[February 9, 2023] Men make mistakes that have negative results for them and those around them. Men often don’t realize they are making these mistakes until it’s too late. So, to help raise awareness, here are a few mistakes men make.
“All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” – Sophocles
- Being harmless. Being prepared for life’s difficulties is necessary, so it is indispensable to be a strong, independent, focused, put-together man with the capacity to do harm if called upon. Men should be competent and dangerous and take their proper role in society. Weak men are not good. Being strong does not mean being cruel, not at all. Men have to be powerful and peaceful. Our educational system today encourages men to be harmless in order to be good. But that is false. Do not be harmless, naïve and weak. That is a terrible idea because being harmless means you cannot withstand the tragedies and malevolence in life. Weak men always end up bitter and destructive.
- Being happy. Men are told to be happy, and that is a goal to go after with all intensity because that is what makes us who we are. The world does not work that way. If you only search for happiness, what will you have once the inevitably fleeting happiness is gone? You crash into a depressive state, and you realize that you are a failure and you have alienated everyone you know. Men need a balance of emotions, which means having difficult emotions and learning to deal with them.
- Making excuses. Men are told that if they fail, it is not their fault. They are encouraged to avoid responsibility because who needs it anyway. Making excuses is a lot less work. If something bad comes along, it gives the weak man an opportunity to dump their responsibility and claim that as an excuse for not getting done what they need to get done. Men, especially harmless men are on the lookout to have their character corrupted, to lie, cheat, steal, betray and make excuses for doing so. “Everybody else is doing it.” And that is easy. It is easier to lie than, to tell the truth. It is easier to do nothing than to do something.
- Not making the proper sacrifice. What’s the difference between the successful and the unsuccessful? The successful sacrifice and things in their lives improve as they practice making the proper sacrifice. Men can adjust their behavior in the present to increase the probability of success in the future. We call that delayed gratification, and it works. If you want something, don’t hesitate to offer the ultimate sacrifice if you want the future to turn out well.
- Rejecting the bitter truth. Never underestimate the power of truth. There’s nothing more powerful. To properly speak the truth, you must let go of the outcome (which can be an adventure itself). You have to say, “Okay, I’m going to say what I think, as stupid as I am, as biased and ignorant as I am, I’m going to say as clearly as I can, and I’m going to live with the consequences no matter what.” And there may be a price to pay for that. You don’t get not to pay a price. Better that you pick your poison. It’s a balance of risks. You want to pay the price for being who you are, or do you want to pay the price for being a slave? Rejecting the bitter truth means you will have no self-respect, power, or ability to voice your thoughts and opinions, nothing left but resentment. Pay attention to what you say and do. Speak the truth, or at least don’t lie.
Time ticks away. Men, get at it, get out there in the world and have your adventure.
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Being happy is not something we should strive for. Life is about having meaning and happiness is just a byproduct.
I do believe that is the message and one that we all tend to forget or ignore. Happiness and these other items are not something we should have as a goal or we will be vastly disappointed. That is why humans must have a noble goal (Gen. Satterfield’s words) in our lives, else we will suffer, have bitterness as a result, and will never have a real life with others. “Party time” is not our goal.
Hey, Gen. Satterfield. Excellent. I can’t wait for Part II.
Pay close attention to this quote, “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” – Sophocles
Sophocles of Kolōnos (c. 496 – c. 406 BCE) was one of the most famous and celebrated writers of tragedy plays in ancient Greece and his surviving works, written throughout the 5th century BCE, include such classics as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, and Women of Trachis.
You have to say, “Okay, I’m going to say what I think, as stupid as I am, as biased and ignorant as I am, I’m going to say as clearly as I can, and I’m going to live with the consequences no matter what.” – Gen. Doug Satterfield. Now that is a great way to look at your life.
Yep. So, what do you think will be the next “mistakes men make?” And, when will he publish them? Big fan of Gen. Satterfield’s leadership website.
That is why I’m such a huge huge fan of this website by Gen. Satterfield. Always look forward to my morning read of this site.
Wow, another great article. I’m ready to read Part II. Thanks Gen. Satterfield. By the way, your book “55 Rules for a Good Life” made my reading list. Now I’m recommending it too.
“Being Happy” is a mistake? I read this at first as a mistake that Gen. Satterfield made but his explanation is perfect. If you are in search of happiness, you will fail as a man and fail as someone who could have done great things for you and for those who surround that man. We don’t live in a vacuum. Good men are strong men. That is the way of the world. The more we re-learn this, the better off we will be. We need good men.
Men today are being encourage to be weak.
Right Emma and yet we see little pushback on our schools and government that demands weak men. The problem is that weak men CAUSE problems, that is not the solution to our problems like the political progressives say.
— and worse, they are encouraged to be worthless and told this at every turn, esp. in schools. I pity a teacher I find telling a boy this.
Got that right, Eye Cat. Even if they are following their Marxist-inspired ideology, I won’t let them get away with this kind of terrible, destructive behavior.
Gen. Satterfield is starting to lay out some of what I will call ‘strategic’ mistakes by men. We all make mistakes but these are those that will have the greatest negative effect on those men themselves but also on those that are near that man, like their family and community and work place. Weak men are disastrous. Period.
Nick, you are right on point with your comments, so thanks for that clarity. Let’s also note that women are prone to mistakes but today, we see less people willing to point out our mistakes and that is not a good thing. 😎
good and right
I cant wait until Part 2.
Got that right Yusaf. I will put in my two cents worth and add that these are mistakes women make too but the impact is less. Weak men cause catastrophic consequences, while weak women are just sad.