Colin Kaepernick and Making Adjustments

March 03, 2017 by Soul On Ice

Recently, Colin Kaepernick declared that he will opt out of his contact with the San Francisco 49ers to become a free agent. On the surface, it seems like no big deal. An NFL player opting out of his contract to seek new surroundings is something that is done every off-season. However, every player doesn’t have the attention surrounding them the way Kaepernick had during the 2016 season. Despite that, it is odd, yet very convenient, to read and hear various opinions on one aspect of Colin Kaepernick’s social awareness and actions of last season and that is his decision to stand for the national anthem. Some people see it as him “giving in,” and “being influenced by money” or, even more hilarious, “not down for the cause.” These takes are, at the least, shortsighted and at worst, lazy.

W4: Control What Can Be Controlled

January 27, 2017 by Soul On Ice

If there is one thing that can be frustrating, it is when factors are at play that are out of a person's control. One lesson that is tried-and-true is controlling your attitude. When an event takes place that isn't to one's liking, a person can either be mad about it, or adjust to the situation and try to bring things back to a positive place.

W3: The War Within

January 22, 2017 by Soul On Ice

Photo courtesy of w_mat_brown.

Apathy can be one of the biggest enemies of consistency and creativity. It's weird to be creative and consistent on one hand while battling indifference and apathy on the other, but it does happen. One reason can be because life gets in the way. Another reason can be because time gets taken for granted. A third can be because it's easy to just say, "I'll get to it in a little bit." All of a sudden, "a little bit" becomes "later on" and "later on" becomes "damn, I still gotta do that, huh? Oh well, whatever," and when the latter comes, it's trouble.

W2: No Plan B

January 13, 2017 by Soul On Ice

Photo courtesy of w_mat_brown.

Life is a strange, strange thing. A person can say something, a variation of a message merely said differently, it may not immediately click. Sure, the message sounds good and it makes sense, but maybe the timing isn't right, or the person isn't ready to hear it. It could be anything.

Well, a husband and wife, who so happened to be the first folks to ever look like me to occupy the highest office in the land for the past eight years, are riding off into the sunset and they have helped inspire me to not just do the best possible, but to be great. Being good, or perceived as good at something, hasn't been good enough for the longest and will definitely never be good enough anymore.