Men Only: Who are you dealing with?

Every man has three men to deal with: the man he wants other people to think he is, the man he thinks he is, and the man he really is.

The Mask

Men tend to hide.  We hide our emotions, we hide our intentions, we hide our faults and insecurities.  We hid our problems and we often hide who we really are.  It's easier that way.  No explaining to do and therefore nothing messy to deal with.  Life is met head on with 'bring-it' attitude hidden behind a 'if they only knew who I really was' lifestyle.  The mask covers a lot, and whatever is kept in the dark has an opportunity to grow and only until it is exposed to the light or reality can true healing ever begin to take place.  We put on a show and invite others to watch, the show may look good from a distance but up-close the stench of false reality lingers.  Maybe, just maybe this is 'a' reason we don't allow ourselves to get to close to people.  The mask always represents the man he wants other people to think he is.

Delusional Dan

Every man thinks he is great.  He has the solution, he knows how to fix the problem and doesn't need any help.  He is an extraordinary husband and father always going above and beyond and any woman should be so lucky to call him her own.  Sure he has issues, but at least they aren't as bad as 'that' guy's problems.  In his mind he has it all together and everything is taken care of.  Don't tell him the truth about who he really is - he wont listen because his pride is way to loud.  Delusional Dan always represents the man he thinks he is.  

Reality

Unfortunately, most men don't even know who they really are.  They have spent so much time getting away from reality, they no longer know what it looks like.  I think if we could see who we really were we may be shocked.  

How can we know who we really are?  

An 'in your face' friend will do the trick.  We need to build relationships with other men who will tell us like it is.  Someone who isn't afraid to call us out of immaturity and prideful arrogance.  Someone who will believe in us regardless of how many mistakes we make.  Someone who wont allow us to keep making the same mistakes.  Someone who will challenge us to step and be the men we ought to be.

Who is this person for you?

Which of these do you find yourself dealing more with in your own life?

Stretch yourself

Jesse