Source: Life
The modern man often leads a rather harried life. There are exams to ace, bills to pay, diapers to change, and annoying co-workers to contend with. And unfortunately, we all too rarely carve out pieces of our day in which to defuse our stress and settle our minds.
Every man needs interludes of quiet and rest, not just to think through what’s been going on in his life but also to not think at all. Just to quiet his mind and be in the moment and feel his cares fall away. Traditional meditation is a great way of doing this. But I’ll level with you; I don’t have the self-discipline to sit still for long periods of time concentrating on my breathing. And I actually find it easier to get into a meditative state when I’m doing something repetitive with my hands. These repetitive motions give the brain a little something to do while the rest of it takes a break. If you’ve ever had a great idea while in the shower, washing dishes, or brushing your teeth you will recognize the wisdom in this.
Activities that keep your hands busy with simple, repetitive movements are some of the best ways to settle your mind, find peace from your worries, and gain inspiration in your decisions. So here are 6 manly ideas for getting a little more zen in your life:
Shining Your Shoes
Source: Life
Shining your shoes can seem like a chore, but as many of you discovered during our 30 Days to a Better Man Challenge, the task can actually be quite therapeutic. There’s something about the smell, the tools, and the technique that makes the job really satisfying. Seeing your dingy shoes transformed into shiny masterpieces acts as a nice metaphor for life; a little elbow grease can turn any mess around.
Fly Fishing
Source: Life
While all fishing can works wonders on your sense of well-being, no type does it better than fly fishing. Fly fishing combines a quiet peaceful outdoors setting with the unstoppable de-stressing power of rhythmic casting. If the sound of your line whipping back and forth doesn’t put you into a zen-like state, nothing will.
Playing Catch
Source: UpNorth Memories
A lot of us haven’t picked up a baseball glove since we aged out of Little League. But just because you’re not involved in an organized game, doesn’t mean your glove should sit in the back of your closet. Just playing catch can really relax you and is more fun than you remember. Whenever Kate and I are blogging and have writer’s block, we put on our gloves right there in the office and throw the ball back and forth. It really helps.
Whittling
Source: Life
Gramps did it and so should you. Men’s hands were meant to create, to turn ordinary objects into something special. And whittling is just the manly craft of woodworking writ small; all need is a stick and a pocketknife. Start practicing and soon you’ll be making your very own chess set.
Chopping Wood
Source: Life
This is something I got to do for the first time while in Vermont this summer. I have to say, it was an incredibly satisfying experience. There’s something about swinging that heavy axe and the great feeling you get when it hits the log with a crack, splitting apart the wood. I’ve still got a ways to go in being able to consistently split the logs all the way through in one swing, but even my neophyte attempts were good for the soul.
Exercise
Source: Gavin James
Whether it’s jogging down a country road or pumping iron, working out is a well-known and unbeatable stress reducer. It not only keeps you hands busy, it engages your whole body while your mind goes somewhere else. With your blood pumping and your testosterone increasing, the irritations of your day are released with your sweat. Some people love having a workout partner, but I personally like to be alone and totally inside my own head. Studies have shown that working out outdoors greatly increases the stress reducing benefits of exercise, so get out to a park and move your body.
What do you do to settle your mind? Let us know in the comments.
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Having a variety of hobbies helps me stay excited about building time into the day for clearing my mind. I might hit the tennis court, the bike trails, or the books. Sometimes a pipe or cigar with some tea, coffee, or beer does the trick — but the men that we are, we know to practice moderation with these substances. Even a short walk does wonders for clearing my head.
The most manly way I have found to settle my mind is to pray to God.
For me:
Riding for a whole day on my mountain bike up hills and down trails. “The path to enlightenment is a singletrack” (according to Mountainbike action mag.)
Another is hitting PR’s in the gym. Ive found that a 300+ lbs barbell on your back and in your hands forces you to focus every bit of mental and physical effort to not getting crushed.
Birdwatching is also a very relaxing, rewarding, and worthwhile activity.
When the opportunity presents itself, I enjoy canoeing to a small undeveloped island in the middle of a lake or river. Spending a couple of hours there doing nothing but exploring, thinking, observing, and even napping recharges my batteries like nothing else. There is something about the sense of being literally cut-off from the rest of the world that allows me to more fully appreciate the moment. During these times, the outside world is easily put out of my mind. I’ve found nothing more transformative and refreshing than this; except perhaps having your wife accompany you
I have been practicing bikram yoga for the past couple of years and find that the routine and ritual nature of the movement with this type of yoga along with the physical demands of the heat in the room totally clear my mind. I am drained and invigorated at the same time. I highly recommend it for anyone but have noticed that men take to it more readily than they some of the other types of yoga.
