171 – What Moves You Forward?

http://www.beingabettermanpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_1065.jpg ()

WHAT MOVES YOU FORWARD?
My name is Alf Herigstad, I am your host and fellow man in the trenches.  I will be guiding you into this labyrinth of manly musings.
But first, I want to acknowledge the sponsor of today’s program;  Stump Town Kilts!  They have been sponsoring the Friday episodes since December of this year. 
If you have not yet checked them out over at http://stumptownkilts.com (stumptownkilts.com) …you really should.  If you have ever envisioned yourself wearing a kilt, these people at Stump Town Kilts are making the finest, most durable, kilts on the market today in my opinion.  That’s why I own three of them.
I visited their operation down in Portland Oregon, and they were all wearing kilts.  So, you have people who wear kilts, making and designing the kilts.  They know what works, they know how they feel, they understand the form and function required to make a superior garment that can be worn anywhere, and that breeds innovation and excellence.
So stop thinking about it, just head over to http://stumptownkilts.com (stumptownkilts.com) and pick out your next kilt.  Don’t forget to enter the code:  betterman, all one word all lower case, at checkout to receive 10% off your entire purchase.
OK men.  Here we are, at the conclusion of another week in our life.  They just keep stacking up don’t they?  the days, weeks months and years…they just keep rolling along.  Time keeps moving forward, it cannot be stopped.
I think it’s important, as men to not let the wave of time wash over us and leave us behind.  If you aren’t paying attention, if you get lazy or complacent, time can roll right over your head and leave you sitting there…a stagnant, echo, of a man that could have been.
I know thats a little abstract, so I’ll explain it in more concrete terms.  I’ll define what kind of guy I’m talking about.
We have all known guys like this, perhaps we have even been this guy ourselves…or are right now.  It’s a guy that has got caught in a rut.  At some point he found a job that will do, a relationship that works ok, and friends that he knows what to expect from.  Where he lives is adequate, and his routine is predictable.  Then he just stops.
He stops initiating change, he stops wondering and dreaming.  This guy stops attempting to alter and improve the world around him because he has accepted his mediocrity and has become comfortable in his complacency.
For a guy like this, it’s like he is caught in a time loop.  Years can pass with no real measurable change in his circumstance.  Time has moved forward without him.
This can happen at any age from high school to old age.  Younger guys might retreat into the fantasy of video games.  Older guys might retreat into the soul-sucking trap of their careers…living to work instead of working to live, or they might just give their life over to the TV every night, or a bottle of booze, or whatever.
The problem with this in my opinion, is that human males were not designed to languish.  We were not designed or programmed to become complacent.  It is therefore contrary to the nature of our soul, and over time it will rob you of your joy.
I have seen guys who, after several years wake up out of their stupor of mediocrity.  They look around in their life like they are surprised, they are wondering what happened.  How did I get so fat?  Why is my life so miserable?  Where did all the time go?
Some guys wake up too late.  They accept their fate and slip back into an unconscious form of existing.  For other guys it’s a huge walkup call and they begin living as vital men once again.
My suggestion, is that you avoid slipping into this malaise altogether.  So how can you assure that this is accomplished?
I believe that each one of us need something, or several things, that will move us forward every day.  If time is always moving forward, then we need to also be moving forward at the same rate.
At any moment, you

