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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Happiness Depends On Us!
What is happiness? We need only to look in the dictionary if we are searching for a definition, which would tell us that happiness is pleasure and contentment, but it doesn't really give us the answer we are looking for, does it? We know full well it's an emotional state that brings us great joy, satisfaction, and delight, and we are desperate to be in such a state of emotion for an absolute maximum amount of time in our life, but it's more so what constitutes this happiness, and how we obtain it, that we want the answers to. We can find bursts of happiness and short term satisfaction okay, yet it's that yearn for overall fulfillment and life satisfaction that we seem to always be chasing. Many of us actually never end up finding it, and there's a reason behind that. That reason being, we continually look in all the wrong places, leading us to make all the wrong decisions, and executing all the wrong actions. Let's have a look at a couple of examples.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Everyone Has Their Own Story
Why, as a human race, do we constantly judge others? Why do we make assumptions about people based on appearance, or demographics, or their actions, or even rumors? Just because someone looks a certain way, dresses a certain way, executes different actions to us, acts a certain way, and lives their life differently to us, doesn't mean that we have the right to unfairly categorize them. Just because someone has tattoos doesn't make them an axe murderer, a member of a bikie gang, or a thug. Just because someone is living homeless on the street doesn't make them a drug addict, an alcoholic, or a lazy bum who is too pathetic to get a job. Just because someone doesn't mingle with the crowd, have many friends, or speak very much, doesn't mean they are unsociable. Just because a woman dresses in skimpy clothing and short dresses, doesn't make her a prostitute. Just because a guy maintains a clean and tidy house, and listens to pop music, doesn't make him gay. Just because a girl acts like a tomboy and has short hair, doesn't mean she is a lesbian. We just seem to love stereotyping people, automatically categorizing them as being a certain type of person, and we do so because society has twisted our mind to believe so. Perhaps there have been individuals in the past, who have proven to be in a certain category, made evident by their previous actions, but it certainly doesn't mean that any other people with the same, or similar, characteristics and appearance, are in that category also. Sure, sometimes people are, but many people also are not, so we should never judge or make assumptions about others. The saddest part to all of this is that many people even express their opinions verbally, ridiculing and mocking those who they label in certain categories. It's these type of verbal attacks, be it face to face or on social media, that can easily destroy someone mentally. This is nothing more than pure bullying and harassment, and no one deserves to be treated in such a way.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Humans
Wasting Time
Our family are precious, our job is precious, our income is precious, our house is precious, our friends are precious, our health is precious, our possessions are precious, but apart from being granted with the blessing of life itself, the most precious blessing we have in life, is time. Time provides us with fond memories of our past, but it also provides us the opportunity to make more memories in the future. The value of time is worth more than any amount of money in the world, as without time, money would be worthless. The problem is, most people overlook the importance and value of time, instead focusing on other less important factors of life, such as money, their job, and Netflix. We can always obtain more money, we will always have plenty more opportunities to find another job or a different line of work, and we will always have ample television and movies to watch, but what we don't have the opportunity to get more of, is time. In fact, as each second, each minute, and each hour, ticks by, we bid farewell to another moment of time, that we cannot get back. On reflection, one of the biggest regrets I have, is not valuing the time I had in the past. I think of all the opportunities I missed, that I could have spent more time with my parents, whilst they were actually still alive. I think of all those wonderful moments of fun, laughter, and enjoyment, with my friends, where I was too caught up with living in the moment, rather than truly appreciating such moments of time. I think about all the time I flittered away on non-productive activities, where I could have been better designing my future. Time wasted!
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Dedication Determines The Result
Any professional athlete could tell you about how much they really don't enjoy the training sessions, the weights sessions, and all the hours they spend preparing themselves and their bodies for competition. After all, their ultimate dream and passion is in the competition itself, not the training, conditioning, and preparation. The training, conditioning, and preparation involves a lot of hard work, pain, and commitment, pushing the body to the absolute limit, in an attempt to maximize its potential. Attending these sessions, several times a week, requires a hell of a lot of will power and motivation, and above all, dedication. As much as we look upon these athletes and professional sportsmen and sportswomen in great awe and admiration, we tend to forget they are still human. They still experience the same temptations and enticements of doing some of the more leisurely and less strenuous activities, exactly as we do, rather than going off to push their bodies through intense pain and pressure. The difference between these individuals, and those of us who wander through life without success and fulfillment, is that they have dedication. They know that they have to spend hours and hours, week after week, year after year, doing things they don't want to do, in order to relish in the satisfaction and enjoyment of doing what they love, and lap up the success gained from it. They have the mental strength to resist and overcome the temptation of laziness and any easy options. It's a fact, you need to have dedication to the tasks and actions at hand, that are leading you to your goals, success, happiness, and prosperity, in life, if you want to actually achieve such rewards.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
The Biggest Regret
