David Stidston
Bio
My name is David Stidston, and I am a single father to my 8-year-old daughter Mia. We live in the beautiful city of Hobart in Tasmania, Australia. I am currently self-employed, working as a freelancer and casually in market research.
Stories (216)
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Sacrifice For Something Nice
It's disappointing there are certain online platforms in which we are denied the right to freedom of speech, because Good Friday is indeed a significant day on the calendar, and really deserves open discussion and transparency around the message it contains. Although I cannot therefore go into details about the significance and reasoning behind Good Friday, I can at least discuss one important word, to which part of the message relates to, because it's about a crucial behavior that we require if we are truly determined to achieve success and happiness in life. Imagine being asked to put your life at risk, or even to sacrifice your life altogether, in order to save others. As a parent myself, I think I can answer for nearly all parents worldwide that they would absolutely sacrifice their own life in order to save their child, or children's lives. The majority of us would do the same for our partner, or maybe our parents, or friends, or other loved ones. Why would we sacrifice ourselves for our children, partner, friends, and loved ones? Simple, because we love them with all our heart, and they mean the world to us. We would be happy to ensure their safety before our own. What if we witnessed a random stranger on the street standing in harm's way, would we risk our own life, and potentially perish, for the sake of saving someone we don't even know? I can't answer for everyone with that question, but one thing is for certain, the percentage of people that would sacrifice themselves, or place their own life at risk, to save a stranger, would be considerably lower than the percentage of people who would sacrifice themselves for their own loved ones and friends. I dare say that most people would likely just stand by and look on in horror. I look at such individuals worldwide such as firefighters, our service men and women, policemen and policewomen, even doctors and nurses who are required to tend those hurt or ill, despite there being the risk of catching a virus such as COVID-19, and how they all place their own lives at risk every single day, in order to save others. To be prepared to sacrifice our own health and life, in order to save and help others, I personally believe that is the greatest form of courage a human can possess.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
The Formula To Success
It's sad to think of the many people worldwide who deny themselves the opportunity for success and accomplishment in life, all because of their limiting beliefs. Society has influenced us to believe that in order to achieve success and prosperity in life, we first need money, and a fair amount of it too. Now I can't deny that to be true to an extent, because in order to make money, we do indeed need to invest money first, whether that be in shares, in property, in business, in managed funds, or whatever. Having said that though, money isn't how success is generated. You don't need money to create an action plan. Many will say that success comes from lots of hard work, and that is absolutely correct, it does require an extreme amount of hard work and ongoing commitment to achieve success and our goals, but even hard work won't necessarily lead us to success. We can work our butt off, and we can even be working endless hours every single day, day after day, month after month, and year after year, but success will elude us if we fail to possess the right attitude, values, and behaviors. We can work as hard as we like, 16 hours a day, if we so choose, but if our focus is completely on making money, then straight away we are adopting a poor attitude, and we will find ourselves forever chasing money, rather than earning it. Again. we can work as hard as we like, 16 hours a day, if we so choose, but if we have a selfish attitude, and we in no way have any desire to help and serve others, we will find that what goes around comes around, and life will deny us any help also. The success formula is based upon five key elements. Now we can throw in several other behaviors, traits, and characteristics if we like, such as willpower, motivation, belief, determination, maturity, passion, courage, and sacrifice, because there are several ingredients to success after all, but the below five attitudes, behaviors, and values, are the main ingredients. Without them, success and prosperity are often extremely difficult to come by.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Moving On
For anyone who has ever endured the experience of having their heart broken, off the back of a relationship break up, they would be well aware of the intense emotional pain that comes with it. For me personally, I've experienced it three times throughout my adult life, and two of those three being from a marital split. I'd like to say that both of the marriage break ups are now well and truly behind me, but sadly, one of these only took place a few months ago. The two times I had my heart broken previously were bad enough, but this time around, it has hit me big time emotionally. It was very sudden, and it was also unexpected, so after the initial shock of what had just transpired, that's when the devastation of the reality set in for me. In the six weeks that followed, I think I can only recall two days in which I wasn't in tears at some point. The emotional pain that I went through was indescribable, and no physical or mental pain that I have experienced in my life, has ever come close to it. I was actually wailing in pain on my bed on a couple of occasions, I was that emotionally distraught. What's worse is that it also retriggered my depression, just when I was starting to make some inroads mentally in my life. It has undoubtedly been the toughest period of my entire life, and sadly, there is many other issues going on behind the scene, that is further compounding this emotional pain and depression. I don't want sympathy or attention, nor do I want to sound like a victim, because sometimes in life, we need to go through some bottom of the barrel lows, and extreme adversities, in order to grow and become mentally stronger. One thing I come to understand, over these past few years I have invested in personal development and mindset training, is that you can't waste energy and focus on something you can't control. The relationship with my former wife is over, and sadly, beyond repair, and I can't change her feelings. It is something I have accepted, and despite the amount of hurt, pain, and suffering I have gone through these past three months, I have accepted the fact that I simply need to move on, for my own health, happiness, well-being, and future.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
