MMC 55 | Dehibernate: Waking your inner Grizzly | Josh Hatcher | Manlihood ManCast

In this episode of the Manlihood Mancast, Josh Hatcher talks about what it means to wake your inner grizzly.

Nature itself is going through a reset – the days are getting longer, the flowers and buds are forming on the trees, and mammalian creatures as awakening from their winter slumber.

As spring nears, you may find yourself still a little groggy from winter, and your inner grizzly may need some awakening.

Men, let’s look at how we can shake off the winter sleep and get ourselves ready to growl, eat fish, and maul hikers… err… something.

Get your head straight

It’s time to realign your mind, and shake yourself awake.

1. Make a reading list.

If you don’t normally read, find a book or audio book and make it a point to read it or listen to it Pick something different than your normal fare… try some poetry, or non-fiction, or sci-fi. Read something you wouldn’t normally have read.

2. Take a video game fast.

Delete Candy Crush from your phone. Turn off the PS4. Put it away for a week or a month to try to get yourself tuned in to your surroundings. If you want to play a game – pick up a deck of cards and learn a new card game – or engage your buddies in a game of chess or Risk.

3. Listen to some new music. Something you’ve never heard before. It stirs up the soul, and gets you thinking.

4. Write some letters.

Not just emails. Drag out the paper and pen, and write someone an old fashioned letter. Maybe an old friend, mentor, or teacher – and let them know how much they meant to you.

5. Learn a new skill.

Is there something you don’t know that you want to know? Can you watch a youtube tutorial? Read a book? Take a class? Do something to expand your mind.

6. Practice some already acquired skills.

Maybe a little target practice with your pistol, or a few hours of banjo playing to hone those skills you already have.

Wake your inner grizzly by stimulating that big ole’ grizzly head.

Get Your Body Straight

People may look at me and say, you’re overweight. Don’t talk to me about getting healthy. I’ll say this – the past year has been amazing for me, as I’ve made some massive changes that have literally changed my mass.

Whether you are a fat old grizzly, or a svelt young grizzly – we can all benefit by taking some time to get our body moving, and to eat better.

But we all know what it takes to get healthy. Eat right. Move more. That’s going to look different from one of us to the next. But the basic mechanics are the same. When you do these things, you feel better. You are stronger. You are slimmer. You are a better version of you.

What ARE you going to do to give your body some attention? Weight training? Cardio?  What are you eating that you should stop eating?

Take some time to talk to your doctor, a personal trainer, or someone to help you come up with a plan to improve your physical fitness.   

Get your inner grizzly turned into a force to be reckoned with.

Don’t Take No for an answer

Men, don’t be an opossum. When an opossum sees a threat, they hiss, and then they lay down and pretend to be dead. No – if we are going to wake our hibernating grizzlies, we need to shake off that passivity – and make a stand.

Don’t take “No” for an answer. Obviously – there are times that “no” is perfectly appropriate – but in general – don’t let an obstacle or a hardship, turn you back.

1. Be determined.

Once you know what you are supposed to do, you need to go get it. Don’t let car trouble keep you from showing up to work on your first day on the job. Don’t let your fatigue or weariness

or anything try to push you back in the cave.

2. Be consistent.

The biggest obstacle in your life is always going to be you. So when you commit to do something – do it. Don’t waver, don’t quit, don’t stop doing it. So often, we work hard, and we quit just before the payoff.

3. Think differently.

They say, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”

If you want to grab ahold of your success in your grubby little grizzly claws, you need to think outside the box, and to do something differently.

Fuel up on Food For the Soul

Your grizzly doesn’t need normal. He doesn’t want to be a “kept bear”… he’s wild, and he’s aggressive, and he’s dangerous. It’s up to you to channel that energy into the right places, if you want to grab a hold of your success.

We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day… and as you are awakening your inner grizzly from his coma – you’ve got to make sure he’s got the right fuel to start his spring.

We aren’t talking about nuts, berries, or small game here… we’re talking about feeding your soul.

If you want to wake up the grizzly inside, you’ve got to make sure to provide the right kind of fuel.

What are you watching? What are you reading? What are you listening to?

I believe that if you want to wake up and be ready to face the world, your media consumption matters. Are you fueling up on junk food, or are you taking in the right calories?

I’d encourage you to listen to music that uplifts you, or helps charge you up. Read books, magazines, blogs, etc,  that help you improve in the areas you need to improve. Fiction? Entertainment? Sure – if it’s something that builds you up, charges you up emotionally, or challenges you to grow. If your media consumption is like a drug to numb you- you might want to reevaluate what you are putting in your soul.

Find Your Roar

Every young grizzly must find his roar…. that guttural howl and growl that shows his ferocity and strength. If he’s been hibernating, he may have to find it again.

Your roar is your confidence. You may have forgotten just what it is you’re capable of… You may have been asleep, and put on a few pounds of winter fat. (or even more than a few)

You may have been pushed around, ignored, or let go.

You might be on the bottom rung. You might be tuned out and turned off.

But the truth is – you are made fiercely. You are made strong, and made brave. You’ve been made with talents, and you’ve developed skills. You are not some dog, civilized and trained. You are a stinking Grizzly. And you are strong, and you are powerful.

Embrace that power. If you have to re-identify it, then do that. But it’s there.

You might need to harness that wildness and power to build yourself up and get yourself in shape, and strengthen your resolve.

Want to weigh in? Comment here, or log in to our private facebook group – The Manlihood Mancave to discuss this with other men!


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