I talk a lot in my blog entries about regret, and how the fact that many of us are currently dealing with it right now, or how many of us will encounter it in our later life. Let's face it, we are all going to make decisions, and do things, that we look back on in and hindsight, and wish we hadn't have made them, or done them. That's life, we are all human. We are going to make mistakes, we are going to encounter failures, we are going to share relationships with the wrong people, and we are going to say things that were better left unsaid. Unfortunate as it may be, what is done is done, and we can't go back and change the past. What we do have control over, is our future. No matter what errors we have made in the past, be it wrong decisions, or even non-decisions, it doesn't mean we cannot learn from our mistakes, nor does it mean we can't create a rewarding and fulfilling future for ourselves. It's never too late to create a future that we desire, but having said that, each day we hold back from doing so, becomes another day wasted, and each day wasted is a day lost on what is already borrowed time. There are certain decisions we can make, and actions we can take, right now, that can at least eliminate the biggest regret that humankind has, in reaching their latter years. That biggest regret that people end up having on their death bed, is having failed to live their life that was true to themselves, rather than having lived a life that others expected of them.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Take A Chance
We all yearn for success, happiness, and prosperity, in life. Why wouldn't we, considering the alternative is failure, unhappiness, and poverty? The question is though, why is it that such a small percentage of people actually strive for such rewards? Three reasons; fear, doubt, and laziness. Many people doubt that such a life is even achievable, or they simply don't have the talent, knowledge, and skill, to achieve it, or that they don't have the resources to achieve it. Then there are others who simply can't be bothered striving for these rewards. Because success, happiness, and prosperity, all require a lot of hard work, patience, resilience, commitment, and will power, to achieve, this group of people just simply can't be bothered, they don't want to use any energy in applying themselves, and instead they rely on a miracle to eventuate, such as a lottery win. Then we have those who live in fear. They desire all these rewards so desperately, yet they are afraid of seizing their opportunities, because, despite the potential for success, they instead focus on the possibility of failure, or being judged by others, or financial loss, or hardship, or any other potential negative outcomes. The group of individuals that do succeed in life, are those who take a chance. They are prepared to step out of their comfort zone, to make sacrifices, to accept the criticism, the judgement, and lack of support from others, to take risks, and even to fail time and time again, if it means they are working towards a future blessed with success, happiness, and prosperity.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Start By Helping Just One
Any kind hearted and caring soul would take any opportunity to help, support, and uplift others, where they could. Be it a homeless person in the street, begging for money, or a devastated individual who lost their home to a bushfire, a friend or work colleague who is suffering from a debilitating health issue, or an elderly neighbor struggling to look after themselves, whatever the situation where someone is in need, it's the kind hearted and caring souls that are always there to help. Unfortunately, there are also many of us who also make assumptions and judgements about people, when it actually doesn't reflect the true story of that person, and their circumstances. For example, we see a homeless person in the street, and we instantly assume they are too lazy to get a job, that they are drug addicts, that they are alcoholics, and that they will spend any money handed to them on these addictions, or to buy cigarettes. Then there are some of us who often shy away from providing help to others, because we adopt this belief that we can't really make a genuine difference. We feel that performing such a small act of kindness isn't going to exactly help many people, so why bother? We seem to place this massive expectation on ourselves, that our acts of generosity, kindness, help, and support, must visually indicate that we are actually changing many people's lives, otherwise it's not worth our time and effort. We really would so love to make a difference in this world, and our focus narrows to trying to help everyone, but we end up completely overlooking the simplicity of being able to make a world of difference to even just one person. The thing is, if we really want to make a difference in the world, we only need to start by helping one person.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
What Are You Really Sharing?
For many people, they simply don't want you to have an opinion, unless it's in line with their own. It's a sad truth unfortunately, but that's just how many people operate. Unless your beliefs, opinions, views, and even your behavior and actions, align with theirs, you'll find that many people will arc up big time. Rather than being respectful in having a difference of opinion, or just accepting that every one of us are unique and different in our own way, for some unacceptable reason, people become offended. In response, they criticize, they belittle, they mock, they ridicule, they get defensive, they get angry, and they even get personal. Prior to this age of technology, this might have been a disagreement that broke out in the street, or at a pub, or maybe at a workplace, erupting into a brawl or verbal stoush. Although this still happens, the most common form of these disagreements now take place online. Social media has become the ultimate platform for people to, not only express their views, beliefs, and opinions, but to also be able to criticize, ridicule, belittle, bully, and verbally abuse others, who don't agree with them. The most appealing aspect of this, to people, is that they can hide behind their keyboard in doing so, and not have to personally confront people. It's like social media has become the perfect outlet for people to take out their life's frustrations and anger, even if that is at the expense of others. Then we have those who love to use social media like a diary. If they had a bad day at work, or they hate their boss, or they hate their job, or they broke up with their partner, or if they personally don't like someone they live near or work with, or if they just want to have a whinge about how they believe that life is so unfair, and that their life sucks, social media becomes their saving grace to release all their negative feelings and emotions.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Turning The Impossible Into The Possible