It's Time For A Change
It comes as no surprise that there is an ever increasing trend in the number of individuals who are diagnosed with depression, around the world. As much as there is so much to be positive and grateful for in life, we can't pretend there is no violence, no hatred, no negativity, no deception, no dishonesty, and no illegal activities, that are all going on around us. It's not to say we should focus on this negativity by any means, but we certainly should have an awareness of it. Sadly, many of us are too easily drawn in by it, and when there are so many toxic individuals that treat us with such disrespect, unkindness, rudeness, bitterness, and hurtfulness, it's no wonder we start to feel enveloped in unhappiness. Along with other people treating us so badly, we then also have to deal with the daily stress, pressure, and demand, of life in general, as we are constantly overwhelmed with work, our family commitments, our finances, our relationships, and then we are still somehow expected to look after ourselves. Each day, we wake up, we put on a brave face, and we tackle everything before us. If we can just get through another day, then hopefully tomorrow things will get easier for us. It never does though! That stress, pressure, and demand, of everyday life continues to pile up on us. So with others constantly making our life miserable and difficult, on top of the everyday pressures of life, it's no wonder why so many of us are unhappy, but then there's the final straw. The fact that we live our life constantly doing what doesn't make us happy, the fact that we are constantly starved of success and satisfaction, and the fact that we never seem to get any closer to achieving our goals, that unhappiness can so easily turn into depression. You start to question your purpose in life, and the reason behind why life is so challenging and demoralizing. Before long, you wake up not even wanting to confront the world, or the day ahead.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Make An Impact
You are just one individual in a world of over 7.8 billion people. It would be extremely hard for you to believe that someone, such as yourself, could possibly have any form of impact or influence over such a vast population, and you'd be right, it would be extremely hard to believe. Such a belief however, is a limiting belief, because the truth is, you can indeed have a positive impact and influence over millions, even billions, of people. Let's take a look at someone like music superstar Ed Sheeran, as an example. 15 years ago, hardly anyone had even heard of him, or knew of him. Nowadays, he has gone on to sell over 150 million records worldwide, and is now placed as the world's 22nd highest selling music artist of all time. His success has led him to have a net worth of over $360 million AUD. Okay, so that's just fame and fortune, but because we are so wrapped up in all the creativity and uniqueness of Sheeran's singing and songwriting, we often overlook the fact that he also donates to several charities and causes, and that's not even mentioning the generous acts he does for his fans on occasions, such as providing them with free pizza after having waited so long to enter the stadium in which he was to perform. The standout feature of Ed Sheeran is his character, as he is a role model to people all around the world on the various values and behaviors we should all possess, such as having the drive and passion to do what we love in life, having the perseverance, resilience, and determination to pursue our goals, having the kindness, care, generosity, love, and compassion, to help and give to others, and having the calmness, composure, and control, in maintaining a positive mindset and not reacting to critics or judgement. Even just through his songwriting, Sheeran creates impact and influence. All of this from a boy who sang in the choir at his local church, and started to learn how to play the guitar at the age of 11. I'd say that's a pretty impressive resume from one individual in a world of over 7.8 billion people.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
When It All Falls Apart
I think the first four words of today's quote should be nothing new to us. I think we would have to be incredibly naïve and foolish to believe we can cruise through life without anything tragic, painful, devastating, adverse, hurtful, or challenging, to us. It may not be very encouraging or inspiring, but we need to understand what is fact, and accept it. There is one significant factor about bad things happening though, that highlights a significant gap between one individual and another, regarding their character, and that is how we each react and respond to it. When facing adversity, hardship, challenge, tragedy, loss, failure, pain, heartache, and all those circumstances that we would associate with something bad happening to us, or in our lives, it's only natural to dive into a range of different emotions in response. We are human after all, so it's not as easy as just pretending such bad circumstances and events are happening in our life, simply brushing them off, and walking away with a huge smile on our face. These negative circumstances and events are naturally going to cause us sadness, grief, hurt, anger, frustration, disappointment, betrayal, and the like. For instance, with the death of a loved one, we are not simply going to rejoice, be jumping for joy, or brimming with happiness. Naturally, we are going to feel sadness, we are going to feel sorrow, and we will grieve. Through these such emotions though, it doesn't mean we still can't possess positivity, promise, and hope, for our own future. It's a classic example of the different ways in which we can react and respond. We can curse, swear, be angry, and carry on about how life is so unfair, and continue living with a sense of bitterness in our heart, or we can accept that, as much as there is complete sadness and sorrow that our loved one has passed away, what's happened is outside of our control, and we need to ensure we are looking after ourselves, which includes being focused on our future.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
What Makes You Happy?
