Men need to work! Why do men need a job more than anything else?
One of the most important parts of a young mans life is his ability to find and keep work consistently. For many reasons, some of which we will be talking about here.
It is odd to me that in todays world work has become frowned upon. We see more men now-a-days shying away from working or failing to keep a job for a significant period of time and its unsettling.
It is most unsettling because working and finding a consistent form of work is extremely important for a young mans mental and social economic health. Work used to be something of honor. Men used to take pride in going to work and making an impact on their family or the people around then. We need to get back to this mindset, it is one way to increase the health and vitality of young men in todays world.
Reason #1: Increases income & reduces financial burdens
We can’t talk about work & jobs without addressing the fact that money is involved. And this is actually a good thing. Money and personal finances are a HUGE stress for many people throughout life. Some people will preach to you and tell you “money isn’t everything, its not that important.” If someone tells you this, I want you to run far away in the other direction.
The fact is, is that money happens to be one of the most important factors in life. As much as we all agree it shouldn’t be, it is. So since you will never change that then you should come to accept that and work with the circumstances surrounding us. Now does that mean you have to make insane amounts fo money to live a great life? Absolutely not. But you need to make enough to sustain the life you want to live as well as save enough on the side in case of emergencies. Both of which are possible.
An individuals ability to establish financial wealth comes down to a few factors but consistent income remains at the top. And we do this by having a job for long periods of time. By having consistent income… we can pay off debts, put ourselves in a better living situation, save for future purchases, and have money available for emergencies.
Not having to worry about basic human needs like food, shelter and health care takes a great deal of stress off of ones shoulders and the best way to do this is by making sure you consistently have money to cover those. We are able to do this by working and continuing that work. We have to realize that men need to work!
Reason #2: Working is good for mental health and helps with depression & anxiety.
If you are someone struggling with depressive episodes or anxiety then I understand that working and engaging with others seems daunting. I know this to be true because I experienced it myself.
In my early twenties I was cast away into a downward tunnel of depression and anxiety that almost took my life. I was struggling with health problems, seeing new doctors every month and getting tested on like a lab rat.
I ended up isolating myself from the world around me and getting trapped inside my own mind. inside your own mind is the last place you want to spend all of your time when you are struggling with depression & anxiety, and yet anyone that struggles with anxiety & depression knows how hard it is to get out of your own mind!
It may seem daunting and you are most likely not going to want to do it. But finding a job and working consistently makes it more possible to get out of your own mind and break those negative thought patterns.
One of the biggest catalysts for me overcoming my depression & anxiety was working and working consistently. This is because it disrupted my negative thought patterns and interrupted the amount of time I had available to me to engage with those depressive & anxious thoughts. I came to find out that it is not an option, but a necessity to work! Men need to work.
Not only this but working allowed me to be around other people. Something you tend avoid either consciously or unconsciously while depressed & anxious is human contact. Its ironic because one of the best ways to battle these to mental strains is by engaging with and being around other people.
Seeing people every day allows you to spend less time talking to yourself, diving deeper and deeper into your own psychological hell. And instead allows you to get different insights, thoughts and perspectives from other people on every day topics that can help you heal, which you may be too limited to see at the moment.
Along with interrupting negative thought patterns, reducing the available time to be inside your own mind and opening you up to social human contact, working and working consistently also helps build self esteem, confidence and self worth in your life.
Working allows you to accomplish tasks. As humans our brains love accomplishing tasks, no matter how small. Accomplishing tasks actually has been shown to increase motivation and with the increased motivation comes the ability to pursue more tasks to accomplish and then you end up in a snowball of facing problems, solving problems and feeling good because of it.
And this is no mistake! You feel good because when you accomplish task you actually release neurotransmitters such as dopamine associated with feelings of happiness. Imagine accomplishing tasks every day at work and getting small releases of dopamine from that… Pretty cool right?
Now we will have people combat this statement with things like “Well work can also cause stress & anxiety so why would I want to work.” And they would be correct in that assumption, but its a very narrow perspective on working. With everything in life there are 2 sides.
Working can sometimes be stressful, yes. But it could just be you have picked the wrong job, and you can always find another. Or it could be that you are experiencing a new challenge at work that is out of your scope of knowledge, which causes more stress on you to figure it out.
But with this stress comes the fact that it is still a detractor from your own personal psychological mental stress and when you end up overcoming the new challenge you will be more ready for the next one and feel a sense of accomplishment. Anyone trying to argue that work doesn’t relieve depression & anxiety are most likely the ones avoiding work because of depression & anxiety.
It will be uncomfortable to start, but I promise that finding a job you enjoy most of the time will be one of the greatest tools to overcoming some of your most prominent mental health battles.
Reason #3: We need a purpose in this life. Working gives us that purpose.
As human beings we are wired to fulfill purposes in life. If we are left without structure and without a reason to do anything then living itself becomes meaningless. Now some may argue that the way to live is just to be. But that to me is a sorry and shitty way to live this life.
I want to urge young men to devote themselves to something bigger than themselves. I urge young men to find meaning in fulfilling a purpose because finding something to get up for every morning will keep you in a better state mentally & physically than sitting down doing nothing ever will… Men need to work.
Now an individuals purpose will change throughout life and that is perfectly fine! It is actually natural. Throughout life we grow, we change, we come across new people & new opportunities. Your purpose in your early twenties will most likely differ from your purpose in your thirties. And so on and so forth.
When people hear the advice “find your purpose” they usually get intimidated, and for good reason! How does someone find their purpose? Where do they look? Are they sure it is really for them?
We should not be telling young men to “find their purpose”… instead it should be “find a purpose”. Because at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what the purpose is, as long as it is getting you up and functioning in life!
A great way to find purpose is by getting a job! When you are working you will be providing a purpose in life. You will be fulfilling a need in the world. It gives you something to wake up for, it gives you something to do.
In the beginning, it does not really matter what that job is. You just need to start somewhere and then from there you can begin to make transitions and start to explore new jobs and new fields of work.
Find a purpose by getting a job and working. Once you do that, things will start to fall into place.
If you are a young man between the ages of 18-30 years old and would like to get physically, mentally & socioeconomically stronger in your life… Then shoot us an email at stronggentscoaching@gmail.com
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