Carlton Mack

Silent Screams – the Pressure of Masculinity

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Masculinity

*It is not good for man to be alone…we don’t do alone well. A few days ago, I saw a Facebook message from a friend who had thought about taking his life. He woke up the next morning to learn that an acquaintance had committed suicide several days ago.

I don’t know the details, nor did I have any knowledge of what this man was battling. I only knew this man in passing, but our interactions we’re always polite and respectful. Whenever we stopped and chatted, the conversation consisted mainly of superficial things, but he still was genuine nonetheless.

My heart goes out to his family and all of those who hold him dear to their hearts. The challenges we face as men are very real, and they’re heavy. Keep Reading

Hard of Listening

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Active Listening

*People pay thousands of dollars for education, yet listening is free. Nobody likes to be criticized. And to some extent, everyone displays some measure of defensiveness – the impulse to reject all criticisms by denying their validity and undermining the messenger.

Unfortunately, defensiveness does not serve us. It encourages us to ignore potentially useful feedback, which inhibits our ability to improve. It behooves us to rely on those with relevant qualification and expertise. We cannot learn that which we think we already know.

Listening isn’t something we’re all innately born with, and we’re all guilty of not listening at times.  Listening is a skill just like reading, writing, and talking.  That’s good news because it means we can all learn to listen and connect with the speaker. Like any skill, the more we practice it, the better we become. We have had practice reading, writing, and talking, but how much actual practice have we had learning how to become better listeners?

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Positivity with Strategy, a Recipe for Success

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Positivity

* Positivity is Fickle – Strategy is Enduring*

I like to think that I am an inherently positive person. I grew up in a household that instilled belief, confidence, and encouragement into me on a regular basis. Hearing these things made me feel good – like I could accomplish anything as long as I put my mind to it.

This was great when I was younger, and even to this day I hold these types of values close. Being positive feels good and who doesn’t like to feel good?

Who doesn’t gain gratification from delivering an uplifting message to another person that provokes them into action?

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Fortune Favors the Bold

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Rock Climbing

The late, great, Ray Charles said “Live everyday as if it’s your last, because one day you’re going to be right.” That can be a scary thought, but it can also be a very invigorating one that pushes us into the space of doing. None of us want to near the end of our lives, looking back on lost opportunity with regret.

Regret

How much different might our lives have been, had we just taken a few more of those risks that we avoided skeptically?  The dissatisfaction would eat away at our already dwindling souls and would expedite our demise.

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Confront to Overcome

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Confront to Overcome

WASHINGTON — When I find myself faced with life’s obstacles, I remind myself; if you can confront it, you can overcome it. Internally, I welcome these two concurrent actions. If life has taught me anything so far, it’s that there will always be new obstacles awaiting us. No matter what stage in our lives we are in, what we’ve accomplished, or how much we’re revered by others, there will always be new obstacles.

With every new level you reach, new devils await. They are zealously anticipating your arrival because they’ve seen many before you who have entered this realm, clinging to their altruistic thoughts and ideas of how things should be. Keep Reading