In order to achieve a goal we desire, the first thing we must do is believe. We must have the belief that the goal is practical to achieve, not impossible, and we must have the belief in ourselves, that we have actually the ability to achieve it. Without either of these beliefs, we are basically wasting our time in pursuing the goal in the first place. The simple reason is that if we don't have the belief, at the first sign of failure, adversity, setback, rejection, or challenge, along the journey, we will immediately be filled with doubt, and doubt only ever leads to resignation. The truth is, failure, adversity, setback, rejection, and challenge, are all a part of the journey to success. Only an incredibly small percentage of individuals have ever achieved success without facing some hardships and adversities along the way. It's why belief is so important, because we are going to be struck down and tested greatly, over and over again, before we ever reach our goal, and without maintaining that belief in ourselves, we will fail to get back up. For most people, that's exactly where there journey ends. They give up, because they lack that positivity, belief, and resilience. What people don't realize is that failures are never the end of the road, they are merely an indication that certain actions aren't working, nothing more. It's just a matter of changing what's not working, and looking at what you need to do more of, what you need to do less of, what you need to different, and what you need to do better, moving forward. The greatest minds and inventors failed time and time again, spending many years trying to discover the winning formula to success in fact, but they not only maintained belief in themselves, they possessed a quality that more of us need to inherit, and that is determination.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
A Prisoner Of Your Past
Every single one of us make mistakes in life. Fact! Several times we make decisions in our life which we later regret, and in hindsight, we wish we hadn't have made them at all. Having said that, a lot of these mistakes have led us on a different path in life, and we have perhaps received blessings and rewards we may never have obtained, had it not been for making those wrong decisions in the first place, that is at least if we choose to view it in such a positive frame of mind. Many people fail to view it in such a way however, and they simply cannot let go of these poor or incorrect decisions, and move on with their life. Perhaps there have been decisions that others have made, that we reflect on, which have negatively impacted us, and we cannot let go of, such as a relationship/marital split, or a manager firing us from our job. It's unfortunate that so many of us hold on to these decisions and circumstances, and we either never learn to forgive ourselves, or we never forgive those who hurt us. The images of these moments regularly flash through our mind, as we continually run through different scenarios of how we should have handled the situation or moment better, or what we should have said, written, or done different. If only we had our time over again, hey? Regret may even come off the back of non-decisions, passing up opportunities that could have transformed our life for the better. One of the biggest regrets that people have, when on their death bed, is that they failed to spend more time with the people they love; their family, their children, their parents, their friends, and their partner. Many spend their life too wrapped up and overcommitted to their work and other commitments, that they end up sacrificing such valuable and precious time with their loved ones, when their loved ones should've taken priority. Some people even hold on to the past because they reflect on all the happy memories, all the good times, and all the fun they had, in comparison to their current life, which has become void of such happiness and enjoyment. They become sad and depressed over missing their past.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
Think Positive Thoughts
Life delivers constant challenges, adversities, pressure, and pain, there's no disputing that. We seem to forever have something on our mind that concerns and worries us, whether it be our children, our job, our financial situation, our health, our relationship, our lifestyle, or whatever it may be. It's like we manage to solve one problem, to free our mind, and another one pops up almost immediately. Much of the time, the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in, are as a result of our past decisions, yet are within our control, meaning we simply need to make further decisions to resolve the issues we are confronting. Other times, there are circumstances and situations we find ourselves in that are beyond our control, and we are powerless to change or impact. Either way, both these set of circumstances and situations can cause us immense stress, even to the point where it begins to have a negative impact on our health, especially our mental health. So how do we combat stress? How do we relieve ourselves of all this mental pressure that builds up? The first thing to do is to assess whether the cause of our stress is something we have the ability to change. It may be that we are desperately struggling to pay our bills, and we never seem to have enough money, a common issue for many people. The question is, what are we genuinely doing about it? Are we seeking ways to be generating a higher income? Are we stepping out of our comfort zone and asking for help? Are we genuinely living within our means? There's never an easy road out of adversity, and it's entirely up to us to overcome it. If that means making decisions and executing actions that are uncomfortable, awkward, difficult, risky, and even those in which others do not approve, then so be it. If we have the power to overcome the adversity, then that's the only way to remove the stress it is causing us.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
10 Quotes To Create Awareness Of Your Support Network
I mentioned in my message yesterday about how every one of us go through times of extreme challenge, adversity, hardship, pain, and sorrow, and how we yearn for others to be there for us, to provide us with that much needed help, support, encouragement, care, and love, to guide us through such difficulty. In all honesty, we expect our partner, our parents, our friends, and our family, all to be those such people, during our darkest days. Today's message is about preparing you for harsh reality, but to also provide you with strength and courage to overcome adversity. The truth is, not all people you expect to be there for you during your worst times, are going to be there for you at all. It's a sad fact that when someone faces difficulty, hardship, and pain, most people will actually abandon that person altogether. People opt not to get involved as they either have their own issues to sort out, or they don't want to have that burden of carrying someone else's issues in their mind. Those with a genuine kind, caring, and compassionate, heart will be there for you, and even go to great lengths to help and support you as much as they can, but it's unfortunate that these people are few and far between. In fact, during your darkest times, you will quickly discover the true character and nature of each person closely associated with you in life.
By David Stidston5 years ago in Motivation