What makes you happy in life? Actually take a moment to carefully consider the answer to this. Likely, there will be numerous things. Even if you need to write it down, list the top 5 things that truly bring you happiness in life, whether they be certain people, times, objects, activities, or moments, in which make you feel on top of the world. Personally, in no particular order, my list would include my daughter, achieving success, nights out with my friends, holidays, and watching my favorite sporting teams win. Each one of these always brings a smile to my face, some last a few moments, others last indefinitely. I could list a whole heap of other things also, such as running my business, and helping others out, but the above five I listed were first that came to my mind. The next three questions to ask yourself are, how much time do you invest in your top five things that make you happy, how much do you prioritize them, how genuinely beneficial to your life are they? When I look at my list, the first one I have listed there is my daughter. She is the world to me basically, so spending time with her is a huge priority for me, and I always dedicate time in my day to her. Spending quality time with our family and loved ones always should always be a priority of ours, because we just never know how much time we will have with them in our life, so it's important to cherish every moment. My daughter was the main reason as to why I resigned from my corporate job, nearly 4 years ago, to start my own work from home business, so I could spend more time with her.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Unfulfilled Expectations
To have an expectation is to have a strong belief that something will happen or eventuate, or that we will achieve something. Many times our expectations indeed work out exactly the way we had envisioned, and life is all hunky dory, however, there are also many times where things don't work out the way we had hoped and planned either. When we pause and think of our emotions at those times when our expectations aren't met, what are those feelings we normally experience? We naturally feel disappointed, we can feel hurt, we can feel sad, we can feel depressed, we can feel angry, we can feel agitated, we can feel inconvenienced, we can feel let down, we can feel betrayed, we can feel frustrated, we can feel unloved, we can feel unvalued, and we can feel annoyed, just to name a few. Basically, we are not happy about it, are we? These are all negative emotions and feelings, all triggered off the back of circumstances and situations not working out as we anticipated they would. These unfulfilled expectations happen on quite a regular basis to us, and because they happen so frequently, this frustration, anger, sadness, and the like, continues to build up within us. We become like a volcano ready to erupt, and because these unfulfilled expectations keep on happening, our emotions eventually do indeed erupt, and that lava of unhappiness, anger, frustration, sadness, and hurt, spills everywhere. The worst part to this is that we often take out these negative emotions and feelings on others. Quite often, in the spare of the moment, these feelings and emotions lead us to say things or do things that we later regret, because we fail to control them.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Behind Your Back
Are your ears burning today? Do you get that feeling that perhaps someone is talking about you behind your back? Perhaps you even know for a fact that your work colleagues, friends, partner, or family members, are gossiping to other people about you? It's not a very nice feeling knowing that certain people are talking negatively about you to others, especially when those certain individuals can often be people whom you placed your full trust in. It triggers anger, frustration, and betrayal, within us, because a lot of the gossip about us is quite often untrue, misconstrued, or one-sided. It paints us in a bad light to others, as the people who hear such gossip, ultimately take what they are told to be gospel. What's worse is that gossip is like a highly contagious virus. It gets spread to more and more people, so ultimately what happens is a number of people start believing in this gossip, which begins to impact their perception of us. They can lose respect for us, they can become angry at us, they can become critical of us, and some even get to the point where they unlike and unfriend us. Even when we attempt to clear the air and tell the truth about what was said to them about us, many people refuse to accept it, purely because they don't understand why someone else would tell them such a thing if it weren't true. Sadly, gossip is all too common amongst humankind. No matter if you are someone with massive success, fame, and wealth, or if you are just plain old everyday Joe, who works 9 to 5 at some cruddy job, guaranteed someone is always talking about you behind your back, or as a minimum, they will be judging you. Such is the world we live in unfortunately.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Humans
The Will Behind The Want
