How To Be a Man: How To Navigate Through This Era

As men, we must understand how to operate in today’s world. But with so much conflict, uncertainty, and opinions out there, it can be difficult to navigate manhood successfully.

But this is a battle that we don’t have to stab at blindly. We can prepare ourselves to face the situations that arise with confidence, clarity, and focus as real men should.

Today, I will talk about being a man in this era. It’s a tough challenge, but if you lean into self-betterment and learn how to adapt, you can bring honorable manhood back.

Strength In Adversity

The first quality a man needs to have is strength. There are few qualities more essential to manhood than this. But strength can be more than just physical strength— you also need to have emotional strength during tumultuous times.

Emotional Grit

One of the tests of masculinity is how well a man handles a tough situation. When life stacks the odds against us, do we fold and give in, or do we push through, continue to work hard, and find victory?

Many of us choose to show our strength by minimizing and suppressing our emotions through tough times. But this method of emotional grit is not the way to go.

The real show of masculinity is not running from our emotions but confronting them and facing them for what they are. Trying to show strength in silence is a way to get on the fast track to an adverse mental health event.

Self-Betterment

Men’s mental health is a serious issue. Men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women are, and one in five men develop an alcohol dependency at some point in their lives.

So instead of running from our emotions, we need to learn healthy coping mechanisms. Instead of hiding our flaws, we need to face them and practice self-betterment. The real sign of toughness and confidence is the ability to admit weakness and then work to fix it.

Protect and Care

A classic mark of the man is his ability to protect and care for the people he cares about. As men, we need to be concerned about the well-being of our family and friends and help them achieve the most out of themselves.

Physical Strength and Health

A big part of protection and care is physical strength and caring for your health to be able to care for other people.

So it’s essential to eat right. We need to get to the gym, maximize our muscles, and get our weight in check. Being in good shape is vital for caring for your family, completing tasks around the house, and having the energy to keep pushing through life.

Providing

As men, we also need to be responsible for providing for our families. Even when it’s hard to find the motivation, we need to push through and work hard.

There’s a lot to be said about the dangers of workaholism. Being obsessive about our jobs to the point that it gets in the way of our relationships is unhealthy, and we need to watch out for that.

But the fact is that working hard is an admirable quality that we should strive for as men.

Calm, Collected, Focused

This last one is a quality that is incredibly difficult to achieve. As men, we have a competitive nature and a sense of justice that can make us combative and angry. While these emotions can be good, they can also affront our masculinity.

Non-Reactive

When we’re reactive, our anger can blind us. Anger has a way of keeping our minds from being logical. Anger can be excellent fuel, but it can also be a fire that consumes the rest of us.

Have you ever met a man who, no matter what was in front of them, reacted with stoic confidence that gave them enough clarity and focus to respond appropriately? There are few things more masculine than a collected man entirely in control of his emotions during the situation at hand.

Being able to react to an annoyance, an injustice, or a tense situation with clarity is a weapon for masculinity that can be wielded with precision to help you diffuse situations and identify all possible solutions. This clarity can help you be a great leader and man.

Goal Driven

But being calm, collected, and focused can work for us in more ways than just conflict resolution. These qualities also help us to visualize and achieve our goals.

We’ve already talked about the importance of working hard. Still, equally important is the ability to dream big about what we can achieve and visualize our goals, set out a path to get to our goals, and then walk that path and realize the goals we’ve set for ourselves.

If your goals center around your career, what path will you lay for yourself to get that promotion? How do you craft your workout plans for maximum muscle growth and fat loss if you want to build muscle and get a great physique?

Conclusion

The era we live in today is unlike any other, and being a man in this modern world can be challenging to navigate. The definition of masculinity is shifting, but part of the mark of a man is the ability to adapt and change to fit the world we live in.

So get out there and be the man your people need you to be. Learn how to be emotionally strong, protect and provide for your loved ones, and visualize your goals with focus and clarity.

Sources

Anger management: 10 tips to tame your temper | Mayo Clinic

GOAL VISUALIZATION | UC Berkeley

What it Means to Be a Man | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness