Debt Free is Possible

Back in 2010, I wrote an article about some financial struggle I was going through. I remember being heavily in debt and hating the fact that I "had" to work to pay it off. I couldn't just leave my job, I felt like I was stuck and being let go would of destroyed pretty much all that I had accumulated up to that point.

Fast forward 9-10 years and I'm happy to report that I've been debt free for the last few years now. If I could do it, so can you! Granted, I don't own much but it turns out that I do not need much in the first place. As long as I have my books, something to write with and some video games for when I need to shut my brain off - I'm good!

“We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.” -Dave Ramsey

Perhaps one of the biggest things, to get debt free, is to stop listening to what society tells you to buy. No, you do not need a new vehicle every 2 years. You do not need a house you can't afford to live in. You don't need to be spending every penny you own. You do not deserve anything (Marketers be like "Buy this couch - you deserve it!")

One of the biggest eye opener for me was when I realized that being in debt meant that I was sacrificing future time for something today. I hated the idea of surrendering my future - I wanted freedom.
Debt is financial slavery. The only reason why it is accepted today is because people are free to choose whether or not they surrender their lives to the mighty dollar. In some cases, however, this is not really a choice and I consider myself fortunate that I was influenced in the right direction early on in life.

Being debt free requires sacrifice and discipline but the freedom you get from it is priceless. Make the choice to be free!

Experience brings Wisdom

"We cannot assume that, by gathering more and more "facts" a person necessarily gains understanding and wisdom about his life and the world in which in lives." -Harold H. Titus/Marilyn S. Smith

We can certainly appreciate listening to someone that has mastered something. We might ask ourselves, how did he become so wise? Some are wise at a specific subject at an earlier age than others. Why is that?

Wisdom doesn’t come with age - it comes with experience. The only reason why we associate wisdom with age, or time, is because it takes time to acquire experience.
Someone that doesn’t do anything worthwhile with his time will not acquire relevant experience and therefor will not be wise as much as someone who deliberately thrive to improve.

The time it takes to acquire wisdom in anything can be shortened depending on your discipline. There are a set of rules that one must follow to acquire wisdom. Those are:

• Focus - Find out what you want to be wise in. You only have 24h in a day and a set amount of days. What do you want to master? Found out what it is for you.
• Study - Obviously, learning about the area you want to be wise in is a must.
• Practice/Do - Books can only teach you so much about anything. At one point or another you will have to test out what you've learned to see what works and what doesn't.
• Teach - There's no better way to learn something than when you have to teach it to someone else. Formulate what you've learned in a way that will be easily understood by the generation that follows yours.

In what areas do you want to be wise in?

Should Cigarettes be Illegal?

Tobacco companies were recently sued by a handful of individuals because cigarettes are bad for your health. First of all “duh?”. Second - Why is this still on sale? Why are people still smoking?

It is now legal in Canada to smoke Cannabis. Cannabis is often used in the medical field to treat various diseases such as anxiety and glaucoma. If you smoke cannabis responsibly there's not much that it does to you in the long run. Cigarettes, on the other hand, have been proven to cause various diseases. Tobacco companies have been putting all sorts of chemicals in them to intensify the addiction smokers have towards cigarettes - making it very difficult to stop once you start.

Why do people even start smoking today knowing all of the negativity surrounding cigarettes? I remember as a teen, those that smoked were considered "rebels". It was a way for them to show their disdain for society. It was "cool" and maybe it still is for teens of today.
Now that I'm an adult, I get a totally different feeling when I see people smoke. When I see a teen, I think to myself "well he doesn't know any better" but when I see an adult smoke I always ask myself "why? what's your excuse?"

Why is it not illegal?
Back in the 1920s, some countries had made it illegal to buy alcohol - it sure as heck didn't stop people from drinking and it basically just added fuel to the ever expanding black market.
Cigarettes would have the same result. By having it legal, the government can at least get a cut of the profit, via heavy taxes, and regulate its use.

I do find it kind of silly for people to smoke, knowing full well the risks involved, and then sue tobacco companies when health problem arises. I mean, have you ever seen a box of cigarettes before? The potential health issues are written on the box itself.

Stay away!

Feelings to Control

Before we goes to the heart of this post, it is important to differentiate between Feelings and Emotions since most people seems to interchange or confuse the two.

What’s an emotions?
According to imotions.com , emotions “are associated with bodily reactions that are activated through neurotransmitters and hormones released by the brain…”

What’s a feeling?
According to imotions.com, feelings are “originating in the neocortical regions of the brain, feelings are sparked by emotions and colored by personal experiences, beliefs, memories, and thoughts linked to that particular emotion. Strictly speaking, a feeling is the side product of your brain perceiving an emotion and assigning a certain meaning to it.”

A clearer example of the difference between emotions and feelings is when you’re getting slapped. Emotions is the pain that originates from it while feelings is how you react to that pain.

Humans can control their emotions...
This means that humans have control over their feelings which can cast doubts on the sincerity of them. Seeing someone cry doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s sad.
Actors, who are masters at controlling their feelings, uses their acting skills for the purpose of entertaining an audience. They cry when their fictional son dies so that we also feel sad about it.

Some uses their feelings as a way to exercise control over people for malicious reasons. They show remorse even when they do not feel like it. They cry when they do not feel like crying.

Why do they do this?
They do so for their benefits. Because they don’t want to take responsibility. Because they want you to think that they are innocent.

How can you tell if someone is controlling you?
Some are better than others at controlling their feelings so it’s not always possible to tell if they are sincere or not in the moment. In some cases, the more time spent with someone the better you’ll become at identifying how sincere the feelings conveyed are.