It's time to begin walking in your truth.

By: Justin Williams- Owner of Taino Studios

Being a follower is what I always used to do. I would follow the crowd and limit myself and put my bank account in financial danger. I tried to warn myself but It was ignored. One must plant themselves firm and ground themselves in the enduring cause of the disconnect between mind and body, in a sober fashion. Today's topic is gaining followers and demanding respect. Whether you would like to live a more pleasurable life, gain financial freedom by starting your own business, or break intergenerational cycles of having not- it all begins with the respect of self ad then others follow. None of the previous mentioned above are glutinous or unattainable. Yet, it is for the succession of the satisfaction of at least one which will gain the respect of others in the choice of becoming a leader of you.

How much did Martin Luther King allow the opinions of others to sway his choice of words in his speeches? When and how often did Malcolm decide to give in and allow his body to succumb to short term pleasures? As James Baldwin once said “ The paradox of education is precisely this - that as one begins to become more conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated.”

Conduct yourself as though you are at a banquet

At our core we are mammals and have learned how to conduct ourselves through the process of socialization. However, there is a plethora of cultures that span across several social classes and settings. Focusing energy is a key aspect of leadership, but what is highly selected are the leaders who can maintain the same poise, grace, and vernacular anywhere in the world with confidence!

Be Indifferent

Get away from yourself. Yep, that's two separate words. There are several "you"s that exist simultaneously. Sort of like Freud's id, ego, and superego. There's the "you" that behaves, for starters. Then, there's a "you" that monitors that behavior (your highly evolved one, you). And then there's actually a part of you that can step outside and look at things from another perspective entirely -- it's this last one you need to get at to become indifferent. If that's a little confusing, let's put it this way:[1]

There's you that just does and is. It's like the baby within you -- this is the first "you." You eat, you breathe, you do human things. You don't really question it. It's just you reading right now.

Then there's the "you" that is monitoring all this behavior, thinking, making sure it's socially acceptable, making sure you survive, etc. Ever thought to yourself, "My God, why did I eat 5 slices of pizza?!" That's the second you.

This third "you" is a bit more elusive. It can look at your behavior and thoughts and come to highly-evolved, self-aware conclusions. This is the "you" we'll be targeting. This you don't really feel things or need things -- it just observes. It's indifferent.

Think about you take out of it

The first step in learning to be more selfish is recognizing that you don’t give enough time and thought to yourself. With so many other people around us it is too easy to get caught up in thinking about their needs and what you can do to meet them. Especially if you are a parent, it is even easier to put yourself as a last priority, with kids always coming first.

Whilst this is a natural feeling, you can’t forget that you are allowed to have needs too. So starting from today, recognize that you are just as important and how you feel matters too. Ensuring you have a positive mental state will only bring positivity to everyone around you. In the long run you will be happier, more productive and more present.

Practice the art of temperance

To be grounded in reality means to be aware of our surroundings and to know the difference between what is real and what is not real. It means living in the present moment. When you are unable to tell the difference between a hallucination or just a passing thought, it’s difficult to perform day-to-day activities with a clear mind. Grounding techniques can bring you back to reality for a better quality of life. Some symptoms of mental health conditions can be severe enough that you have difficulty distinguishing what is happening around you. Many situations can cause you to lose touch with reality, such as:

- Recovering from trauma

- Severe depression

- Panic attacks

- Manic episodes

- Psychosis

- Other mental health symptoms

Be superior to pain

The cold pressor test is one of the more popular ways to measure pain tolerance. It involves submerging your hand into a bucket of ice-cold water. You’ll tell whoever is administering the test when you start to feel pain. Your pain threshold is determined by the amount of time between the start of the test and your first report of pain.

Once the pain becomes unbearable, you can remove your hand. The time between the test start and when you're remove your hand is considered your pain tolerance.

While this method is more popular than others, some experts question its reliability. It’s often hard to maintain constant water temperature. Even small differences in water temperature can have a major effect on pain intensity and tolerance time.

Yes. This is a very tough journey. If becoming a better person was easy, everyone would do it. And we can both agree that there is a fair share of abominable human beings on this earth. Just that fact that you're reading this, is an indicator that you're on the right path. Keep going! If you need an escape- check out my selection of books ( fiction ) for a temporary escape that is not detrimental to your growth. You can check them out here. Good luck on your journey. Peace.