WHAT MOVES YOU FORWARD?
My name is Alf Herigstad, I am your host and fellow man in the trenches.  I will be guiding you into this labyrinth of manly musings.
But first, I want to acknowledge the sponsor of today’s program;  Stump Town Kilts!  They have been sponsoring the Friday episodes since December of this year. 
If you have not yet checked them out over at stumptownkilts.com …you really should.  If you have ever envisioned yourself wearing a kilt, these people at Stump Town Kilts are making the finest, most durable, kilts on the market today in my opinion.  That’s why I own three of them.
I visited their operation down in Portland Oregon, and they were all wearing kilts.  So, you have people who wear kilts, making and designing the kilts.  They know what works, they know how they feel, they understand the form and function required to make a superior garment that can be worn anywhere, and that breeds innovation and excellence.
So stop thinking about it, just head over to stumptownkilts.com and pick out your next kilt.  Don’t forget to enter the code:  betterman, all one word all lower case, at checkout to receive 10% off your entire purchase.
OK men.  Here we are, at the conclusion of another week in our life.  They just keep stacking up don’t they?  the days, weeks months and years…they just keep rolling along.  Time keeps moving forward, it cannot be stopped.
I think it’s important, as men to not let the wave of time wash over us and leave us behind.  If you aren’t paying attention, if you get lazy or complacent, time can roll right over your head and leave you sitting there…a stagnant, echo, of a man that could have been.
I know thats a little abstract, so I’ll explain it in more concrete terms.  I’ll define what kind of guy I’m talking about.
We have all known guys like this, perhaps we have even been this guy ourselves…or are right now.  It’s a guy that has got caught in a rut.  At some point he found a job that will do, a relationship that works ok, and friends that he knows what to expect from.  Where he lives is adequate, and his routine is predictable.  Then he just stops.
He stops initiating change, he stops wondering and dreaming.  This guy stops attempting to alter and improve the world around him because he has accepted his mediocrity and has become comfortable in his complacency.
For a guy like this, it’s like he is caught in a time loop.  Years can pass with no real measurable change in his circumstance.  Time has moved forward without him.
This can happen at any age from high school to old age.  Younger guys might retreat into the fantasy of video games.  Older guys might retreat into the soul-sucking trap of their careers…living to work instead of working to live, or they might just give their life over to the TV every night, or a bottle of booze, or whatever.
The problem with this in my opinion, is that human males were not designed to languish.  We were not designed or programmed to become complacent.  It is therefore contrary to the nature of our soul, and over time it will rob you of your joy.
I have seen guys who, after several years wake up out of their stupor of mediocrity.  They look around in their life like they are surprised, they are wondering what happened.  How did I get so fat?  Why is my life so miserable?  Where did all the time go?
Some guys wake up too late.  They accept their fate and slip back into an unconscious form of existing.  For other guys it’s a huge walkup call and they begin living as vital men once again.
My suggestion, is that you avoid slipping into this malaise altogether.  So how can you assure that this is accomplished?
I believe that each one of us need something, or several things, that will move us forward every day.  If time is always moving forward, then we need to also be moving forward at the same rate.
At any moment, you should be aware of the things in your life that propel you, things that quicken your spirit and your mind and provide you with forward momentum.  If you can’t readily identify what these things are…that’s a problem.  You better start creating them if they don’t exist.
To give you an example, I’ll share what some of the things in my life are that move me forward.  This podcast for one, I have to stay ahead of it and be engaged or it will cease to exist.  I have the book I am putting together, which I’m getting really excited about.  The seasons are changing and soon I will be working the soil and planting crops.  My sheep will start having lambs. 
The list goes on and on…I have batches of mead and beer to brew.  I have things to repair and other things to build.  All of these things keep me in motion.  These things keep me moving forward, and they make me alive and vital.
So ask yourself right now, what is moving you forward?  What is it in your life that is forcing you to move? 
I also think part of the secret, is to never be satisfied.  It seems kind of backwards…because satisfaction is something that we all seek.  However, the moment we attain satisfaction with anything;  our work, our relationships, our income, or ourselves, in that moment that we become satisfied, we stop trying.
These are some of the principles that the Being A Better Man philosophy was built on.  We must continually keep striving for improvement in every area of our lives and especially, in ourselves.  To be a little better today, than we were yesterday, and then keep doing that every, single day.
I believe that each one of us were endowed with not only the ability…but the NEED, to create, to alter, to dream and wonder, to innovate, to inspire and protect, to live and evolve and improve.  If we deny ourselves these essential elements of our base nature then we are destined to fall far short of our potential, as men.
It is totally up to you.  As always, the choice is yours, you decide what kind of man you are and what kind of life you have.  If you don’t make a decision…no one else will make it for you.
And look…as always, if you don’t know what I mean, or you are having trouble understanding how to implement this in your life, no problem.  Just write me a letter at [email protected], and we can work it out together.
Now head out into the big wide world and live into your future.  Take an active role in what happens tomorrow instead of becoming a victim to it.  Discover what types of things will keep you moving forward and create those things in your life.  Realize also that if you become satisfied, it’s time to create new goals and destinations so that you always have something to work toward and live into. 
If you do these things it will become a lot easier to be a better man today, than you were yesterday.
Please take time to check out the MANLY RESOURCE CENTER, in the menu tab at the top of the page.  Or, click on these links.
PATREON
STUMPTOWN KILTS
AUDIBLE
FACEBOOK
 (function(d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = "//forms.aweber.com/form/27/1175410227.js";
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, "script", "aweber-wjs-t8d8jxubo"));