A weekly roundup on manhood, mentorship, and meaning.
This Week’s Feature Post
An excerpt:
A boy, however, can… grow taller, stronger, even father children without ever being recognized as—or acting like—a man. As Henderson writes:
“Boys have to be encouraged—sometimes actually forced—by social sanctions to undertake efforts toward a culturally defined manhood, which by themselves they might not do.”
Without initiation or standards, boys default to indulgence and aimlessness. And when societies allow that, both men and their communities suffer.
Also This Week
A reflection on deep, evolutionary need for purpose, challenge, and respect—and the lengths we take to get them.
An excerpt:
“A successful society will accept a person’s desire to play a role, and do its best to encourage and promote healthy archetypes that ordinary people can aspire to fulfill.” —Chris Arnade
In Case You Missed It
If you haven’t yet downloaded the free Raising Men poster and mentor guide, you can grab it here:
👉 Download the 10 Rules for Every Young Man (PDF)
And get the poster here:
Ideas, Links, & Recommendations
Focusing on physical needs, usually takes care of your emotional strife. Your psychology follows your physiology
“Focus on hardware before software - Rule of thumb: Fix hardware (sleep, exercise, diet) before software (psychology).
95% of my software problems seem to magically get fixed when I take care of my hardware. And the remaining 5% is easier to debug once I’ve fixed my hardware. Never try anything more complex without first turning the computer off and on.”
Source: George Mack, 9 fun ways to increase your agency with zero grinding required
Male role models needed; women most affected.
“Where young women are encouraged to seek out positive role models for their own good, young men are frequently encouraged to seek out positive role models so that they treat women better.”
Source: The Guardian, How Positive Male Role Models are Detoxifying the Social Media “Manosphere”
Also worth your time:
How the West Was Wrought by Razib Khan
Everyone Can Tell if You’re a Serious Person by Connor Jennings
From the Archives:
Thank you for reading Raising Men. If this work resonates, please share.
Because boys don’t just become men worth admiring.
Carry the fire!
Shane