Today is quite the chaotic time to grow and mature as a young man. Whether it’s the proclamations of toxic masculinity or villainization of fatherhood, it’s no wonder why so many young men are searching for help and answers to overcome the chaos and become the best version of themselves.
So, what traits does a man need today to take on the mantle of real masculinity?
The answer that covers more issues than any other is discipline. No matter the virtue we are trying to obtain, the vice we are trying to break, or the dream we are chasing, we won’t be able to succeed without discipline. Discipline is what keeps us going when the times are tough, when we feel weak or hopeless.
Legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi famously said, “The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.” What he was referring to was discipline. Wherever success is found, it will be accompanied by this virtue. His teams in Green Bay embodied this in their championships under Coach Lombardi where they would run the same play again and again. The opposing team knew the play was coming, and yet Coach ran it anyway, and successfully. It was the discipline instilled in his players that led them to outperform their opponents. Rome conquered most of the known world with the famous discipline of its legions. There isn’t a business that has succeeded without adhering to a rigid discipline. Philosophers and saints have preached its importance.
Yet, this virtue is constantly undermined by our modern society that tells us, “There’s no need to study hard, you just need that barely passing grade! You don’t need to live by a budget, here’s this credit card! You don’t need to exercise, here are games you can play and entertainment you can watch from the couch! You don’t need to practice chastity, here’s a hot website!” The list goes on, and all of it, by design or not, erodes the very source that will make us the men we are called to be.
How then, do we find and obtain this discipline? How can this simple sounding word be so difficult to obtain? It won’t happen overnight. It can take weeks to create a new habit, so we have our work cut out for us.
The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus wrote, “Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become.” This will be our daily challenge as we build ourselves up. Some of us will be further ahead in the chase than others, and some of us may have addictions, illnesses, or handicaps that we must overcome. We can start with something as simple as making our beds every morning. No matter what happens throughout the day, if we come back to a made bed, we know we have accomplished one step in our discipline.
Then, we can build on that initial act. Comfort is our enemy in this pursuit. Anything we can do to safely cause discomfort on a regular basis will be beneficial. Some examples of this can be fasting, cold showers or plunges, intense workouts, avoiding dessert, or setting a schedule for each day. Over time these small practices will have the effect of a snowball starting an avalanche that will have us mastering our mental, physical, and spiritual selves.
The only time it’s too late to learn discipline is tomorrow. Today is the time to make choices that will guide our lives going forward. Our civilization and country were founded by and depend on good men who were intent on bettering themselves and others. And it is our duty to continue in their footsteps, whatever the world may set against us.
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