Even when we think we’ve hit rock bottom.
You had momentum going into today; sure you got knocked off your race, being bumped out of your lane; you even had momentum on the way down; you may have experienced some pain – mostly mental anguish at your seemingly failure as a man… then the real pain comes… from the sudden stop at the bottom.
If you subscribe to The Stoic philosophy of “the obstacle is the way” you are learning to recognize something is happening outside of yourself… the next level of applying that wisdom comes when you realize even “the shove” that bumped you out of your lane was an external occurrence… that you most probably could have avoided… but you allowed it to affect your personal momentum by giving it more power than it really had.
I have been practicing that next level wisdom and recognize that, “nothing outside of myself needs to affect me, if it does… it is only because I have INTERNALLY allowed it to.”
A mans momentum into manliness is never, truly, derailed.
Momentum
“from Latin momentum “movement, moving power” (see moment). Figurative use, “force gained by movement, an impulse, impelling force,” dates from 1782.” ~ Online Etymology Dictionary
Sure, it may SEEM like you’ve been derailed, and if you are looking up at the world after receiving a kick to the teeth… it may even FEEL like you’ve been derailed… but as a man… you have not.
You have experienced “training” in the arena of manliness.
Like I said earlier, that external occurrence, that kick in the teeth, quite possibly could have been avoided… if you really look at it.
As men we appreciate a good war quote; believing our personal battles resemble true battles.
Don’t kid yourself… our mental struggles are not akin to a Marines struggles on a true battlefield, even though war analogies tend to fit our personal experiences.
The one that does fit both scenarios comes from true war, it has been said, “War is 90% boredom and 10% pure hell.” Life is like that… when you lose a baby; catch cancer; or you have such mental anguish that you actually contemplate taking your own life.
When we come to our personal rock bottoms, whatever those are personally, we can learn to recognize the need to “move” to regain our manly momentum. To “push away” from those things we have given power to that we allow to knock us around.
“directly from Latin momentum “movement, motion; moving power; alteration, change;” also “short time, instant” (also source of Spanish, Italian momento), contraction of *movimentum, from movere “to move” (from PIE root *meue- “to push away”).” ~ Online Word Etymology
You can learn, and apply, the principle “to push away” little by little, in order to continue to grow as a man.
Learning to “push away” from the dinner table; from cashing a 12pak every night; and from the video game console.
Go! Move! Experience the sunshine on your back after organizing the garage… that’s manly momentum!
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