“Courage Within Our Conviction: The Breakdown” By Nasir Salaam

Disclaimer: At Black With No Chaser, we believe in providing a platform for all voices. This series is brought to us by our incarcerated brother Nasir Salaam. We hope you enjoy and encourage his willingness to share his mind with us. Nasir can be found on Instagram @freenazz

How can we heal from within? Is it a secrete that only selective people know about? Will money heal us, will being accepted heal us, will having thousands of likes/going viral or being socially popular heal us? Questions that leaves us curious by nature. As I mentioned previously, the way to begin this healing journey is to first venture to the root cause of your problems. Once you’ve discovered what plagues you, there are multiple things you can do in order to begin your healing process. I’ll provide 3 examples that are sure to work when you apply courage within your conviction towards healing within self. These 3 examples are not only about healing, but being goal oriented within your healing process as well.

1. NO SQUARES IN YOUR CIRCLE! Who you choose to surround yourself with is crucial. Your circle is imperative to how you may think, act and view yourself based on their point of views and opinions of you. Your circle may consist of close friends and family members. One of the mottos I live by is: Control what you can control, what’s out of your control pray for the best! Deciding who comes in and out of your life is well within your control. It should not matter that you grew up with your friends from childhood, if they’re having a negative impact on your life you should cut them out of your life. When you have good news it should be a joy for them to hear, when you’re in a good mood they should be eager to join in on that good energy. But instead, slick remarks and rolling of the eyes followed by sarcastic rebuttals is what they resort to. With friends like that who needs enemies! Family is a tuff one. Why? Simply because they’re family. But once again, if they’re energy and intentions isn’t propelling the bond, then its drowning it. Personally, I love from a distance. I can still love you, but not like certain characteristic traits that comes with you so in regards to that, love them from a distance. So please surround yourself with like minded individuals that will not only encourage you to do bigger and better things, but will be there in times of need. You’ll have a proper foundation of support to lean on when times get tuff for you as oppose to subtle hate, bad energy and harsh criticism you’re probably enduring as you read this.

2. BELIEF IN YOURSELF! I’m sure you heard and read this on countless occasions, but have you actually believed it? Believed in yourself? Did you really take the time to internalize what you were reading, what you were hearing when those words were mentioned? The reason you hear it so much is because it REALLY WORKS when inherited internally within the depths of whatever belief system you have setup. Have you ever heard: Its hard to believe in somebody when they don’t believe in themselves? That’s probably someone who’s been trying to help you see what they see, feel what you should be feeling with hopes of you finally taking a course of action. How you have belief in yourself starts with what you feed your body, mainly your mind. The subconscious remembers more than you may think. It remembers the self doubt, the fail attempts and you saying to yourself that you probably deserve it. Believing the nasty comments online about yourself, what you consume that cast more doubt like fictitious beauty of how you’re suppose to look or dress and anything less than that you’re deemed basic. (Worthless) To be consider healthy you must eat healthy. To have belief in self you must provide your mental with the proper content. If something makes you feel sad or ashamed about yourself, that’s probably an unhealthy option and in your mind should be considered a foreign substance and in part, the body should reject it. Feed it the nutrients its craving on a consistent basis that will contribute to what you believe in, what you see for yourself. All you need is a mustard seed of faith, add water, and watch it flourish.

3. BE IN THE SOLUTION BUSINESS! We live in a world filled with problems, pain, suffering and agony. Some are worse off than most, while others have help some have no help at all. We also live in a world filled with STAGNATION and PROCRASTINATION. Two of my fiercest enemies because they’re designed with destruction on the mind! They come with complaints and restraint that keeps you from accomplishing your goals. Let’s take it back to the healing process for a second. Once you’ve uncovered the root of your problems the next step should be this particular question, what’s my solution? Some resort to drugs and alcohol to cope with the pain, but that can only add onto your silent suffering with temporary relief until you sober up. Continue on with your journey with a more practical approach such as therapy. As black people we were bread to endure a lot, our shoulders are broad, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a breaking point. Especially with the added disadvantages we’re faced with here in America. Therapy has become a topic of discussion now days, but it use to be taboo and refuted by the black community because it was viewed as being weak. But what we’ve came to know is, “weak is the person who pretends to look strong!” Being in the solution business is a culmination of the first two examples as well. It is as simple as just going for yours by figuring out what you have to do to get the job done in the most befitting way. These are things within your control so please do not allow a stagnant thought or a procrastinated proclamation that you heard from “so and so” skew you from your intended goal. And that’s getting a resolution by being in the business of solutions.