Willpower; control exerted to do something, or to restrain impulses. I think we all know it's never easy to resist any form of temptation and enticement. After all, there'd be nothing we would want or desire in life if it wasn't for temptation and enticement. The problem for so many of us though is that we give in to the temptation and enticement of things that destroy us, rather than give in to the temptation and enticement of things that actually benefit us, and deliver satisfaction, happiness, fulfillment. When we think of our diet, so many of us fail to resist the deliciousness of foods such as sweets, fast foods, and processed foods, because it satisfies our taste buds, yet they contribute to the likes of diabetes and obesity. When we think of exercise, so many of us fail to resist watching our favorite shows on television, or spending time browsing through social media whilst lazing on the couch, rather than be engaging in at least 30 to 60 minutes of intense activity each day, because it requires much less effort. When we think of relationships, so many of us fail to resist that attractive guy or girl that we meet at the bar, or at a nightclub, and we end up being unfaithful to our partner, because we are driven by lust rather than love. When we think of our job, the one in which we hate and constantly complain about, so many of us refuse to look at other working options, despite being unhappy, because we fail to part with our beloved paycheck that we have been receiving on such a regular basis, and we are possessed by money. We all crave for happiness, success, satisfaction, and fulfillment, in life, and many even of us even desperately long for prosperity and wealth, yet because all these require us to apply a great deal amount of effort, hard work, patience, and resilience, most of us simply don't have the willpower and motivation to work on achieving them.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Lost Time Is Never Found Again
One of the most happiest and memorable days of my life was the day my daughter was born, back in February 2017. Although she gave us a bit of a surprise in entering the world two months earlier than we we had expected, those memories of her birth, and the next few weeks proceeding, will live in my mind forever. As a premature baby, she was obviously required to enter straight into the intensive care unit, although that was very brief, as she would then be transferred into special care after just two days. I'll always cherish those memories of seeing her in her little fishbowl crib, with a tube attached to her nose, her little smurf hat on, and then having the wonderful opportunity of being able to nurse her gently against my chest in the ward, on several occasions. She looked so cute, innocent, and peaceful. Even though there were around 6 or so weeks of going back and forward from home to the hospital each day, it never really bothered me. I was just grateful to all the staff at the two hospitals in which she spent her time in, as they cared for her incredibly well. It's hard to believe that it's already been 4 years since her birth and her hospital stint, and now she's growing up so fast. She doesn't stop talking and there's barely a moment I have in peace, but I love her with all my heart, and she is my world. At that time, back in 2017, I was still working at my full time job at a financial institution, hating every minute of it. I was just so sick and tired of getting up at the crack of dawn, battling through peak hour traffic, turning up to a workplace that was always understaffed, working for a company in which they didn't truly care for, or truly value, their employees, but instead set ridiculous sales expectations for them, and I was fed up with having to work back overtime each night, because I wasn't allocated appropriate time during the day to get the actions for my customers completed. I hated my job, yet for just over 10 years, I stayed there for the sake of my paycheck. I was educated to believe that I simply had to have a job, and there were no other legal options for income generation.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Everything Happens For A Reason
Times of challenge, hardship, adversity, pain, sorrow, and failure, are never pleasant, I think that's stating the obvious. Many of these such times are brought about because we settle in life, we become comfortable, and we become stale, rather than be continually pushing ourselves to grow. It's like the universe goes about giving us a shove, insisting that we get off our butt, be changing things up, and be working on growing ourselves. That shove normally comes in the way of making life very uncomfortable for us, often in the way of adversity, hardship, and the like. The discomfort continues to worsen, until we finally hit breaking point, and we make some tough decisions and changes, just to ease the pressure. Other times, we are hit with these unpleasantries without warning, or perhaps we knew the potential of it happening, but we weren't prepared that it would actually happen. Such events, situations, and circumstances, destroy us emotionally. It could be the death of a loved one, a marital split or relationship breakdown, a financial disaster, the sudden dismissal from our job, a diagnosed health issue, our house burning down from a fire, a severe car accident, you name it. Life has a habit of delivering us trials and tribulations, and none of us are exempt. When these times arrive, many of us become angry, frustrated, and even confused, as to why such events and situations have been thrown upon us. It's not uncommon that when one thing goes wrong, other aspects of life have a habit of falling apart around us also, making it all the more grueling for us. Many of us question how life can be so cruel, why these events and circumstances are happening to us, and we even lay blame on higher beings.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
