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Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. – JFK
I don’t have all the best qualities, but I can work to become a better version of myself and work on my shortcomings. I want to share with the readers of the Good Men Project some ways I plan on improving on what I already have and accomplishing things I haven’t. By no means am I suggesting that these things are going to fix all my problems, I just feel they all play a role in helping me to become the man I want to be.
Set Specific Goals
There is nothing more important to achieving success than being able to set and achieve goals. In the past month, I have watched a guy I know run for public office, a friend finish creating their own app, my sister start her dream job at the V.A. in Maryland, and another friend released a song.
What separates them from those who never get beyond just dreaming about what they want to do?
They all set specific goals that helped them take steps toward a better future. Notice how I put the word specific in bold. Usually, when I set goals, I’m very vague. For instance, I would say I wanted to exercise more. Instead of setting vague goals, I want to start setting very detailed goals. I don’t just want to exercise more; I want to lose five pounds over the next month.
Be More Confident In Social Settings
I’ve written before about how I’ve been working on my confidence. I’m happy to say that things have been going quite well on my quest to be more confident. However, there are still areas in my life where I find myself behaving awkward, and that’s in group settings.
I’m tired of being so soft-spoken. Recently, I started going to a Christian life group on Monday’s where I’m forced to push myself out of this comfort zone.
Wear Clothes That Suit My Body Type
I don’t just mean I want to dress (I already do that 😊). I want to start dressing in a way that accentuates my positive qualities while drawing attention away from my negative qualities.
Have A Career That Is Right For Me
This is probably the most important area I want to work on. Given that we spend a lot of time working in our lives, it is essential that we choose a career that makes us happy. The jobs we choose can affect our overall happiness and health. As such, I decided a couple of years ago to make the career change to the field of Information Technology.
Currently, I’m less than one month from finishing up my second degree. However, a lot of work still needs to be done in achieving the exact career I want. The area of I.T. that I love the most is web application development. I watch to continue homing in on my skills but gaining more certifications and skills.
Stop Watching Porn
Change is never easy, and this one will be hard (no pun intended 😊). There are so many studies that analyze the disturbing effect porn has on our brains. It’s time to completely unplug and recover my sex drive.
Speak My Mind
Having integrity and being straightforward are qualities that build character, and that can be difficult at times.
For instance, somethings I am tempted to bend the truth when giving my opinion on certain matters like abortion. I don’t want to offend a woman by telling her I don’t believe it should be legal for them to have the choice to have one. But the truth is, people will respect me more if I am forthcoming in my opinions and assert myself. When I value my beliefs, other people seem to as well.
Treat Others Better
Is chivalry dead? No, but it’s hard to find. In a world shaped by dog-eat-dog politics, you don’t have to look far to find people who don’t respect others.
It’s a sad reality, but people can stand out these days by treating others the way they want to be treated. I know this to be true as I’ve found myself guilty of not treating people with the golden rule of etiquette. I want to be more accepting of the political opinions of others and improve how I interact with members of the LGBT community.
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Photo by Jonas Kakaroto on Unsplash
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