Wash and Wax Your Car
Start by gathering all the sponges, brushes, old manly Tee’s, buckets, and special tricks your old man taught you about how to do a very good detailing job on the family vehicle. You will need some power tools of course so get your shop vac ready to go. Next, open all the doors and truck and gut the thing. Put all the contents in a bin and sort it out later. Just as every man should have certain items in his pockets or briefcase – there are certain items that belong in every man’s car. (This would be a good article for later) Next, clean the inside and outside thoroughly, and let your mind wander. I always like to put on an favorite classic rock CD, or something mello like Jimmy Buffet or Bob Marley. Now that the car is clean and you have a sense of accomplishment, give it a good wax by hand of course. Power tools are more fun, but it’s nice to have a task to do with your hands. Bring your kids out to work with you or just have your wife or best bud sit beside you in the shade and shoot the breeze while you work. To finish off the task, buff the care and stand back and admire your handiwork. If you time it just right, sit back next to your loved one and have a nice cold beer together. It is a time honored relaxing job, that is guaranteed to relax your mind and give you time to reflect on life for a while.
I enjoy fritterin’ around in the garage. Just sorting it all out and then finding a place to put it all. Just me against the stuff. It’s great!!!
Several years ago a fella at a gym said to me “People at work don’t understand it when I tell them that lifting weights is relaxing. But I tell you what, hold 400 pounds above your face and tell me that your mind doesn’t clear real quick!” Works for me.
I play guitar to ease my mind. If i am angry, i start out playing really loud and gradually get softer and softer as i calm down
Shining my shoes is a great way to take the edge off. As a bonus you spend less money on replacing them because they well maintained.
One of the things I like to do to ease my mind and unwind is to maintain the appearance of my vehicle. In addition to being a relaxing way to pass the time, being familiar with the car and keeping it tidy can help you spot problems or mechanical issues before they get out of hand.
I grew up on a family farm. Most modern farming activities in the field (e.g., plowing, disking, cultivating, mowing) require enough of your attention that it is hard to relax, let the mind wander and contemplate the universe.
There still is one, however, that works – raking hay. I prefer a small open-air tractor, with my favorite being a John Deere 3020. I’d get further in life if I spent more time raking hay.
Splitting wood is my favorite way to level myself. No matter my mood it always makes me feel great. 2:00 AM while the wood is still perfectly frozen, sounding almost like a shattering rock piercing through the frozen slumbering air… It’s beautiful.
Everyone is forgetting the most primal and important way to settle a man’s mind: Sex! It’s just as much exercise as some of these examples and the endorphin release alone is sure to relax even the most wound-up psyche. And I think it’s safe to say it’s a pretty manly endeavor, too.
Edmund Price’s Science of Self-Defense. I carefully page through a book from just after the Civil War and wonder who owned this before me, did it sit on a shelf, or did they practice this pugilism out there in 19th century America. Punching the bag in my backyard with Price’s seven hits and seven blocks feels like a meditation on American manly culture.
the bible, time with the wife and kids should also be mentioned.
Cutting and splitting firewood definitely helps clear the mind of everything else. Especially if you’re holding a full tree length in place and there’s a chainsaw running a few feet in front of your face. Tell me you’ll let your mind wander then.
But the one thing that I enjoy that hasn’t been mentioned yet is just sitting on the porch or in your yard with an iced tea or a glass of lemonade and watching the world roll by. You get to catch up with your neighbors, look at the wonderful yard that you’ve been cultivating, and enjoy the shine of your car sitting curbside. The drink doesn’t matter, but the point is that after you spend all of your time and energy working in the yard, cleaning and maintaining your car, and working out, it’s time to relax and admire your accomplishments.
All good suggestions. I especially enjoy chopping wood. I’ve resisted my wife’s desire to replace our wood-burner stove with a gas stove just because I like wood. I like stacking it, chopping it, hauling it, burning it. There’s something elemental about it. And when the power goes out on a cold northern Wisconsin winter morning, and the gas fireplace won’t light because there’s no electricity for the switch, you’re glad the wood-burner is still there.
Also, martial arts training. All week long I wait for Friday. I get to work early, leave early and go to a fellow black belt’s karate dojo to train with him. We work out together for an hour, then I work out with his students for another hour, and finally my wife joins us for his 1.5hr kickboxing class. It’s a terrific way to wash away the grunge of the work week and get the weekend off to a rollicking start. Plus it keeps me in good shape.
I would add brush your teeth for the full two minutes with a Sonicare toothbrush, for some reason I find that very relaxing.
My significant other thinks I’m nuts, but I like to do a load of laundry, compeltion factor!
Plus unlike her I throw everything in the machine together. o
cleaning and pruning my garden and bushes, getting rid of the weeds of the grass. making look all the plants manicured and watering and perhaps fertilizing them later.
washing my car by myself starting on the exterior, while at times, depending on my mood, listening to my favorite oldies.
all this has to be done outside and in a calmed manner.
Watching a certain type of man chopping wood sure relaxes me.
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