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#23: The miseducation of the American boy

Your weekly round-up of wisdom, habits, inspiration and practical solutions, including 17 highly effective stress relievers
#23: Happiness Vs Success, health trends & dealing with stress
Welcome to issue #23 of The Power Up, the curated email magazine from Man Body Spirit.

Every day I scour the Internet in search of wisdom, habits, inspiration and practical solutions to help improve the mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing of our readers, curating the best bits together in this neat little package – and delivered direct to your inbox.

This week I’ve found an interesting long read about the versions of masculinity boys encounter through their adolescence, a useful toolbox of stress relief tips for when times get hard, an examination of whether happiness is a predeterminate of success as opposed to the other way around, and a quirky video on the importance of understanding our childhoods.

As ever – all hand selected to give a little Power Up to your Mind, Body & Spirit.

Enjoy.

The Miseducation of the American Boy
This week we start with an interesting long read from the Atlantic, that investigates many of the social forces and norms at play in the adolescent lives of men, that leads to phenomena such as toxic masculinity.

For instance, why do boys laugh at rape jokes, think having a girlfriend is “gay,” and have such a tough time being in touch with their emotions?

Although the piece is based on US boys, I’m sure you’ll find much of what is covered is pretty universal.  Pour yourself a cuppa, and put your feet up for this one.

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Mind
17 highly effective stress relievers
In this modern world of over-stimulation and never-ending expectations, we all experience stress, some of us perpetually.

Even when we think we’re on top of things, it only takes a few surprise jobs-to-be-done, or disruptions to our usual routine and things can pile up and become overwhelming again.
So it’s incredibly beneficial to have a toolbox of stress relief strategies to turn to at these times.

This comprehensive guide from VeryWellMind can be exactly that. Bookmark it for when you need it most, or better still, start practising some of the recommended tips today.

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Body
20 health trends that will stand the test of time
Health & fitness fads come and go, but those that prove most compelling for people to commit to and effective at driving positive results tend to stick around.

This article looks at 20 current trends that seem to have the secret sauce to stand the test of time.

From evolutions of time tested methods like yoga & HIIT, to the increasing use of wearables and fitness data, to dietary nutrition like fermented foods and meatless meat, this list could also give you some fresh inspiration for your fitness routine, or eating options.

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Spirit
Happiness doesn’t follow success: it’s the other way round
Many of us were brought up to believe that if we work hard and become successful, then we’ll be happy.

And given that most people want to be happy, we fall into the habit of chasing success like the proverbial carrot on a stick – thinking that contentment lurks just the other side of getting into college, landing a dream job, being promoted or making six figures. But for many chasers, both success and happiness remain perpetually out of reach.

This interesting piece posits that this could be because we’re looking at the equation backwards.

What if being happy first is actually the key determinant of success? And if that is the case, how might that change the way we prioritise our time every day?

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Bonus content
The one subject you really need to study: Your own childhood – YouTube
Here’s a great short video from Alain de Botton at the School of Life about the importance of reflecting on our childhoods to help us better understand our biases and tendencies as adults.

“Our chances of leading a fulfilled adult life depend overwhelmingly on our knowledge of and engagement with the nature of our own childhoods,” he says. “Because it is in this period that the dominant share of our adult identity is being moulded and our characteristic expectations and responses set.”

With quirky animation and a powerful message, it’s a great short watch, and wonderfully reassuring to be reminded that there are very few amongst us who would have experienced ‘normal’ childhoods.

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Visit the Blog at ManBodySpirit.com
“He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.”

Lao Tzu
Thanks for reading, I hope you found some great value within this week’s edition. If so, please pass on a recommendation to your friends. If not, then please give me feedback on what more you would like to see. See you next time, Adam.

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