Superman

Superman 

Navigating the world can be challenging as we are always bombarded by messages informing us on who we should be. We are indoctrinated into other people's viewpoints, we are influenced by advertising, we are told what is acceptable by the culture, we are expendable like pawns in a chess game. It's easy to fall into the trap of victimhood because modern life is so fast paced and everything is always in motion, sometimes it's like life is happening to you. It's easy to get nihilistic and feel yourself as a spectator and not a collaborator. The movie Fight Club released in 1999 was ahead of its time in portraying the masculinity crisis in the 21st century. Being swept up by novelty and consumerism we lose the anchor that keeps us grounded in reality. We let things outside of ourselves defines us. Negativity plagues our lives. We lose the ability to make decisions for ourselves, we become victims, we become weak, we lose our masculine frames. 20th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche covered this on his masterpiece book "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" with his work on the "Ubermench" or "Overman" which directly translates to The Superman. He states that man should be bigger than his circumstances and aspire to be the very best that he can be. The "Ubermench" or Superman is better than passive, he is masculine and strong, he doesn't make excuses, he is a leader of his life and is not a victim of any circumstance. The "Ubermench" is accountable and responsible for his own life. He is a man of purpose, he is in control of his destiny. The "Ubermench" makes his own decisions pertaining to his life. He has a masculine frame that is unyielding. A masculine frame is everything in the context of navigating reality and achieving any level of success. In this post we will be exploring how to breakout of the victims mentality so you can self-actualize and be the best that you can be. 

1. Look inward and diagnose - Realize that everything is what you make it. Your life currently is the result of your past decisions and thoughts. Thoughts are the language of the mind. Have good thoughts. Look at your habits and catch yourself in the act of negative self-talk. Journal your thoughts to make sense of what is in your mind. This will help you reflect and understand your state of mind much better. Troubleshoot your mind in the same way you would to your computer. When your computer is slow and certain programs are crashing, you troubleshoot it to understand the problem and fix it. Without the troubleshooting you run the risk of causing irrevocable damage to the operating system. Your mind is your operating system, your thoughts are the language of your system, have good thoughts to have a good life. 

2. Eliminate negativity - Stear away from negative people or situations that enable you to react in morally unjustified behaviors. Take responsibility for your life and your decisions. Understand that we are judged by the company we keep, birds of the same feathers flock together. Look at the people in your life. Eliminate negative people in your life. You can't get far with negative friends who look down on you and take you for granted. As a man you need to be around people who help you get better. People who will feul your ambitions and move with you to the top. You need to be around men with value and accountability, men who inspire you and lift you up. You need to be around winners and conquerers, that is the only way to be a winner and a conquerer. Winners are enthusiastic about life, they are passionate and they are positive. Losers on the other hand have a victims mentality, a energy that calibrates at a low energy level and they never achieve anything of significance. Eliminate negativity and be with people who want the best for you. 

3. Practice gratitude - Gratitude is the act of magnifying what you have. It is positive energy that radiates. It teaches you to be thankful for what you do have. It's insistence is on abundance instead of lack. With gratitude you have everything you need, you feel lighter on your feet, you are encouraged and confident about God's love and grace. Gratitude is what gets you to have a truthful life. It purifies the soul and makes you an overall great human being with the magnetic power of a magnate. Without gratitude for life, a man is in danger of having nihilistic thoughts and resorting to instant gratification that numbs the pain as a means of escapism. 

4. Go after your purpose - Go after your dreams, this will teach you to be a person of character. It teaches you to be accountable for your destiny. No excuses, you fight for your dreams with everything you have. You take the disappointments, learn the lessons and commit to doing better the next time. The act of going for your dreams and following your purpose will give you confidence and greater self-esteem. Apathy will cease to exist and you will be in charge of your life. You will be a man of high value and everything will flock to you. A man without a purpose will always be a victim of life. 

5. Help others - Take your attention off yourself and concentrate that energy on somebody else or an organization. Offer your time to a worthwhile course like a homeless shelter. Give what you can. Donate what you don't need anymore to someone who does, things like old clothes, blankets and toys go a long way. It will make you feel good and will give you control and power, alienating the feelings of unworthiness and victimhood. Helping others makes us feel important as our contributions are noted and appreciated. Great men are the change that they want to see in the world, they contribute more than they consume and they offer a hand because it helps the world move forward.

6. Meditation - Add meditation to your schedule. Mindfulness meditation helps with observing our thoughts and quieting down the internal monologue. Realize that you are not your thoughts and you can distance yourself from them and watch them go by. Thoughts are just spontaneous things that happen and you don't have to identify with them. Meditation helps with emotional mastery as you will be able to regulate your emotions and resist the urge to lash out at people. This is important because we live in a world that is survival based dictated by the fight-or-flight organ the amygdala, and as such the skill to be able regulate and perceive other people's emotions is priceless. A high value man is one with impeccable Emotional Intelligence. You get high emotional intelligence by being emphatic. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in other persons shoes. Meditation helps with caltivating empathy skills because you can slow things down and be reflective. A man who can't control his emotions is deemed to be impulsive with no self control, a big turn-off for the opposite sex and other men will not respect you. Meditation helps you recognize negative self-talk so you can fix it and be better.