"The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you really are."
– Carl C. Jung
Focusing on You
Who am I as a man, really?
Perhaps you are a husband, partner, a father or a lover, confused about what it means to be a man. Or you are single and struggling with loneliness. You may feel frustrated at times because you have the sense that you are not fully tapping into your amazing potential in your private and/or public life. You may be plagued by negative beliefs that you don’t have it in you to excel intellectually in your endeavors or you are discouraged or immobilized by your failures, by infidelity or a broken or failed relationship, and therefore have shut down emotionally, taking a hit to your self-esteem. You may feel depressed at times and don’t know why, and if you do, you don’t know how to stop feeling that way.
The Path Inward
You may be just around the corner from a life of happiness, discovery, and fulfillment and not realize it. What may be setting you back is that you’re turning away from knowing what lies hidden within because you’re afraid of what you will discover. Do you understand the paradox of that and yet magically want answers to why you feel the way you do, act the way you do? As a member of the human race, of course, you long to grab the brass ring for a life well-lived, a life that is rightly yours: feelings of joy, love, hope, accomplishment. But you may be afraid to pause, to reach out, and ask for help when you experience roadblocks along the way. You may feel confused, lost, take the wrong path, make bad choices … and as a result, suffer.
One of life’s great secrets is that the reality you experience is a mirror of your thoughts, your internal life, what you believe you deserve. I believe that we each know what is right and necessary for our healing and growth. When you feel sad, fearful, depressed, anxious … these feelings do not represent the truth. They are the reflections of what you are thinking … in those cases, negative thinking. Imagine the freedom and relief that awaits you when you start doing men’s work, acting on your ability to take control of your thoughts and feelings.