By Michael Holland
In the midst of chaos as a man/father/husband, you are primed to act. Your “action” differs by season of life but the essence of the action remains the same: solve the problem in front of you as quickly as possible. But that’s not what great men/fathers/husbands do. Great men/fathers/husbands lift up out of the immediate looking at the context of the situation in which they find themselves and reach beyond the emotions they feel in order to find the best solution or story to tell or phrase to say or courage to stay quiet.
We can all think of a man or a composite of men who have modeled greatness to us in their roles as men, fathers, husbands, professionals. If we want to be better in our roles, then we must learn to pause and ask the question: how would a great man/father/husband act in that situation?
This question prompts us to consider and determine a standard to which we can rise up to to perform better. The question allows us the opportunity to pull out of the immediate and lift up our view to a different context.
Try it: Hold the composite in your brain of great men/fathers/husbands who have impacted you in your life. Now, rerun a movie of a recent man/father/husband event in your life that was less than optimal? Now ask yourself the question: what would a great man/father/husband have done in that situation.
Maybe what you see a great man/father/husband might do and it scares the hell out of you. Well, that’s a good thing. You now know the gap between what is and what could be. Make a choice to step up and trend your behavior to approach that of a great man/father/husband.
So many men lacked the direct role models in their lives which could’ve easily provided the standards and coaching and love to instill greatness. And that’s a bummer. And that’s history. We’re here now, in this moment and we are the ones who can choose to ask ourselves the tough questions so that we step up and have a better impact on our families and communities.
