regardless of what station of society we hold.

Food for thought I guess.

Once again, keep living your lives building each day to be better than the last my Hedites.

We got this.

Denials

Okay this week’s post is going to be a short one as I think it is best for you to quickly take the idea being brought up and reflect on your own. The reason for this is that everyone’s experience is unique and varied.

The idea comes from a quote which goings on the lines of, “God’s delays are not his denials”. Now, you don’t need to believe in god to get the message of what’s going on here.

To give an example of when something like this takes place, I can use an experience from my own life to illustrate. The program that I am on within NSW Health is a highly selective job and only a handful of positions are made available each year.

About four years back, I found out about it and decided I wanted to be on the program. I applied and made it to the interview component of the application process. Needless to say, I wasn’t accepted. But, I did impress one of the five panel members enough to have them agree to mentor me. Over the next year, my mentor and I met up for a dinner every couple of months and I would ask for their advice and report back on my progress since last meeting.

When the next intake for the program opened I applied again; I thought last time I was a bit young and inexperienced but I had put in a lot of effort and thought I had a damn good chance on making the grade. Alas, once again I was turned down.

The funny thing was, I was more heartbroken by the rejection the first time when compared with the second time. Maybe I was more desensitised to it, or maybe personal development had enabled me to better handle my emotions, probably a bit of both really.

So, two years running I was knocked back. However, did I give up? No, I told the HR person on the phone when they told me I wasn’t accepted the second time, “That I understood and accepted the outcome but would be trying again next year, no doubt about it”.

You might be thinking, well if you’re on it now, you must have applied the next year and got it right. Perseverance overcame the denial right? Well, yes and no. In the end, COVID happened and that meant NSW Health needed all the talent it could get. Even making it to the interview phase two years back to back still means something; close to a hundred people apply each year.

Joining the public health response to COVID ended up being my ticket into the program, it all worked out in the end and I couldn’t have been happier about the outcome. And you know what I realised looking back? Those two years or so gave me a lot of time to grow and mature, which if I got the job straight away I probably wouldn’t have appreciated as much or been ready for the challenge.

I was supposed to make this a short one and once again I failed on that front. Whoops. But what I think would be good for you to do is look back at your own life and find a time when you thought a denial was really more of a delay and what could you learn from that.

Like always, stay COVID safe my Hedites and always give it you’re all, but I know you have a lot to offer this world.

See ya later. Deuces

Reflections

We’re at it again. Isn’t that great? I think so at least. This time around I was inspired to write you because of a Disney movie song. No, it is not “Let it go”, newer Disney movies are so overrated, the classics are where it’s at.

What song was it and from which movie did it come from? Well, it was Reflections from the Mulan movie. Personal side note, having grown up with those movies as a kid I can confirm Mulan is the #1 Disney princess, undisputed. She’s a straight up boss, overcomes societal expectations by integrating masculine and feminine qualities to make herself a more well-rounded and capable human being. That’s the kind of shit, knowing what I know now, that brings tears to my eyes.

Now this isn’t going to be an in depth analysis of the symbolism in that movie. No, instead I want to focus on a few lines in the song that brought forth something in me. One line goes, “Who is that girl I see… staring straight back at me?”. Okay, what’s going on here? Well, the persona she broadcasts to the world is at odds with who she is as a person. This internal discrepancy between persona and person causes agony not just for a character in a movie but also for so many people in the real world as well. I believe, and this just my view on it; that in many respects people haven’t spent enough time discovering through introspection who they really are. So, they can only really see the roles and societal expectations they think they have to fill. These inevitably don’t fully capture the real secret of who they are and although they may not be able to articulate it, they still can feel the pain that arises from that personal dissonance.

Understanding of who you really are, can come from introspection or going through certain experiences, like Mulan does in the movie. Either way of getting there is fine but the important thing is that you do get there. That’s why I encourage you do to some of the techniques I’ve talked about previously in other posts. For instance, writing on a piece of paper who you are and trying to untangle that answer, meditating (I don’t I’ve mentioned that one before but I will at some point), writing a page of your thoughts, building a quote book and even reading.

Okay, next line “Somehow I cannot hide, who I am… though I’ve tried”. Acceptance of yourself, god isn’t that hard to come to terms with. Strange isn’t, as humans the hardest thing can be to reconcile with yourself over yourself. People do this kind of shit all the time, trying to run away from what they really are. It never works, and the character acknowledges that in the same line, yet we do it anyway. And can you take a guess as to why it doesn’t work?

Well, it’s because of the inescapable fact that only you can be you. There’s no quick fix for this, but we both know quick fixes don’t work; and that’s established due to running away not working. I think time is a major factor in this equation, well I should say doing the practices that I mentioned above over time.

