This applies to all of us, but I think men are particularly good at one thing:

Keeping ourselves busy.

Work.
Projects.
Responsibilities.
Jobs around the house.
The next thing.
And then the thing after that.

We tell ourselves we’re moving forward because we’re moving.

But they’re not always the same thing.

I’ve noticed that some of the most important questions in life don’t get answered while we’re busy.

They get answered in the quiet moments we often avoid.

Questions like:

Am I happy?

Am I becoming the man I intended to become?

What am I carrying that I never talk about?

What have I been blaming circumstances for that is actually my responsibility?

They’re uncomfortable questions.

Which is probably why so many of us stay busy.

Because activity can look a lot like progress from a distance.

But they’re not the same thing.

Sometimes the bravest thing a man can do isn’t push harder.

It’s stop long enough to be honest with himself.

And from what I’ve seen, that’s often where real change begins.