197 – The Minutia Of Manhood

Being A Better Man

The Minutia Of Manhood…

Hey every body. It is I, Alf Herigstad, back once again to talk with you about the minutia of manhood. Welcome to being a better man, I’m glad you are here with me.

Ah…the minutia of manhood. It doesn’t sound very appealing when you say it like that. We men usually avoid minutia, I know I do. For those of you who don’t know, minutia is the tedious details of things. The little things that are no fun but, that must be done.

For example, you may not realize that I am a home brewer. I do make some craft beers, but mostly I make mead, which is essentially wine made from honey. One of the oldest alcoholic beverages mankind ever made, and it’s what the Vikings drank.

This is a hobby of mine that is a lot of fun. I get a lot of enjoyment out of it and I have experimented with all kinds of different flavors and techniques. I have made jalapeño mead, and coffee mead, strawberry and rhubarb mead. I love the creation process, and I love having people try it and see the surprise on their face. I love the science of it too, like how the yeast transforms honey and water into something amazing. There is a part of this process I don’t like though, and that is the minutia.

The minutia of being a home brewer happens every time you want to put your new creation in bottles. I hate washing bottles, that is the minutia, but guess what? If I don’t wash the bottles then it will just sit there forever in these big glass fermenting vessels. The only way to taste it or share it would be to get a big straw and sit on the floor sucking it out…and that wouldn’t be any fun I don’t think.

So, I wash bottles. I stand at the sink for a couple hours sterilizing and washing and I hate every second of it. Those bottles are not going to wash themselves, so I have no choice.

Being a man is no different, being a man has minutia attached to it just like everything else does. I love being a man. I like being big and strong and being able to make things and grow a beard. I like being regarded as a man in society and most other things that go along with being a man. But then there is the minutia of being a man.

I think the minutia of manhood is one of the things that separates boys from men. It is the hard things, the little things that require effort. Things like having responsibility, doing the right thing, admitting when you are wrong, taking care of your finances and your body and making sacrifices for the people around you.

The boy will avoid most of these things and just keep on having fun pretending he is a man. While the man will confront these issues and handle them, even when he doesn’t want to. He will do that because he is a man, and he knows they will not handle themselves…just like my bottles won’t wash themselves.

Very often I have seen young guys in relationships who choose not to deal with the minutia of their life. They just keep on doing whatever makes them happy in the moment instead. Guess what always happens? Someone else, usually the woman in the relationship is then forced to deal with the mans minutia that was left unattended. I find it so sad whenever I see this happening. You see women paying the bills and taking out the garbage and fixing things that are broken. In extreme cases you see women going to work while the so-called man sits around and plays video games, and then expects her to make dinner when she comes home.

Do you think this woman, or anyone else that knows a guy like this has any level of admiration or respect for him? I highly doubt it. How could a woman respect a man like that when she is acting like more of a man than he is?

Very much of what I talk about on this show is the minutia of manhood. The stuff that you have to do consciously, the little details of your life that ultimately make you a better man. The things that are not so fun, like acknowledging your faults…so that you can improve them. I talk about these things because they are the easiest things to not do, to avoid, to forget, or to just not think about until after the opportunity has passed.

Here’s the thing though guys. The minutia does not have to be painful. It doesn’t have to be a chore unless we allow it to be. I say I hate washing bottles, and it’s true, in comparison to the other aspects of brewing it isn’t fun. But I’ve been washing my bottles for over ten years. I keep on doing it because I am focused on the reward, which is having a beautiful way to enjoy and share what I have made.

As men we have to suck it up and do what we need to do as men so that we can enjoy the rewards of being a man. So that our families can be taken care of, our bills will be paid, all the things in our life including ourselves will be in good working order and most importantly…so that all of our relationships will be healthy, and happy. Not only that, but in our wake we will have left an example for the other boys and men around us. That is why the minutia of manhood is so important.

Now head out into the world and pay attention to the details. Pay attention to the little things you do when no one else is watching. That’s the minutia, and that’s what will make you a better man today than you were yesterday.

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As I was getting ready to launch my book, I gathered together a group of people who wanted to help out, I refer to them as the launch team.

As a way of returning their kindness, I offered to promote their books and products or services here on the podcast. This is the first installment of that, and today I am featuring a man named Ole Jorgen Rodar.

Ole lives in Norway and has a fascinating life. His experience as a lifetime outdoor enthusiast, a student of the old ways, and as an accomplished archer and martial artist, lend to his fantasy/fiction writing an air of authenticity and realism, as well as historical depth because of his intimate knowledge of the area and times he is writing about.

His stories are full of unforgettable characters, epic battles, and great adventures that you will remember for a long time. You will read about the quests of hero’s, evil conspiracies, and ancient powers that will keep you riveted to the pages.

I strongly encourage all my listeners who are fans of such manly tales as these to get his books. They are available both in print and on kindle. They are in english, but he does have some written in Norwegian as well.

You can find them by typing the title in the Amazon search bar, or you can follow THIS LINK, there you will see all of his books.

The last thing I ask that is very important, please leave a review for him on Amazon.

Ole Rodar

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Hey don’t forget to check out my new book, Forging A Man, available right now on Amazon.

(GET THE BOOK HERE)

Also, please take time to check out the MANLY RESOURCE CENTER, in the menu tab at the top of the page. Or, click on these links.

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