Being A Great Man, Having Purpose
I apologize for not posting last Sunday, I had a busy weekend, and this particular topic is important to me. I wanted to make sure that I got it right and it wasn’t rushed. Enjoy.
Intro
I was lost a couple years ago as a man and didn’t have any direction for myself for quite a while. I was confused on how to live a good life, and I didn’t feel good about myself most of the time. Over the last 2 years though, I have been learning more about what it means to be a great man and how to properly live your life based on historical examples as well as traditional, religious, and spiritual ideas. This has been incredibly life changing; I’ve done a complete 180 for the better.
There is so much that I want to write about on this topic, and unfortunately it is impossible to fit it all into this one article. So for now, I’m going to focus on the idea of having a strong purpose in your life as a man since I think that this is the most important thing in a man’s life. Consider this the intro to not only this article but future articles about this topic as well. Hopefully you find these topics as helpful as I did.
Purpose In A Man’s Life
A man’s purpose in life is the most important thing to him and his top priority. I believe that every man is put on this earth for a reason, and it is your job as an individual to fulfill this purpose. Life is not free, there is a reason why you are here. God, the universe, whatever you want to call it, has you living this life for a reason. There is a potential that we all need to live up to, and it is important for us to do so on an individual and societal level. Simply put, you are not allowed to ignore your potential.
“You have some vital role to play in the unfolding destiny of the world.” – Jordan Peterson
And you can tell if you are doing this or not. When you are in a deep workflow, you are passionately working on a project, or having great conversations with people, you can tell that you are exactly where you’re supposed to be. It feels great.
I can contribute most (maybe even all) of the bad times and negative emotions in my life to me not living up to my potential and pursuing my purpose. That’s what these negative emotions are for, they’re telling you that you’re doing something wrong. It’s not normal to feel anxious and depressed all the time, and you shouldn’t identify with these emotions. I used to think that there was something wrong with me and that I had a problem. The problem was that I was not living up to my potential and I didn’t have a purpose. And you can feel it deep in your soul when you’re ignoring your purpose. It hurts a lot. But it is supposed to hurt. Thank God it hurts. Because if it didn’t, then you wouldn’t know you’re doing something wrong. You should be grateful for these emotions; they are telling you something extremely important. How else would you know not to put your hand in fire if it didn’t hurt?
Living Your Edge
I’ll let David Deida, author of The Way of the Superior Man and originator of this idea, introduce what living your edge means.
“Where do your fears stop you from making a larger contribution to mankind, from earning a higher income, or from earning money in a more creative and enjoyable way? If you were absolutely fearless, would you be earning a living in exactly the same way as you are now? Your edge is where you stop short, or where you compromise your fullest gift, and, instead, cater to your fears” – David Deida
Living your edge is the way to reach your highest potential, to fulfill your purpose. Instead of catering to your fears and weaknesses, you are testing yourself everyday and following your passion and consciousness wherever it leads you. And where it will lead you is your purpose and your highest potential. That’s why I started writing, because I was interested in doing so. It was uncomfortable for me (and still is) publishing my ideas, but I’m passionate about it and know that it is right.
You don’t know where your passions and interests will take you exactly, but you follow them as much as possible and you will have a fulfilling life where your work consists of things that you mostly enjoy doing and you’re giving as much of your gift to the world as possible. Although it might be terrifying making that leap, it feels great living life like this. It’s how men were designed to live, to solve problems and advance their community. To achieve their purpose.
Conclusion
Trust me, I am far from perfect with these qualities. But it is important to try you hardest at fulfilling your purpose every day. It is not easy at all, but it is truly the best thing you can spend your time doing in this life. I’ve lived the life of ignoring my potential and the life of pursuing my potential and I choose the latter every chance I can. There is pain in both sides, but the rewards of pursuing your potential and becoming a better and stronger man far exceed the pain you will continue to feel ignoring you purpose.
Side Note
I did want to say that this has been by far the most difficult article I have written. I am trying to organize these ideas as well as I can, and it is quite difficult to do so. I don’t know any other way to describe it other than it is just difficult getting my words right on this topic. I think that this stuff is very important, and I want it to be perfect (and I know that is impossible). So, bear with me as I try my best to articulate these topics.
It also feels strange to me telling people what I think it takes to be a great man. I’m a 23-year-old who still lives with his parents. I do not feel qualified at all talking about this topic, I’m not an expert. But you have to start somewhere. You’re never truly qualified for something when you first start it. Just letting you know that this is still wildly uncomfortable for me.
But I am trying my best to spread the information that has helped me so much to other people. Hopefully you find this information helpful as well, thanks for reading.
References
Most of the ideas from this article originate from the book The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida. If you want to go deeper into this topic, because what I just wrote about is the tip of the iceberg, I highly recommend this book. This is a quick an easy read about the spiritual side of what it means to be a superior man. I highly recommend this book to any man that wants to improve himself, any women that wants to understand why men are the way they are, and it also gives great relationship advice on how the two sexes interact with each other.
I am probably going to mention Jordan Peterson in every article I write. In both of his 12 rules for life books, as well as his online lectures, he talks a lot about this stuff. Jordan’s whole purpose is giving people helpful information to make themselves and the people around them stronger and their lives better. He’s helped me tremendously, I’ll always give him his flowers. By the way, the book is 46% off right now!
