It's really just a mental exercise.
I think what he was getting at in the book is that too many men still look to their father to guide them through life, always seeking his support and approval even late into life. As a result, many of these men never really grow up completely until they teach themselves to stop doing this and finally acknowledge that whatever value they could've gotten in their father's lessons has already been learned and absorbed.
To be real men, we have to leave our parents behind eventually (at least on this level) and step out into the world on our own.
If you feel like you're still constantly looking to him for guidance on some level, Duck, maybe you should really spend some time on the exercise. By the way, I don't think it's completely a bad thing either - it's good to have a male figure to turn to for advice and support, and if you think about what he would do because you admire him, that's cool too. The point of the author, in my opinion, is just take the time and think these things through to be sure you're relying on his ideas because they are right rather than because it's easy.
Edit: And of course if after doing a mental exercise like that you realize that the woman you date, the job you have, the car you drive, or anything else major in your life is all owed up to pleasing your father then you definitely have some issues that need to be taken care of in your father/son relationshionship. That certainly wouldn't be "the way of the superior man." But that's on the extreme end.
I think what he was getting at in the book is that too many men still look to their father to guide them through life, always seeking his support and approval even late into life. As a result, many of these men never really grow up completely until they teach themselves to stop doing this and finally acknowledge that whatever value they could've gotten in their father's lessons has already been learned and absorbed.
To be real men, we have to leave our parents behind eventually (at least on this level) and step out into the world on our own.
If you feel like you're still constantly looking to him for guidance on some level, Duck, maybe you should really spend some time on the exercise. By the way, I don't think it's completely a bad thing either - it's good to have a male figure to turn to for advice and support, and if you think about what he would do because you admire him, that's cool too. The point of the author, in my opinion, is just take the time and think these things through to be sure you're relying on his ideas because they are right rather than because it's easy.
Edit: And of course if after doing a mental exercise like that you realize that the woman you date, the job you have, the car you drive, or anything else major in your life is all owed up to pleasing your father then you definitely have some issues that need to be taken care of in your father/son relationshionship. That certainly wouldn't be "the way of the superior man." But that's on the extreme end.
Beyond All Seas
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling