The Man Cave: Are You Hiding From Responsibility?

We all know what a “man cave” is, or at least have a general idea. No matter the location or size, this space is man’s domain!

And in this space, our minds are free to wander without restriction or limits. Kick back, relax, turn up the volume, take off one sock and throw away the coasters. Have you ever thought about why a man needs a man cave? What do we all share that takes us to the man cave?

For me, the first thing that comes to mind is the hustle and bustle of each day—daily life can be tough. We all have responsibilities and expectations placed upon us. Even Batman was restricted to 24 hours in a day and needed his Batcave to rejuvenate.

Misuse of the Man Cave

One prevailing theme that is taking over men’s lives is the misuse of the man Cave. It has gone from a place of rejuvenation to a place of hiding. I believe the purpose of a man cave is to regenerate and get back into the world and accomplish something. Any man can easily get stuck in their man cave and never be heard from again. What would happen if a baseball player stepped up to the plate, struck out in three pitches, went to his man cave and never stepped up to the plate again? Our man cave is not a place to run to so we can hide from the world and our responsibilities.

Every man needs to rejuvenate to be effective, and no man should be hiding from being effective. What goes on in the man cave should not consume us. I like to watch Persons of Interest or work out with some free weights. But are either of these activities negative in themselves? No, they’re not. But they can be if I let them consume my time and energy. I’d become useless.

It’s not the action or activity used for rejuvenation that is bad, but the mishandling or abuse of it that leads to ineffectiveness. Any one of us can have a man cave that’s sole purpose is restoration but instead becomes the sole focus in life that then drains us and leaves us ineffective.

On the flipside, there are those who never enter their man cave—or, even worse, don’t know where it is. These men don’t know they need to rejuvenate. You might laugh and think that’s impossible. But I kid you not, there are those who work and work and then work some more. They’re called workaholics. I have been there myself, and I’d find myself exhausted trying to figure out how to regain my strength.

We all need to step back from time to time before we exhaust ourselves and become useless or ineffective. Step into the man cave, rejuvenate and rejoin the world.

Men at some point in their life will be called to lead. This could happen at school, at work, with our families, communities or friends. But how can a man lead others if he cannot lead himself?

Just like Batman, we must start with learning how to lead our own lives, work on genuine confidence and then take on greater responsibilities. In life, we start with the small things, call it training if you will, and move on to bigger and greater things.

All men at some point in their life can find themselves in one of these stages. Daily life, all 24 hours of each day, will not go away. But how we manage our time, ourselves and our responsibilities is up to us. Just how life may throw us a curveball, we must improvise, adapt and overcome.

For the original article, visit fearlessmen.com.