MEN'S PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
IMAGINE
You’re walking through the narrow aisles of a supermarket and a young boy is playing ahead of you, blocking your path.
His mother turns around and apologises, saying ‘Watch out, you’re in that man’s way!”.
Right there, in that moment, you're caught off guard and find yourself wondering, ‘Am I really a man?'
BLURRING THE BOUNDARIES
For the 21st Century man, the metamorphosis from boyhood to manhood no longer contains within it any rites of passage, nor confirmation of process as it once did. Instead, in today's culture, exploring one’s own masculinity is regarded at best with suspicion and distrust, and at worst, outright hostility and contempt.
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The fallout from this cultural neglect can take many forms, but the hallmarks are:
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Uncertainty in oneself and one’s ability to take action in the world
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Fluctuations between crippling anxiety/depression and numbing apathy
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Dissociation from your external surroundings, as if living in a dream
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A tendency to ‘buy in’ completely to philosophies and ways of life, e.g. Stoicism/MGTOW, only to find them ultimately unfulfilling
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Fantasies of running away to ‘finally begin your adventure’, with no actual intention of following through with these plans
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Difficulty maintaining your own identity/uniqueness with a group