Last one, “When will my reflection show who I am inside”. Dang this one hurts the soul the most. Many years ago when I was much younger, I thought something very similar. The truth is that this issue is very much linked to the previous line, and the way to solve it is the same. I’m reminded of the saying “private victories precede public victories” but within the context of the individual. So, it should go more like, internal victories precede external victories. Conquering the terrain within yourself is the only way to achieve the outcome that the character desires and that we as human beings desire too. In my own personal situation, when I look at the man in the mirror; I’m at peace knowing that every day he becomes less of a stranger.

Could do a whole series solely based off the songs from Mulan but I don’t think I will. This was a more of a spur of the moment kind of thing. No clue if it made any sense, but it made sense to me at the time of writing.

Anyways, thanks again to the growing number of Hedites for showing their support. You all are incredible people. More is on the way, but you already knew that

Walking Away

I always for some reason get excited to write these posts, no matter what’s going on I can always manage to create the enthusiasm needed to get something out. Yay, so we’re back at it again.

Walking away, when is it the right time to cut someone out of your life? And how best to do it? I know that can seem harsh to say it like that but the reality of life is; you need to seek out high value people to be around, you also need to know when to cut some people loose.

Humans are pack animals, we in many respects need to have people with which we can connect. That being said, I’m also a big believer in the idea that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Or at least your values, habits and thoughts will be an aggregate of those five people. Now, don’t get me wrong you can still be influenced by others outside of that list but those will have the biggest single impact.

If their lives are on a downward trajectory, it is only a matter of time before it starts to affect you. Just because someone is in a bad mood or is in a bit of a rough patch, doesn’t mean they are deserving of the cold shoulder, but if over an extended period of time their behaviour gets worse and worse, it might be worth considering.

When is the right time, or what is a potential signal that may help you judge whether it is the right thing to do? Well, it’s pretty simple actually. If your phone starts buzzing and you see the name of the person calling or messaging, and your natural response is a cold shiver down your spine and your face contorts and the only sound you can make is “Urggghhhh”. That is a telltale sign that that person needs to go from your life.

Like I said, it does need to happen regularly over a period of time; because you could be mad at someone for something they did, then they call you and you don’t want anything to do with them. But by the next day, everything smooths over and you have no issue interacting with that person.

If it does keep happening though, that means it’s go time. But how do we get rid of them. That’s easy, we just stop picking up the phone or responding to their messages. It will take awhile because they have been used to getting your attention but after a consistent campaign by you to not engage. They will eventually stop trying and the end goal will be achieved; you still might bump into them from time to time but the distance that will have built between you and them will shelter you from any notion that you should reconnect.

Now look, you’re not a bad person for doing that, never feel that way. To a certain extent those people will implicitly understand in a subconscious way what is going on. You can’t save everyone and sometimes it’s difficult to save yourself, so being dragged down by them isn’t healthy for you or them. Just let it go.

I hope that was of help my Hedites, remember to like and follow for more bits like this. Oh and what’s going on, why you don’t want to subscribe to the youtube channel, that makes me sad. We need to get the good word out, so do the world a favour and subscribe over on youtube. It will make me smile.

Video coming out tomorrow so get ready for that,

deuces

Unknowing Friends

Welcome back, it’s a brand new year and man can I tell you I think this one might just be the best one yet, I can just feel it. Couldn’t tell you why, but there’s a sense of new opportunities this time round. I hope you feel the same.

But today’s post is about something I thought about while spending the last week with my new best friend, Morticia the greyhound. We live much of our life with an apprehension to people we don’t know. I believe there are countless individual reasons for this: it could be that we don’t feel comfortable with people outside our circle because of ancient caveman thinking, or maybe it’s simply the fear of being judged.

Hard to say, but what I think is worth thinking about, is flipping that concept on it’s head. Instead of viewing outsiders as something to be anxious about, we should view them as something positive and affirming. Now, don’t get me wrong, even if you do follow that principle, that doesn’t mean that everyone on this planet will be kind towards you. No, unfortunately some people are mean regardless of anything you do; don’t worry that’s on them.

The best way to manage this shift in thinking is a quote or a saying that can be repeated will we are getting ready to go out into the world, so maybe say/think it during breakfast or morning routine. The one I like to use is:

“Strangers are just friends you haven’t met yet”

I really like this one a lot. It cements in my mind the idea that I am personable and someone people would like to share moments with. Also, it ameliorates that tension that can be build up in our minds around meeting new people, because it states plainly that they are already our friends, we just have to go through the motions of making that a reality.

I might leave it there, I know what you are thinking, there was no video last week and I’m sure you’re foaming at the mouth like a wild mutt for a new one. Well, guess what? Two videos tomorrow. Just to make up for it.

