I’m sorry if you are curled up in the fetal position this past weekend because I didn’t address your latest psychological issue.  First of all, mental illness isn’t a laughing matter.  We all know someone that suffers from a mental illness whether you understand it or not.  According to statistics I just made up, 1 in 5 people suffer from mental illness.  I know that might seem a bit low considering half your family is a bunch of drunks and the other half is dysfunctional bunch of drug addicts, but in my limited one quarter of psychology at the local junior college 20 years ago, it seems pretty legit.

Wait, I know…alcohol is a drug so basically 100% of your family is crazy but you forget to factor in my margin of error.  Since you are normal (normal because you read my worthless advice blog), then your family can’t be 100% crazy loony tunes, right?  You might be the one ray of sunshine in your family’ sad existence and I applaud you for being that one speck of normalness in a wacky uncaring family.

Now, let’s talk about you.

Since you believe that you are normal, does that mean all your beliefs are normal and those that disagree with your normal views are abnormal?  Hold on, what if you change your opinion on something?  Does that mean that your old normal is now abnormal and your new belief is the “new” normal?

Confused?  I hope so.  The reality is that you are always changing your opinion and beliefs in the endless pursuit of escaping your past and that the future is your only hope for a better you.  You believe in continuous improvement and that your updated beliefs are making you better.  And you should believe in continuous improvement.  If you don’t believe in it, you are fooling yourself.  Every article you read in a magazine, every show you watch, every ad you intake affects your belief system.

How you accept these new beliefs will determine your future.  Can you accept this?  You do know that this influences your decisions?  Of course, you know all this.  All of your experiences contribute to your decisions you make now and in the future.  Whether they are the right decisions can be decided by your value system.  No one can tell you what is right or wrong unless it falls into your personal value system.  Your personal ethics can be a free flowing or as rigid as you want them (or need them to be).

Allow yourself to invest in your belief system and develop your future into what you want it to be.  Look back at the past and embrace what it has molded you into for it has a direct influence on your future.

You have to accept that your past was bad, it was awful, and you were wrong.  Admit that you screwed up, you were a failure, a liar, a thief, and that you hurt people that love you.  Until you accept your past, you will never change.

Accept your past, admit your failures and wrongdoing, set new goals that bring about continuous improvement, and get on with your life.

Now is the time to chime in with your thoughts and feelings.  Boost my fragile ego and encourage my narcissistic nature with your comments (good and bad)!