Masculinity has been branded as toxic. To express too many of its traits is frowned upon by society and the people who exude masculine behaviors face criticism. Why is this the case? Why do the powers that be hate masculinity? Why is the world trying to demonize and strip people of this trait? The answer lies in a quote by author Michael Hopf, “Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times.” When we lose masculinity, it creates a void of weakness that cannot be filled by anything else. What are some of the traits of masculinity that make this trait so necessary for a thriving civilization anyway?
Ambitious
Ambition is a key feature of masculinity. Strong men create their value through status derived from their ambition. In a nutshell, those who are ambitious take risks, create, and grow society. People who are ambitious can absorb the criticisms coming from their surroundings and obstacles they may face and use it to fuel them to accomplish their lofty goals.
CEO and founder of up and coming media company Valuetainment Patrick Bet-David is the epitome of ambition. After fleeing war torn Iran at 12 years old, young Bet-David lived in a refugee camp in Germany for some time and eventually made his way into the United States. His upbringing was tough, and he struggled mightily in school with a 1.8 GPA. His father was a 99 cent store cashier and his family barely got by. After a stint in the military, Bet-David landed an insurance job in 2001 and eventually grew his own insurance company, PHP Agency, over the course of the next two decades. From there, Bet-David decided to use his resources and reach to double down on his social media brand, Valuetainment. Over just a short few years, his media influence has garnered national attention and has millions of subscribers and even more viewers.
Patrick Bet-David is an amazing example of what ambition looks like in real time. When faced with every possible reason to accept mediocrity and failure, he pushed through those boundaries and turned his life and purpose into something truly special. His influence positively impacts the millions of people who watch his content or consume his insurance products. Ambition is perhaps the single most important trait of masculinity as it pertains to the advancement and betterment of society as a whole. Without ambition, all the things we have today would not have been made possible.
Disciplined
Discipline is becoming harder and harder to come by due to society’s push for instant gratification and immediate results. The fruits masculinity bears is derived from discipline because without it, worthwhile achievement is not possible. Discipline is more than just motivation. It’s a deep commitment to push forward in doing something no matter the circumstances.
If you’re hurting, no one cares, do it anyway.
If you’re tired, no one cares, do it anyway.
If you don’t feel like doing it anymore, no one cares, do it anyway.
Discipline is the driving force that keeps us on the right path when things get difficult, especially when people start to question you. You might feel like giving up and trying down another path with less resistance. Without discipline, you will perpetually change course when things begin to get difficult. This is buying into the lie that is sold to us as “get rich quick”, or “lose weight quick”. There is no magic pill or formula to achieve these things, just discipline and hard work to see something through.
There was a great quote I saw on the internet the other day. To paraphrase, it went something along the lines of, “progress only begins when you feel like quitting”. Only a few will be willing to break through their comfort zone to achieve great things. Most people will listen to that voice in their head telling them to quit. A large component of masculinity is that discipline factor. When you combine discipline with ambition, you have a great recipe for success.
Physically in shape
Masculinity is about pushing your body hard to achieve maximum strength, endurance, physique, and optimal health. Some men conflate taking performance enhancing drugs like anabolic steroids with masculinity. Although it does help with this component, it often does more harm than good, and it doesn’t do anything to enhance any of the other equally important aspects of masculinity such as ambition and discipline. Ambition and discipline are required traits to get in peak shape and challenge yourself in that realm. Anabolic steroids are a shortcut with long term side effects to compensate for your lacking in the other two components mentioned thus far in regards to masculinity. Overcompensating here will not help you in the long run.
Being physically in shape is designed to sharpen your discipline, not expedite it. Hitting milestones at the gym is hard. Hitting endurance goals such as a marathon in a specific timeframe which is what I’m currently doing is hard. These undertakings build character and exemplify discipline to the highest degree. When the body and the brain do not want to continue but you ignore it and continue anyway, it becomes the ultimate tool to chisel your discipline muscles. Being the best you can be physically and challenging yourself in this realm has positive effects beyond just looking and feeling good. It can help carry momentum and snowball into other areas of your life as well.
Becoming high-value
Putting this all together is the epitome of masculinity. It increases your value to the world and is one of the cornerstones of how society can continue to grow and advance at a high level. Masculinity is a threat to those who want to control others. It’s a threat to those who don’t want people to think for themselves. It’s a threat to those who wish to physically impose themselves on you. This is the reason why in ancient times there are countless stories of one tribe/nation/state conquering another, killing their fighting age masculine men, enslaving their women, and taking their children for themselves. Masculinity is a rebellious trait. It is one that instills a fighting spirit in those who exude it. It isn’t a costume one can just put on when they feel like. It is one of the strongest pillars that make up our flourishing society. If we want to keep it flourishing, we must preserve masculinity in our youth, stop demonizing people for being masculine, and understand and appreciate its importance in society.