Hedites, venture into the world with the idea that people are looking out for you and you will find many do.

I wish you all the best for 2022, let’s stay in touch.

New Worlds

Today, the last day of 2021, and look, I know I already made a post about giving thanks last week. But things in my life have been so abundant with good tidings that I had to make a second.

I’ll try to spin it a different way this time. The thing that has changed since my last post is that I adopted a rescue greyhound. The rescue organisation gives the greyhounds a nickname when they arrive because normally they don’t have one or it’s their racing name. I’ve named mine Morticia, she is a gorgeous black greyhound who is an absolute sweetheart.

Now don’t get me wrong, this is day one of our life together. But I can’t help but be proud and also feel responsible for the cutie. This responsibility is a big one, I’ve never had my own dog before and being a racing greyhound complicates that further. You see, racing dogs know nothing but the track and the kennel; they don’t have any idea about what being a pet means, or that there are other dogs besides greyhounds. Having brought her home, she is still adjusting to this new environment.

I don’t really know what more to say, I feel bound to protect and care for this wonderful creature. I feel as if she is the purrfect partner to bring in the new year with.

I’m so grateful for this opportunity to grow as a person alongside my new roommate.

Don’t worry I will post a number of pictures of her later, but bye for now. Morticia and I are going to chill on the couch.

Christmas Gratefulness

Crazy to think this year is coming to an end, I know it’s just the standard passage of time but for me at least it has flown by.

Yesterday I was doing my final bit of Christmas shopping and made a small realisation when it came to how I was feeling. After I had bought all the presents I needed to, I noticed how I had completely forgot about the fact that people would be buying me presents as well.

Somehow it had slipped my mind that is how the whole celebration works. The best thing was that I didn’t really care what I got, in reality I was going to be glad regardless, even if I wasn’t thrilled about what I received. The reason for that is gratitude, how could I ever be caught up in the trap on not getting what I want, when in reality I already have so much to be grateful for.

I know it may sound sappy, but I do think that. This time of year is a moment of gift giving and celebration but it is also a great time to remind yourself of all the presents (tangible and intangible) that you already have. This is a good practice anytime of the year but there is something to the whole end of year vibe that makes it even more of a productive activity.

So, what I recommend is to do a stock take of your life and ask yourself what are you grateful for in your life. Then after that, ask what are you excited for in the new year.

It just might be the best present anyone can give, but the thing is the only person who can bestow it is yourself. It doesn’t even cost anything to do, how sweet is that?

Big shout to all my Hedites out there, loving the energy you send my way. It’s been a honor to share what I have with you all this year. I still have to release my December short story, release tomorrow’s video and next week’s posts. But don’t worry, everything will come out as normal; next year will be a big one for you and me but I’m excited for the changes.

Keep in touch!!!

Unity Divided

So you’re back again for another brain bashing, I like.

This week I want to talk about agreement with others and the difficulties that arise from trying to force a viewpoint onto someone.

In the past, I was of the belief that if you had a compelling argument or perspective, then by the power of your logic and reasoning you could bring the other side over to your camp. Man, that couldn’t be further from the truth, and shows how much I had to learn, and still need to learn.

Now, don’t get me wrong, you can flip a certain proportion of people with this method. You can provide all the facts, give a rousing speech and even delve into the emotional angle of the issue as well. But, because humans are the way we are, a large proportion will still vehemently resist you.

The reasons for this can vary greatly from person to person and issue to issue. But if the COVID pandemic has taught me anything, it is that people hate to be told want to do. Take for instance the vaccine mandates, there are those who rally against it because they think that the vaccine is a 5G conspiracy by Bill Gates; however, there are also others that have been vaccinated themselves but campaign against the mandates because they think they damage freedom or liberty (insert other libertarian buzzwords). The irony is the disease carries way more risk than the vaccine does, but people resent it because they feel forced to do something.

That is just one topical example, other examples can be drawn from any avenue where there is disagreement, which is essentially everything. What is important to know then, is that in any viewpoint there will always be those that agree with you, regardless if they actually know the reasons why, and those who don’t agree even if they do understand your reasoning. The goal then should be to not get too attached to your perspective, because if you do you might become hostile when they do not appreciate the genius of your logic.

Now, I know this all might seem so obvious but sometimes we forget this in the heat of a debate and then get hurt. Regardless if not everyone agrees with you, remember that it isn’t necessarily your job to get people to see the light. At times the best you can do is be informed and alert.

Thanks once again my Hedites, keep working your magic. We’re coming to the end of the year and I want you to know I have some exciting stuff to share with you. So, stay tuned

Hit the like button and drop a follow, it helps big time.