(Men) Do you want to be SAFE or STRONG?

 This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 23rd, 2019 at 6:07 pm


“Do you want to be safe or strong”, this is the question posed by Dr. Jordan Peterson in his book 12 Rules to Life – An Antidote to Chaos. This speak very clearly to me as for most of my life I have wrestled with wanting to feel safe, but really wanting to be strong.

Strength comes from navigating the order and chaos of life, whether internally or externally. When we are in chaos, we feel no strength at all, we’re flustered, we’re scared, we’re insecure, we’re unsure, but going through that chaos and navigating it effectively is the very road to strength. Consequently, within our thoughts/feelings of wanting to be safe can come unrest and its own set of challenges that contribute to chaos. Anxiety feels very unsafe (chaos), the ability to effectively navigate through an anxious situation creates order (strength). Struggling with the pit of darkness, feeling depressed and stuck (chaos). Putting movement/action to confront the very issues that contribute to the underlying feelings of depression create change (and the accompanying order).

This morning my six-year-old asked me to spike his hair just so that he can appear tall enough to go on the big slide at the pool. This is a funny picture, but it is a form of chaos (i.e. out of his control, I can’t make myself tall enough, I will be told no)……..vs him confronting the internal/external chaos by jumping into the pool, showing that he can swim proficiently and thus has the ability to go on the big slide (order).

We all have it, the internal chaos vs order struggle. So, the question for you is……. would you rather be SAFE or STRONG?

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