{"id":4493,"date":"2009-07-29T02:13:50","date_gmt":"2009-07-29T07:13:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artofmanliness.com\/?p=4493"},"modified":"2021-09-26T10:02:26","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T15:02:26","slug":"6-manly-ways-to-settle-your-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/self-improvement\/6-manly-ways-to-settle-your-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Manly Ways to Settle Your Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

The modern man often leads a rather harried life. There are exams to ace<\/a>, bills to pay, diapers to change<\/a>, and annoying co-workers to contend with<\/a>. And unfortunately, we all too rarely carve out pieces of our day in which to defuse our stress<\/a> and settle our minds.<\/p>\n

Every man needs interludes of quiet and rest, not just to think through what\u2019s been going on in his life but also to not think at all. Just to quiet his mind and be in the moment and feel his cares fall away. Traditional meditation<\/a> is a great way of doing this. But I\u2019ll level with you — I don\u2019t have the self-discipline to sit still for long periods of time concentrating on my breathing. And I actually find it easier to get into a meditative state when I\u2019m doing something repetitive with my hands. These repetitive motions give the brain a little something to do while the rest of it takes a break. If you\u2019ve ever had a great idea while in the shower, washing dishes, or brushing your teeth you will recognize the wisdom in this.<\/p>\n

Activities that keep your hands busy with simple, repetitive movements are some of the best ways to settle your mind, find peace from your worries, and gain inspiration in your decisions. So here are 6 manly ideas for getting a little more zen in your life:<\/p>\n

Shining Your Shoes<\/h3>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

Shining your shoes can seem like a chore, but as many of you discovered during our 30 Days to a Better Man Challenge<\/a>, the task can actually be quite therapeutic. There\u2019s something about the smell, the tools, and the technique that makes the job really satisfying. Seeing your dingy shoes transformed into shiny masterpieces acts as a nice metaphor for life; a little elbow grease can remedy any mess. Be sure to check out our illustrated guide<\/a> and video<\/a> on the topic as well.<\/p>\n

Fly Fishing<\/h3>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

While all fishing can work wonders on your sense of well-being, no type does it better than fly fishing. Fly fishing combines a quiet, peaceful outdoors setting with the unstoppable de-stressing power of rhythmic casting. If the sound of your line whipping back and forth doesn\u2019t put you into a zen-like state, nothing will.<\/p>\n

Playing Catch<\/h3>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

A lot of us haven\u2019t picked up a baseball glove since we aged out of Little League. But just because you\u2019re not involved in an organized game, doesn\u2019t mean your glove should sit in the back of your closet. Just playing catch can really relax you and is more fun than you remember. Whenever Kate and I are working on an article and have writer\u2019s block, we put on our gloves right here in the office and throw the ball back and forth. It really helps.<\/p>\n

Whittling<\/h3>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

Gramps did it and so should you. Men\u2019s hands were meant to create<\/a>, to turn ordinary objects into something special. And whittling<\/a> is just the manly craft of woodworking writ small; all you need is a stick and a pocketknife<\/a>. Start practicing and soon you\u2019ll be making your very own chess set.<\/p>\n

Chopping Wood<\/h3>\n

\"Vintage<\/p>\n

This is something I got to do for the first time while in Vermont this summer. I have to say, it was an incredibly satisfying experience. There\u2019s just something about swinging that heavy axe and the great feeling you get when it hits the log with a crack, splitting apart the wood<\/a>. I\u2019ve still got a ways to go in being able to consistently split the logs all the way through in one swing, but even my neophyte attempts were good for the soul.<\/p>\n

Exercise<\/h3>\n

\"VintageWhether it\u2019s jogging down a country road or pumping iron, working out is a well-known and unbeatable stress reducer. It not only keeps your hands busy, it engages your whole body while your mind goes somewhere else. With your blood pumping and your testosterone <\/a>increasing, the irritations of your day are released with your sweat. Some people love having a workout partner, but I personally like to be alone and totally inside my own head. Studies have shown that working out outdoors greatly increases the stress-reducing benefits of exercise<\/a>, so get outside<\/a> and move your body.<\/p>\n

What do you do to settle your mind? Let us know in the comments.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The modern man often leads a rather harried life. There are exams to ace, bills to pay, diapers to change, and annoying co-workers to contend with. And unfortunately, we all too rarely carve out pieces of our day in which to defuse our stress and settle our minds. Every man needs interludes of quiet and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49359,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[502,6,42269],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-4493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-character","category-featured","category-self-improvement"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fish-538x280.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fish-320x175.png","rpwe-thumbnail":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2009\/07\/fish-45x45.png"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4493"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":141889,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4493\/revisions\/141889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4493"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}