Our Ethics & Values editor wants to hear about the people and events that have influenced and inspired you to be the man you are today.
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Since starting as the editor of Good Men Project’s Ethics & Values section, I’ve been thinking a lot about what has shaped my values: the defining moments, the people of influence. Certainly I can draw on my father—who I’ve written about here—but much like he did, I can also draw on my sister, who had a strong influence on the principles that have guided me through to this day.
And that’s something we all have: people who have influenced and inspired us to be the men we are today, and moments in life—forever etched into our memories—that have factored into our how we live our lives day to day.
I’d like to hear from you around our these ideas and to get some different viewpoints about the values that guide men today.
Here are some thoughts to get us started…
- How have your values changed through life and what caused them to change?
- How has marriage / fatherhood affected your values?
- What factors shaped your workplace values?
- Has having a strong female influence shaped your values as a man? If so, how?
- What are you doing to influence the principles of your sons and daughters?
- How has money / success / economy shaped your values?
- Are there values that you think are missing from society?
- What values have you seen change from one generation of men to the next?
- What role have your parents / siblings / grandparents / friends / relatives played in your values system?
- What is the responsibility of the role model today?
I think we can start some great, inspiring conversations around some of these ideas (and more, of course) and I can’t wait to hear from you.
You can send your stories, essays and thoughts to me at [email protected] or through our our submissions page.
Cheers.
—Photo Redrock Junction/Flickr
I was gonna send you something but got frustrated with the sign in … maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
Hey Tom, you can always email me directly — [email protected]
Cheers.
I grew up on a quiet suburban street with 3 sisters and 2 great parents that did not allow a TV into our home until one of us was over 2 weeks sick and bedridden! That meant we played outside, with up to 40 kids {we counted once!} and had fields & trees, a small forest and a creek at the back of our lot, that overflowed with heavy rain, until after the 3rd time was covered up. But the yearly block parties still continued year after year…we camped every summer a week or 2 and once for 3 weeks,… Read more »
Wow, John, that sounds like a youth (and a life) full of some great experiences. You should write about some of them for us. I’d love to hear about those trips around the states, and more about what you’re doing now. But feel free to send me whatever you want to write about — [email protected]