Men & Tools

In today’s lingo some would say, “All men are tools.” We’ll be trying to change that.

Today’s tool… the telescope. Once they were able to polish glass correctly it didn’t take men long to put two and two together, literally somebody had to just hold two up and in the comparing of them noticed “things in the glass seem closer than they appear than when I use the naked eye,” scientists and sailors loved them.

A telescope allowed them to see farther… and get a clearer picture… of the great beyond. Making knowing where they were going a little easier.

We don’t have a “manly” telescope that is calibrated to show us a far off picture of ourselves as men.

Maybe we didn’t have a dad to look forward to.

Maybe we grew up in an inner city orphanage run by only nuns.

Maybe we were raised by wolves… whatever the situation our problem today is one of not having anyone to learn from. With no clear picture in our glass.

We need to ‘scope out our future, and set a course for ourselves by looking backward first… and then determining how many leagues away we are from our ideal manliness. Measuring up to other men in order to see where we are in our manhood strength and weaknesses.

One of the most important things that I learned (not right off the bat, it took awhile) was to develop a realistic picture of myself and what I’d be capable actually doing.

Such as… how physically strong could I be? I didn’t even know to train my telescope on that particular mountain. I ran into that reality quite by accident.

I was listening to the 100 Million Dollar Man, Mr. Joe Rogan, and he was talking with Firas Zahabi, the coach for George St. Pierre. It wasn’t a main point, the coach mentioned in passing, “a body can only get so strong, without the use of steroids and other supplements a body’s make-up will determine how much mass it can carry and what the upper level of strength can be.” He also said, “a person can be a lot stronger than they look.”

I realized I was stuck in my fourteen year old thinking with pictures of Bruce Lee, Arnold, and Rocky III as the only kind of strength that I was aspiring to. Mr. Zahabi’s comment, “a body can only get so strong,” has stuck with me as I continue on in my health journey.

In 2016 I started learning how to take care of myself again. Started moving the weights. Learning about calories and carbs and water intake… it seems so basic now but I thought I knew better, but I didn’t… not really.

Now that I understand my food portions, the calories in those portions, how water affects me, how good sleep is crucial… I now know what amount of work goes into each level of strength and being healthy that my body can attain.

My current home gym is about to get a little light. Without larger weights I’ve had to go up in sets and reps. But it’s fun switching things up and including some boxing into the mix.

Men & Tools go together like finely meshed Cogswell Cogs.

Learning to use tools to help develop our confidence in our manhood is a requirement in our manly growth and capabilities… be smart, ‘scope things out, and… don’t trip over that dumbbell while learning how to Encourage, Equip & Engage as an Emerging Man.